*It's a real shame that this manga series wasn't made into an anime, it would have been a real hit. It was so romantic and exotic!

*Here's my version.

Red River, an Anatolia Story

Chapter 1:

Tokyo, Present Day, Suzuki Residence, Evening:

"WHHAAATTTT! YOOUUU KIISSSEEEEDDDDD A BOOYYY!" a young female voice shrieked. "SSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHH!" an older version of the girl shushed, covering the younger girl's mouth with her hand, "Not so loud! Mama and Papa will hear you!" "So…how was it, Yuri?" the oldest of the three girls asked her second youngest sister who just been accepted into high school, with a teasing tone.

"Honestly, I'm still in shock! It was just so quick it didn't really feel like a kiss." she answered. "But you like him right?" the youngest sister, Emi asked. "Well, yeah…but I'm not sure what he thinks of me." she answered, bashfully. "Yuri's got it bad!" Marie, the oldest tease, further embarrassing her younger sister. "Girls! Dinner's ready!" their mother called from downstairs. Excited for the feast that awaited them, the three girls rushed downstairs.

"Wow, Mama! You make all of my favorite dishes!" Yuri exclaimed, her mouth-watering from the delicious smells that wafted the air. "It is to celebrate you getting into your high school of choice. So eat up!" their mother said with delight and pride in her daughter. "And to celebrate Yuri's fir…!" Emi started to say, but Yuri clapped her hand over her little sister's mouth again. "Yuri's first what?" their father asked curiously. "Nothing!" his middle daughter said as she immediately sat down to dig in.

"Oh Yuri, could you get the drinks for us please!" her mother asked. "Sure thing!" Yuri exclaimed cheerfully. She went to the small kitchen island and fetched the tray of drinks that was there. As she picked it up, out of the corner of her eye, one of the glasses of water seemed to jump in the air. Yuri pondered at the glass, but then shrugged it off and joined her family in the celebratory dinner in her honor.

The Next Day:

Since the high school entrance exams had calmed down, the students were just taking things easy. Yuri yawned from post exam exhaustion and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Hey Yuri, could you help me for a second?" a familiar voice called out to her as he touched her shoulder. It was Satoshi Himuro, the boy who kissed her yesterday.

Once they locked eyes with each other, they jumped from each other in embarrassment from the memory of yesterday. "So you needed something?" Yuri asked after a moment of silence. "Yeah! The teacher asked me to get some papers for the graduation ceremony in the biology room. Could you help me get them?" he asked with a blushing face. "Sure!" she piped up in excitement as they walked to the classroom.

When they got there, they searched high and low, but they didn't have any luck. "Found them yet?" Satoshi asked. "Not yet!" Yuri answered as she leaned against the corner that had the fish aquarium on top.

Then something happened, the water in the aquarium started to bubble and then two long arms came out and started to wrap around Yuri. In a sudden state of panic, she struggled and knocked the aquarium over on the floor. "Yuri! Are you okay?" Satoshi asked. "Satoshi! Something grabbed me over there!" Yuri exclaimed as she pointed to the broken glass container. But there was nothing but flopping fish, which immediately needed water.

Later that Night:

When Yuri got back home, she told Emi about what happened today at school. "Whoa! That sounds scary! Too scary to be true!" she exclaimed. "I'm telling you! I felt them on my skin! It was so clammy!" Yuri snapped, trying to get her sister to understand.

"Come on, Yuri! It's obvious that you've been studying too much for those exams." I hope my middle school entrance exams aren't like that." Emi said. "What are you saying?" Yuri asked, feeling the beginnings of being insulted. "I'm saying with all that studying, you've fried your brain, therefore, you are seeing things." she explained.

Before Yuri could argue further, Marie came in, face shiny from the bath. "Hey Yuri! I'm done with the bath. You're the last one left, so get in." she said. Admitting defeat, Yuri decided just to relax in the bath.

As she sat in the bath, she thought about what Emi said. "Maybe it was my imagination after all. If someone told me what I thought I saw, I wouldn't believe them either." she said to herself. But as she pondered about this, two small whirlpools were forming in the water on either side of her, getting bigger with every second.

Then suddenly, the same hands from before appeared from the water and started to drag her underwater. "So I wasn't imagining it, they were real." Yuri exclaimed as she struggled for breath. "Finally! I got her!" a voice called. "Who's got me?" Yuri asked herself.

Just her head was about to slip under the surface, she grabbed the edge of the tub, knocking the contents on there, sending them crashing onto the floor. The crash alerted her two sisters from outside the bathroom. "Yuri! What's wrong?" Emi exclaimed. "Don't tell me you were drowning in the bathtub!" Marie added with worry.

Even as she dried off, Yuri shivered not from the dampness of her own body, but from the thought of what could have happened. Someone was after her, who was it and why he, she, or they want her? Then she realized that the incidents; the water jumping from the glass, the arms from the aquarium, and now almost being drowned in the tub, they all had water! Perhaps, if she stayed away from water, whoever…whatever was after her, will go away, or at least won't make an attempt to get her.

One Day:

Over the next few weeks, Yuri avoided anything that had to do with water; oceans, hot springs, even stayed home when it was raining. She felt worried about worrying everyone, but she had to stay away from water at all costs. All she had to do was to stay dry.

"Yuri! What is with you lately?!" Satoshi called out, "Why have you been avoiding me?!" "Sorry, Satoshi… Things have been coming up and…" Yuri tried to explain. "If you're really sorry, then come to the theaters with me, no excuses!" he demanded.

Yuri cannot refuse that, he was obviously upset. She has been acting paranoid and hasn't been anywhere, despites school. Maybe she should throw caution to the wind and just go to the movies. Other than the bathrooms, there was no way she could get in trouble with water in the movie theater. Maybe whatever was after her, was gone.

After she dropped by home and changed clothes, she met Satoshi at the Movies and they watched a funny romantic comedy. By the time it was done, Yuri almost forgot about the mysterious hands from the water. Maybe she was just half asleep at the time she had the incident in the bathroom.

"Yuri? Is something bothering you?" Satoshi asked. "No. why do you ask?" Yuri feigned innocence. "You've been acting jumpy lately." he answered. "It's probably just post high school exam stress and pre-high school days jitters." she said.

"You know…if anything is bothering you, you can always come to me about it." Satoshi said bashfully, "Because I would help you out no matter what." Yuri blushed hard at his confession. "Thanks, Satoshi. I'm find now…" she said, turning to hide her blush, "How about we get something to eat." "Sure! A burger sounds good to me!" Satoshi exclaimed.

Just as Yuri was about to follow him, she her ankle felt stuck. She looked down and cringed in horror. The hands were back and they dragged her into the puddle she was standing next to, it covered her mouth so she could yell for helmet, and she vanished out of sight.

"Hey, Yuri! Where you do you want to go?" Satoshi asked, but there was no answer. "Yuri?" Satoshi said as he turned around. But she was nowhere to be seen. "Yuri?!" he said with panic filling his voice, "YURI! WHERE ARE YOU!?" But Yuri was gone.

Somewhere…:

"What's going on? I'm being sucked down!" Yuri thought to herself in panic, "Where am I going? This can't be real! Magic doesn't exist, it's the 21st century." It appears that she was underwater and was just going down by the hand that pulled her by the ankle, she could see nothing but a light from above. Using whatever strength she had, Yuri yanked her ankle away and swam to the surface.

A Moment Later:

Breaking through the surface, Yuri coughed up whatever water she swallowed and blinked her eyes to clear her vision. Then an ear piercing scream cried out to what seemed to be in front of her. Yuri opened her eyes and she was too speechless to comprehend what was going on.

For some reason, she was in a small pool in the middle of a place with stone buildings, as if from ancient times. There were people around as well, they were dressed in light clothed clothes and some were carrying clay jugs. All of them were staring at her, as if she was a freak show exhibit, they were talking in a language that she never heard before.

So many thoughts were going through her head. What is going on? Where am I? What is this place? How did I get here? Who are these people? How many questions, but no instant answers, with the strange language. But there was one question she had and it was the one she wanted to answer the most. How do I get back home?

In a Dark Place, Somewhere…:

"Curses! She slipped away somehow!" a woman wearing a white cloak complained as she kneeled next to a small water source from what appeared to a windowless room of one of the city's stone buildings. Another cloaked figure was holding a candle from behind her, giving her the light she needed. "We nearly had her that time!" the woman exclaimed, "She must be nearby. She probably came out of one of the other six springs in the city."

"I'll send your guards to receive her and they will bring her here in post haste." the man behind stated. "Do so." she answered, taking off the hood of her cloak, revealing herself as a woman in her late thirties with long flowing hair and dressed in fine jewelry and clothes, "Our purpose is vital, I must have her blood no matter what." Whatever, she was doing, Yuri was certainly in grave danger.

Back in the Strange City:

After she escaped the crowd from the well or whatever it was, Yuri was in a state of shock. "This isn't my town, this is not even Japan! Where's Satoshi? Is this the Twilight zone or something?" she exclaimed as she dashed through the strange streets. She got occasional glares as she ran by, but she didn't care, Yuri just wanted to know where she was so she could get back home.

Then she spotted a staircase that lead to the top of a large stone wall. Perhaps, if she took a look on top she will get a better idea of where she is. She rushed to the top and leaned against the edge to look. But what she saw was nothing she has never seen before. In despair and confusion, she took a deep breath and shouted, "WHHEEERRRREEEEE AAAAAAMMMMMMM IIIIIIII!" Where ever she was, Yuri was in another world entirely.