Yuriko stepped out of the portal in a forest. In front of her was a small cottage that blended in with the background. "Well, this sure looks homey. That almost scares me more than comforts me." Yuriko walked up to the cottage, anxious.
"Hello?" Yuriko walked up to the cottage door and knocked. A ratty old man answered, the smell of alcohol on his breath.
"You want something, girl?" Yuriko took a deep breath and nodded.
"I want you to teach me. Teach me how to fight with my spirit power." The man sobered up instantly and snarled at her.
"The fuck? Go away little girl. I don't have time-"
"Listen to me! You know you can't deny me. I will do whatever it takes to become your student." Jirou sighed as he looked at the Yuriko. She was overflowing with spirit energy.
"You know what? I might take you in. Just do something for me. There's an ingredient I need. However, it's far away and hard to reach. Why don't you get it for me and I might just consider." Yuriko nodded emphatically.
"Anything. Come on, what do I need?" Jirou smirked.
"There's a thorny flower growing atop Akumai Mountain. It's petals are pure white but it releases a pollen red as blood. Get me this flower and I'll decide whether or not I'll take you." Yuriko smirked.
Yuriko gaped at Jirou. She had no idea where Akumai Mountain was. She didn't even have any Makai currency on her. She forgot all this once she saw his smirk. Yuriko would not lose to this half-assed drunkard. No siree.
"I'll be back in no time." Jirou's smirk became a snarl once more.
"Fine. If you survive, I'll consider you."
"Fine!" Jirou slammed the door in the girl's face, uncaring if it hit her or not. "What an-Oh! He makes me angry for some reason!" Yuriko growled then took a deep breath. It did her no good to be angry.
Once she calmed down Yuriko looked all around her. First was to find a way to Akumai Mountain. The blackette found a beaten down path hidden by the foliage, possibly leading to some sort of civilization.
Yuriko walked down the trodden path, gathering some scrapes and bruises from low-hanging branches and thorns in her path. The girl groaned as darkness started falling over the forest, she started late and it made sense that dark would come before she had even gotten halfway through her mission.
"Oh, Yusuke, how is your ordeal going? I almost wish we could switch." Yuriko slapped her cheeks for thinking such a thing after such little time. "For pete's sake! I'm not Yusuke!" Now determined once more, Yuriko started looking for a place to spend the night.
At first a clearing seemed ideal, however, that left her too exposed in an unknown environment. Yuriko thought longer and finally settled on sleeping in the peaceful canopy above her.
She slowly climbed up one of the oversized trees, unused to any strenuous activities. Yuriko settled uncomfortably on one of the large branches and prepared for a very long night.
Yuriko woke to the sound of birdsong. Amazingly enough, she slept even better than she had ever slept before. Yuriko grinned and stretched, narrowly avoiding falling out of the tree. She bounded up with an unknown source of energy and jumped down from the branch.
Yuriko walked faster than the day before, still slightly amazed at how energetic she was. She ignored how much the path twisted and turned, since she figured she couldn't do much about that, and just observed the Makai environment.
The lone girl was always a very smart girl. It's like she inherited the brains and her brother the brawn. So she paid very close attention to certain plant markings that denoted their species. As far as she had seen, Makai plants were very similar to Ningenkai plants except on a larger and more dangerous scale.
Now and then Yuriko would pause to further examine the plant and bug life. Even the sounds and bugs were closely related to Ningenkai. Yuriko guessed this was the case worldwide. Again the girl continued on her path, hurrying when the forest started thinning out.
Her long walk was brought to a close when she ran out of the forest and onto a cliff. Yuriko barely managed falling over the steep edge. Cautiously, she peered over and gulped.
Yuriko let her gaze flow from the bottom of the cliff and on towards the horizon on which stood a small city. It wasn't the size of El Paso but it was fairly big. She took one last look over the edge of the cliff before she started her slow and steady descent of its rocky face.
Yuriko's previous school uniform was ripped up and barely passed as clothing. Solemnly she stared down at herself and resolved to get different clothes. Although, this was her favorite uniform out of all the schools she attended.
The girl, now cold, sweaty, scratched up, and worn out came across a farm. Just outside on a line was a row of clothes, all of different sizes and gender. Yuriko peered cautiously at the line before finding an outfit for her to wear.
Yuriko quickly ran into the yard and grabbed a blanket, pants, and shirt off the line. In seconds she was back in her hiding place and hurriedly throwing on the clothes she had stolen. Yuriko looked at herself and smiled smugly. She had the perfect body type that went with everything she wore.
"Alright. On to whatever town this is!" Yuriko hurried on to the town, ready to take on the world.
Yuriko entered the city with the hustle and bustle of farmers and immediately fell into the comfortable rhythm of a busy city. She peered curiously at everything only to find the sights were just slightly dumbed down from El Paso. Even if the technology was less, the city was the same.
Yuriko gravitated towards some food stalls the moment she smelt their heavenly scent. The first stall-keep she came across chased her away as if she were some rat out to steal his food. The others weren't very different but Yuriko was a very lucky girl.
The last stall Yuriko stopped at, but not the last in the market, was run by a heavy-set woman with deep brown kind eyes. The woman took in Yuriko's ragged appearance and smiled at the girl.
"You new in town?" Yuriko nodded. "My names Iori, your's?"
"I'm Urameshi, Yuriko. It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Iori. If it's not too much trouble may I, perhaps, work for some food? I've run out of money and-"
"Say no more. I've met many a lass like you. Come on. I'll help you out." Iori walked away from her stall, immediately replaced by a big burly man, and grabbed Yuriko's wrist. "Let's clean you up first." Yuriko thanked the heavens for Iori, however, she was wary. After all, never trust a stranger. Especially a kind one.