"Hey, where am I?"
Kioshi had two spears pointed at him as he was forced to kneel on the dusty ground.
"Don't move!"
Don't really have much choice...
All around him were huts and small buildings that looked like they were constructed from simple materials: wood logs and bamboo shoots.
People flocked around him as he sat still.
What was odd this time around was that all of the villagers looked...well, like they had started some unusual appearance trend.
All the guys had their hair up in funny little topknots and were wearing seriously old clothing. Centuries-old. The women and children were the same. The women wore their hair long and it seemed it was a traditional kimono party.
Whispers and muttering surrounded him.
"A boy!" "What strange clothes...a foreigner?" "Do you think he's a demon?" "With an appearance like that, he could be!" "Mother, I'm frightened!" "It's alright. He will be exorcised soon enough."
"Move aside for High Priest Hikari!" A call rang out, drowning out the crowd's murmurs.
An elderly man with an eye patch and a hunting bow strode up to him with no signs of fear. He wore a traditional priest's attire with dark blue hakama trousers and a white jacket with sode-kukuri, or cords through the sleeves.
"Begone, demon!" he commanded, and threw a handful of what appeared to be dust at him.
"Hey, hey, wait!" Kioshi held up his hands. "I'm no demon, I'm just a normal guy!" "Then why were you in the Forest of Nekokami?" The High Priest inquired. "He could be a spy from an enemy village." One of the villagers who was guarding him suggested. The Priest shook his head. "Only someone who was no more than a mere fool would want to invade such a poor village." He turned to study Kioshi further. "Hmm?" he muttered to himself. Yes, he could sense it. There was something quite different about this boy. Not demon, for certain, but a lingering sense of someone from long past…
"Let's see you then, boy," He reached forward and grasped Kioshi by the chin. "Hmm," he went again. Kioshi jerked his head back. "Remain calm, boy," Hikari demanded, and turned Kioshi's face to the side again.
Kioshi was getting annoyed by this point.
What is going on here?
"It's there," Hikari said in wonder, finally letting go of Kioshi's face. "But how, I do not know."
"What?"
A pot was hanging over a merry fire, boiling.
Hikari ladled some stew into a bowl and handed it to Kioshi. "Whoa, thanks!" Kioshi took it gratefully. He was starving. "Bear us no ill will, Kioshi," said the old priest as Kioshi began to eat. "For I now can tell you don't want to cause any trouble."
"You see," he continued. "Times now are worrying and there are many who would wish to do us great harm and bring war. Strangers especially are one such cause for distress."
"Guess I'm really not dreaming, then." said Kioshi. "At the very least, we're nowhere close to my world." "So you do come from another place then? I suspected as much." "Yes. I really should get back, but I have absolutely no idea where it is at the moment." he said worriedly.
Oh, crap, I've probably missed about 3 exams by now…
"Crap!" he exclaimed out loud. "Dad's gonna have a heart attack when he finds out I missed those! And everyone back home's going to freak out!"
Oh, crap...oh, crap...screw all of this! I've gotta get out of here!
While Kioshi was having a mental fit, Hikari was pondering, thinking back to a long time ago, to the last time he had seen his brother.
"Brother Kichiro! Are you very ill?"
"Yes, Hikari…...I'm...afraid so."
"Big brother, you must take these herbs, or-or-or we'll find some healer someplace! Don't worry, you will most likely be cured by next spring-"
"Hikari, stop. You must...listen...to me. You know the Jewel….I have been…...guarding? Bring it...to me."
The sound of footsteps.
"Here it is, brother."
"Thank you, Hikari. Now, listen…well. This power cannot...be allowed to fall...into enemy...hands. Take the Jewel, Hikari, and...burn it...with my body...when I am...gone."
"But, brother Kichiro-"
"Promise me! This has...to be...done, Hikari. Promise me you will!"
"I-I promise."
"Good. Now…...I can…...rest-"
"Brother Kichiro? Brother Kichiro! No!"
It has already been nearly fifty years since that time.
Hikari thought to himself.
Suddenly, there was a loud crash.
"What is going on?" Hikari poked his head out of the bamboo sheet covering the entrance of his house. "What?" Kioshi ran out too and gasped.
It was the same monster centipede as before, with the horrible flailing limbs and huge insectoid body. "AAAAAAAAAH!" Villagers screamed and shouted as the centipede smashed its way through another building. The monster reared up. In its mouth, it carried the huge body of a dead horse. "Sssssssss," it hissed out. Some of the villagers were taking up arms, wielding bows, quivers and arrows. "FIRE!" They barely managed to get one shot through before the insectoid swept them aside with its tail, sending them all flying.
The monster reared up suddenly again, dropping its prey as it caught sight of Kioshi and the old priest. The horse's body hit the ground in front of them with a resounding THUD.
"Seriously, what is that? Is that one of those demons you mentioned?"
"Aye, boy!"
"Give me the Sacred Jewel!" it spat, curling its mouth into a terrifying grin.
It flew at them. Kioshi and Hikari dived aside as it whooshed past, just barely missing them.
"It said 'Sacred Jewel," said Hikari, looking shocked. He turned to Kioshi. "You still have it?!"
"I-What...I don't know what you're talking about!" Kioshi stammered. "You mean the Legendary Jewel? From the old story? But-"
"FIRE!" This time, some more of the villagers' arrows pierced the monster.
"I will have the Sacred Jewel!" The demon spun itself into a rampaging torpedo, blasting villagers here and there off their feet.
But then...it's after me! I've got to get it away from here!
"Spears, arrows, nothing works!" One of the villagers yelled. "We must lure it back to the well," said Hikari. "The well?" "In the Forest of Nekokami," Hikari turned to Kioshi.
The Forest? The well I climbed out of, it must be!
It's got to be over there, where that light is! Got it!
"Hey, Bulge-Eyes!" he yelled. The demon turned to him, snarling. "Over here, slow-ass!"
He turned and started to run for it, heading towards the forest. The monster hissed in fury and started flying in pursuit. Great. Now he was going to get killed.
"Kioshi, wait!" He didn't turn around. Run, run, run!
He leaped into a stream filled with water. Sprinting across, he could hear the monster close behind as he continued to run towards the forest.