Disclaimer: don't own it.

Chapter 1

Rika looked around at the busy market place, sellers yelling at her to buy their items. The truth was she had no money nor was she looking for anything to buy, she just wanted to look and see this place for herself. Kagome had told her about the well and she wanted to see where it would take her, and well this was where it took her. She didn't really know where she was, but she knew it was not where Kagome went all the time.

"FISH, FISH, FISH," a tiny little Japanese man screeched in his little man voice. Rika looked over at him and smiled. "FISH?" he asked her, his front teeth missing.

"No, I have no money. I'm sorry," she said. She kept walking this place seemed endless, "oh sorry," she apologized as she bumped into an older woman. The woman looked at her and snarled before walking away. Rika looked down as she saw something gleam, the woman had dropped her money purse. Quickly she picked it up and looked for the older lady and could not see her. 'Oh well,' she thought ducking into a building she could smell the food. She sat down in a far corner as a tiny woman brought her some sake. "Could I get some rice, please?" she asked and the woman bowed and walked away.

'O god where the hell am I?' she thought looking around at the others in the restraint. A group of burly men all sat furthest away from her, deep in conversation. Okay so there were gangs in this time, she concluded. She looked around for more clues. To her left a little ways sat 3 women all decked up in white powder makeup. Geisha's? They looked very young and weren't sure what to do. The beginning of the geisha era, she assumed. Farther to her left a very tall man sat with another very tall man as they played cards. Umm…they didn't really give her any clues unless they were Yakuza's but she doubted it. They weren't gambling just playing for fun it seemed. No one in there looked like they had swords, so no samurai, no armor; it wasn't any of the war eras.

"So I'm just in some boring era," she said out loud not meaning to. She quickly looked around to see if anyone had heard her. If they had they obviously they didn't care to defend. 'They must think so too,' she thought watching the 2 men play cards. It was a very fast pace game they kept slapping cards on the table and picking them up almost simultaneously.

She got up and walked over behind one of them and watched over his shoulder. They were playing slap jack! Rika laughed when one of the guys was stuck with a huge pile of cards into his hand.

"What you think that's funny?" the man said looking up at her and his long hair seemed to float along with his head movements.

"Sorry, it just looks like you're not very good at this game," she said.

"Even a stranger knows you suck Shikijo," the other man laughed, "Can you play? I would like a challenging game."

"Um…she's a woman though," Shikijo said looking from his partner to Rika.

"What the hell is wrong with that? What is my brain to small to play this dumb card game? Huh? You think because I'm a woman that the only thing I can do is cook and clean and take care of children? Well I'll be better than you so up and watch a master, that's a woman!" Rika almost shouted louder than she actually had. She had gone back far enough in time in which women were not equal.

Shikijo stood up not even questioning her and the other man was laughing his head off. "Deal already," she said sternly looking straight into his eyes.

"What's your name? Then I will deal. I must know your name, you just bruised his ego worst than anyone ever could," he kept laughing he could barely pick his head up off the table.

"Just deal already, my adrenalines pumping and ready to play this dumb ass game," she still wasn't laughing, and if he didn't soon she would have to throw him against the wall.

Finally he stopped laughing and started dealing. They went a few rounds and then SLAP doubles, the man took his cards. They went almost 31 cards then SLAP the man took the rest of the cards and he had all of them.

"Damn." He looked up at his friend, he was scared.

"Ha. I win, oh and my name is Rika, nice to meet you loser," she reached out to shack his hand. He just looked at it then took it.

"My name's Sanosuke, or Sano, but only to my closest friends," he said smiling retracting his hand. "And this is Shikijo, my friend but not close," he leaned into her, "he's a scumbag. But he draws good." He laughed as he watched the waitress brought Rika over her rice.

"Thank you," she took it from her and set it on the table. "I don't know why I ordered this I'm not even hungry. I just wanted to get out of those packed streets. What city is this anyways?"

"The only and only great Edo, they say this will be the new capitol one day," Shikijo sat down next to her. "I love this city, there's so much to do."

"And tons of drama, plotting, murder, and stealing," Sanosuke said looking over at the group of men that were getting up to leave.

"Yeah for you, most people who stay out of it are just fine," Shikijo laughed watching Rika who was eating her rice and watching the men also.

"So they've been over there plotting to do what?" She never took her eyes off the men.

"To over throw the new government, some of them used to be high ranking lords and samurai, but since we've reformed they have been demoted to the same as everyone else," Sano turned back to the table at the same time Rika did.

"Meiji Era," she said out loud, she had gone back into the time were there was turmoil over the new government, one of the most dangerous and notorious times in Japan. When the emperor became supreme ruler and carrying a sword was outlawed and anyone caught would be thrown into prison then executed with no trial. "What year is it?"

"1886," Shikijo answered looking at her weird.

"Oh god I'm going to die! This the year millions of people died in Tok- Edo!" She got up and starting running back to the well. "Fuck you Kagome you sent me into a burning house!" She could see the well only a few feet away when someone yanked her back and she fell to the ground. She looked up to see Sanosuke standing high above her. She started to army crawl to the well; she wasn't ready to get caught in the massacre.

Sanosuke grab her ankles and refused to let her go. She started to kick back at him, but his grip was strong. "Where the hell do you think you are going? You know something and you have to tell me!" he said tightening his grip and yanking her so hard that he fell backwards and she flew over and behind him. She started to get up but he rushed up to her and tackled her. She squirmed and turned him on his back with her fist in the air, and then she felt a sword blade poking her right in the middle of her back. She immediately held her hands up in the air.

"Get off," the voice said almost too gently. She stood up and stepped over him to face a red headed man with a x shaped scar on his cheek. "Sano get up." Sanosuke stood up as well and started to brush the dirt off his pants and vest. "Why are you attacking this woman?"

"She said something about millions of people in Edo dying and then ran so I wanted to see what she meant and how she knew," he answered looking innocent. The red head looked over to her and motioned for her to follow them, she wasn't about to complain. 'Think I got mixed up with the plotters and maybe those other guys were anti-plotters,' she thought to herself as they made their way into a shrine-like building.

As she looked around she saw a woman her age doing laundry and a boy that looked about 15 practicing with a wooden sword and 2 small girls playing on the deck of the house. 'Okay this is really messed up,' she thought.

The woman stopped downing her laundry and walked over to them. "What is this? We are holding women hostage now?" she screamed at them. She was very pretty and looked like she was very high maintenance. She had long black hair up in a pink ribbon which matched her pink kimono.

"Kaoru we are not holding her hostage," Sanosuke told her.

"Then why are her hands up in the air?" Kaoru pointed to Rika who yes still had her arms up.

"What the hell Rika put your arms down," Sanosuke grab them and pulled them down to her side. Rika looked over at the red head and immediately put them back in the air. "It fine he's can't even make a cut with that sword its blade is backwards."

"It's true I do not wish to harm you in anyway, I only meant to scare you so you would punch Sano in the face," he smiled at her and she noticed his sword was already sheathed.

"Okay well this was fun but I have to go home now, good luck." She turned and was looking straight into Sanosuke's bare chest.

"Now I don't think so," she grabbed her shoulders and turned her back around to face Kaoru.

"Why exactly is that?" she asked the red head. He shrugged still smiling. "Let her go Sano!" she said as she smacked him behind the head.

"Ow, no first she has to tell us why and how millions of people are going to die," he took Rika's shoulders again and turned her back to him.

"Um, I can't really tell you the details or how I know or anything at all," she said trying to side step him but she couldn't. "Alright you are going to have to stop this, your arrogance is annoying, do I have to belittle you like I did your friend?"

"Impossible, Sano is as stubborn as a dead mule, you can't break his ego," the red head said laughing.

Sanosuke laughed too, "you should have seen her put Shikijo in his place, it was amazing."

"Fine I'll tell you but not out here," Rika decided, so she would alter history it's not like she was altering something really good to be something really bad.

End Chapter

A/n: o god it feels good to be writing again, now that I have my own laptop! Tsuki will be proud of me.