The echoing sound of footsteps ringed back and forth through a small suburban alleyway, it was after night fall in winter.
A girl walked past the long line of different colored fences she was sixteen years old. She constantly looked over her shoulder the area which she was in was known to be the territory of a low class street gang
Hallway down she came across a chalk draw out of a body like the ones forensic investigators do her heart skipped a beat, a cold shiver ran down her spine
Just a childish prank she thought to herself
Just out of the alleyway she reached her destination the bus stop. She had been at a friend's for the afternoon relaxing and watching a bit of anime while scoffing junk food
She didn't have long to wait for the bus. It took her to the city where she lived
She went to an apartment building going up to the sixth floor she came to a door halfway down a corridor
She entered and latched the door behind her, outside it began to rain heavily. A writing desk with a laptop was situated against a window to the left of it was a long bookcase on the left wall. The top shelf was candles, a jewelry box and photos of friends
On the middle shelf were CDs some were computer games but most were anime
In the middle of the room she had a sofa across from a TV. Behind the TV was a large window looking out to the lights of the larger city buildings
On the right side of the room was a small kitchen then a door going to her bedroom
It was a warehouse style apartment with wooden floors and pillars to the ceiling
She went into the bathroom and washed her face. She had layered black hair and brown eyes
There was a knock at the door she looked through the peephole, it was a young Asian guy who had dyed blonde hair she opened the door to greet him
"Kagei would you like to come in? I was thinking of ordering Pizza"
"Sure" he replied
They ordered meat lovers, Vega was her name. She had known Kagei for two weeks now they had met as she was running late for class. She had just entered a corridor and she slid into him as his assignment papers fluttered to the ground around them
It was a strange way to meet someone the scene looked like it had bounced from some chick flick
They sat in front of the TV as she connected it to her laptop. She placed a disk of an anime in. It was called Which Hunter Robin it was the first episode
Vega loved the background music of the starting song
He opened up his bag and took out a piece of tin foil
"Do you do this?" he asked,
He opened it up there were little balls of leafs covered with tiny crystals. She knew what it was and she had tried it before
"Would you want to roll and we'll share a joint"
"Okay"
He rolled she opened the window to circulate the air
"I didn't know you like to watch this stuff" he asked
"Yeah I haven't watched much through"
"I can bring some around next time"
The pizza arrived they ate then they sparked it up Vega floated. After he left she checked her emails she had a new message from jokes. Com sometimes when she was bored she would visit random sites
The next morning she woke up early she had breakfast and found herself with an extra half hour so she surfed the net
She looked up one of her favorite anime names Rurouni Kenshin it had good morals in it but she preferred him as the Hitokiri when he was more deadly and feared
She came across a photo of a home made doll someone had made of Kenshin
"Voodoo, voodoo" she cried. It really did look like a Voodoo doll. It was small enough to fit in a person's palm
Then on the search engine site there was a new listing with the heading 'want to know more about Kenshin then you should do. This site won't last for long step right up to read hurry, hurry'
Curiously she clicked into it. It was only a few paragraphs the site had no pictures no catchy effects just a white background
The message said that the creators of the site were rebels against their own government keeping a secret
They stated that inside the Japanese anime there was a hidden message
To their knowledge in the Edo era there was a man with the name Himura Kenshin, he was an assassin for the Ishin Shishi he worked for almost five years then he was assassinated like Mokoto Shisho he knew too much
After his death the Ishin Shishi took control winning the war they took hold of the country. They made it their first law that anyone with the last name Himura to be executed, they were scared that the names of whom their assassin killed could get out to the public. If that information was released now it would ruin the government even today
There was no email, no contact just the message
She waited for Kagei she didn't know to believe it or not anyone could put rubbish on the net she pushed it into the back of her mind and decided to forget about it
Soon there was a knock at the door she opened it Kagei stood there
"Are you ready yet?"
"Yep let's go"
They went to school and parked outside the gym
"I'll meet you here for lunch. Is that what you want to do?" he asked,
"Yea it's sweet with me"
At lunch she met Kagei at the car they drove to the docks and he rolled a small joint. She looked over he had a small smile on his face his hair shimmered in the sun it was a nice clear day but since it was winter it was only lukewarm
"Vega I don't think I have asked you why it is that you live on your own. Don't you have a mother father?"
She looked down at the ground "I don't anymore. My Mother died when I was ten by cancer it was just me and Dad I moved out last year and, in the fall after I left he died"
Kagei finished rolling the joint he passed it to Vega she lit and sucked on it inhaling as much as she could then she passed it to him he inhaled then passed it back as she let the smoke out
"What about you?" she said before she inhaled once more
He let the smoke out "My parents sent me here for my education. I arrived last year and did a small mid term course at Tech I could be traveling back when I finish school but it's not certain"
"What part of Japan did you come from?" She asked,
"I come from a small fishing village near Kyoto"
They finished the joint then they lit cigarettes
"Loads of time before lunch is over lets chill for a bit" he said
"Oh ok" she answered
"What kind of job do you want?" he asked,
"I haven't decided yet. I'm leaning towards the field of hairdressing. What about you?"
"Maybe computer programmer"
"Hey Kagei, what is your last name?"
"My last name, why?" he sounded superstitious
"I was just wondering. That's all"
He smiled "Alright then. It's Yamataro"
"Mine's Masefield. Do you miss Japan?"
"Yeah I do, sometimes I don't"
They got back the afternoon cruised by. After school they drove back to the apartment they went to the Fifth floor where he lived his place was similar to Vega's with the wooden floor he had bean bags in front of the TV Japanese posters on the wall and a well stocked kitchen
"Do you want to stay for dinner? I have some wine in the fridge I can make pasta"
"Sure" she was stoked with the offer
They drank wine watched movies had another joint then she headed back
Just before lunchtime the next day she excused herself from class she went to the school café and brought a bag of chips and sweets for 'munchies' she went up to Kagei's car just as he arrived. He had a wide grin they climbed in and drove off
"I've got some strong stuff today its goanna be great. I've found a new place for us to"
They drove up a hill soon they were on a dirt road they drove past an old wooden fence and parked in front of a small lake with a great scenery it was deserted expect for only a few ducks
Kagei rolled a bigger joint Vega felt her body floating only after two tokes when they finished she was hammered she had trouble lighting her cigarette she had to keep blinking so many hands
"I have an idea" Vega said
"What's on your mind evil schemer?"
Vega had a grin. "Why don't we ditch school for the afternoon get some more then just cruise about getting blazed?"
"Oh, you're trouble"
"I'm trouble? You're the one that takes us out for it at lunch"
"That's nothing compared to this okay, I'm game"
They took off it was twelve thirty they went through a drive through then they took off from the city and went to a suburb that had suburbs surrounding it. They hung around in front of a river
"I don't care what happens tomorrow the teacher can give me dentition all she likes"
"Well we have all afternoon and all night let's enjoy ourselves"
They smoked and blazed for the afternoon
At lunchtime the next day they were at the same thing Vega had talked herself out of trouble and Kagei was due to stay in after school but he planned to do the long run
They were in the car outside of a park he rolled a joint then they went for a walk
He held the joint up to his mouth "We're goanna get blaAazed"
She cracked up after they had it they lit cigarettes when they arrive back to the car they both freaked out the time was fifteen past one and they had a ten minute drive to school
Vega sprayed herself with perfume before entering class twenty minutes late. She ducked to the back of the class sitting opposite her usual place against the window she stared down at her work paper hoping others wouldn't look at her eyes 'Shit Kagei, that was strong' she wondered how he was handling class she bet he was sweating bullets
She had the urge to go to the toilets to check her eyes and see how glazed and red they were but she ha to get over paranoia first
She left class and walked down a corridor she heard footsteps behind her
"Greetings there, you wouldn't happen to be Vega Masefield would you?"
"Who are you?" she spun around to see an Asian man
"My apologies that is quite rude of me. I represent the Japanese Government while I stay in this country. You can know me as Mr Tukume I would like to discuss with you some information we believe that you have come across. It is just a foolish prank we have now captured the creators of the website"
Vega thought for a moment. If it was a prank sure get the creators but, it was a little weird to inform someone in person usually they would do nothing.
"Let me guess the creators of the website told the truth, and they are dead right?"
"You're more than just a pretty face, you're the perfect specimen"
"For what?" she yelled
He lunged toward her running on his feet she took a few steps back her mind was blank she didn't know what to do. He passed her then she felt a stinging pain going across her arm she looked as a line of blood had began to go across staining her school shirt, he had cut her
She opened her eyes and found herself in the school's medical room she couldn't figure it out was he actually trying to kill her and possibly got interrupted or was this just a warning
She got up off the bed the room swayed from side to side her vision was burly it took her a while to think straight again. She was also still somewhat stoned
The nurse came in
"Well feeling alright today?"
"Yeah, I remember feeling hot in the corridor"
"You might have fainted" the nurse said
After answering a few questions Vega was released. She felt weird she didn't feel sick but, something was wrong. After school she meet Kagei by the car
"Let's get out of here. My teacher's after me!"
Vega got her window down as they slowly started to go down the drive they heard a voice call "Yamataro has double tomorrow"
Vega arrived home she watched music videos then her black and white colored kitten that she had named Sugar came over
"Hey fat cat" Sugar was fat. She had once weighed him on the scales and he came out to be one and a half stone. She began to feel ill. She wasn't about to throw up but, she was dizzy after a few seconds she was fine
She went into the bathroom to wash her face but when she looked in the mirror she saw that her eyes were blue, a deep blue making her pupil stand out they were normally brown. On the top of her head there was a single strand of fiery red hair
She staggered back then looked again it was back to normal she placed her right hand on the mirror 'What the heck?' she mumbled
She grinned too stoned she thought she sat at her computer and looked out the window the sky was black the streets lights below projected a dim haze of white light
She soon fell asleep on the sofa and she began to have a dream
It was raining. She had no clue where she was, she was standing in a forest. Her body moved by itself. In front of her there was the body of a man. He had been sliced in half starting at his head to end at his torso
She had woken up in fright. A cold shiver ran down her spine
A few days later it was the weekend. The nightmares had continued over the past few nights they had been worse
In her last she had been inside an office facing the body of a middle aged man he had been pined against a wall a sword was sliced through his throat. His feet were off the ground, the sword was the only thing that held him up as it dripped blood like a leaking tap
There was a knock at the door Vega stood up knowing it was Kagei. She opened the door but was the man she had seen earlier in the week
"Greetings again miss Masefield" He walked inside and closed the door behind him
"What do you want?"
"I'm concerned about your health. Have you been feeling strange lately? Not yourself? Or having strange dreams? I myself are unsure of the time you have left it could be at any moment"
"What are you talking about?"
"I may as well let you hear this since you're our test subject. When Himura was assassinated his blood was taken out of his body and was kept frozen. Thanks to technology today we are able to use it. I have created a serum in the serum is his DNA along with top secret chemicals we made sort of like a clone but it is only in the DNA form.
I injected this into you when we first meet. Once he has gone around your body he'll go into your brain and then he'll take over you"
"What? You must be kidding! What kind of nutcase are you?" Vega yelled
"I am not a nutcase I am a biological scientist. Science has mutated so much that such things are now possible" Tukume replied
"Crazy bastard"
Tukume dug his hand into his pocket and fetched a pocket mirror he threw it over at Vega
"How I love those eyes so angry so fierce"
Vega looked into it she had the blue eyes that had appeared before. She collapsed on her knees as a swelling headache overpowered her
"Looks like I paid a visit to you at the right time"
Vega noticed her heart beat started to speed up. She began to sweat she felt so dizzy, feeling like she had been hit by a brick she closed her eyes
"Yes. Yes that's it. Do not resist" Tukume said his voice sounded further away from her
She opened her eyes to find herself in a dark warm place. Footsteps sounded as a figure came forward
Then it appeared her eyes widened it was Kenshin but he wasn't the Rurouni. It was Hitokiri Bauttosi
She couldn't move an inch she would get up and run but she was paralyzed
"Are you going to kill me?"
He drew his sword to her neck
"I would've but I need you alive. I'm going to take over your body killing off your soul. That's how you'll die"
He then walked through her like a ghost he didn't appear on the other side
She found herself back in her apartment the official had made himself comfortable on her couch. Then she felt a stabbing headache as her whole body shaked. She didn't know what she was doing. She began to fight against it she stopped her arms from wobbling then she grit her teeth
There was a weird sickly feeling in her stomach she had drips of sweat falling from her forehead she had never been in so much pain
Her body felt light she punched her fists into the carpet
It stopped she could move again she sighed heavily in relief
"Don't get too comfortable" a voice called from in her head!
"Interesting" said the official "It seems somehow you have managed to overpower him and he has merged with you. You weren't strong enough to rid of him sooner or later he will have full control watch your emotions some of then shall set him off" Then the official left
Vega went to bed somewhat convincing herself that she just had a daydream she fell asleep
A few hours later she heard something
"Wake up"
"Huh?" she woke up in that dark place. Where am I?
"We're inside your head" Kenshin emerged into her view
"I have control of part of your brain. We share this body for now so what is your name kid?"
"I'm no kid. I'm Masefield Vega"
"Yeah whatever I'm going to take over sooner or later"
She found herself in her own bed she slapped her fists onto her blankets. The nerve of that guy she thought to herself
The next day she went to school alone she couldn't see Kagei right then she caught the bus
At interval she sunk around and hid inside a bush as she looked out she saw Kagei he ran up to another girl
"Hey Chelsea have you seen Vega?"
"No not yet. She's in my history class which is next I'll tell you if I see her there"
"Shit, shit!" Vega mumbled under her breath luckily they were a few feet away and she was blessed with good hearing all of a sudden
Only one thing to do ditch class she thought she escaped the school and went to the mall which was close by she hung out in a café
By lunch she was back she went into the cafeteria to blend in with the big crowds Kagei would be wanting her to blaze even though she wasn't in class, she suspected he would look for her
She was in the middle queue surrounded by tall people. Perfect she thought
She then saw Stacey Chapman Stacey last year took off with her best friend's boyfriend at a party
"Thanks for the emotion" the voice called
"What?" Vega thought
Then her sight went blank she couldn't see anything she heard running and banging. When her sight returned she was out of the cafeteria a group of guys came
"Check this out crazy shit that just happened in the café I snapped a video. This girl is mean man"
Vega peeked over one of their shoulders. It showed some guy. Then the back of the lines where people were clearing the way in a hurry then, a figure came through slicing tables in half with a samurai sword. They had red hair blue eyes and they resembled her!
The Principal came through "Be careful people a girl with red hair holding a sword is on the loose in our school. Thankfully no one was hurt in that incident"
Then she was spotted "Vega. Where were you this morning?"
"Sorry Kagei, I had a dentist appointment at nine"
"Well I'll see you after school then?"
"See you then"
He walked away Vega knew she couldn't have avoided him forever and he seemed like he didn't get a weird vibe
"Interesting" The spirit said "That boy, he is my blood"
Kagei, Vega thought. No it can't be
End of No.1