It was night when Nikki finally woke up. Her stomach felt like it was tied into knots, and she was freezing. She took her jacket out of her bag, put it on, and grabbed the chocolate bar in her pocket.
She unwrapped it and ate it slowly. It was the only food she had with her, and she wanted it to last. She ate only half, wrapped up the rest, and put it back in her pocket. `That's all for now,' she thought. `Save the rest for later.'
She put her backpack on, and set off. The mountain was dead ahead, dimly lit by the full moon overhead. Despite the moonlight, it was still very dark. Nikki began to feel uneasy. She began to jog, humming to herself.
She looked up, and stopped. The stars were so bright, and there were so many of them. Growing up in the city, she wasn't used to the sky being so clear. Here, there were no buildings in the way, no electric lights.
Maybe that's what disturbed her the most. There seemed to be no cities anywhere.
She continued jogging, trying not to think about anything but keeping her legs moving. After only a few minutes, she could feel her sides start to cramp up. She stopped to rest. "I knew I should have spent more time on the treadmill," she groaned. She sat down to rest.
The mountain looked closer now. She felt more energy, knowing her goal was so close. She stood, stretched, and started walking. She walked the rest of the night, not letting herself rest for more than a few minutes at a time, for fear that she would fall asleep again.
By morning, she could see the mountain clearly. It was surrounded by a thick forest. Nikki figured that she could be there after about another few hour's walk. She walked even faster.
As the day wore on, the sun seemed to get hotter and hotter. There was no shade to rest in, and no water to drink. Nikki started to wonder if she would reach the mountain, after all.

Nikki sat down to eat the last of her chocolate bar. She knew she had to reach the mountain soon, or else she might not make it at all.
Slowly, she made it to her feet. Her shoulder was still very sore, but she tried not to concentrate on the pain. She set off.
Every muscle in her body ached, but she kept pushing herself. Finally, in the late afternoon, she could see the forest just up ahead. She tried to move faster, but her legs felt like jelly. She stumbled along, trying not to fall.
Nikki made her way to the trees, and slipped into the cool shade. She leaned against a tree trunk for support before looking around.
There was nothing but trees. She moved deeper into the forest. She thought she heard something, but couldn't quite figure out what it was. The deeper she went, the louder the noise was.
`It has to be coming from up ahead,' she thought, `Where have I heard that before?' She stopped to think. It took her a moment to realize, "Duh! It sounds like a stream or something. Water!" She pushed her way into a clearing.
Running through it was a tiny stream. She bent down and took a long drink of the cool water. She scooped some up and splashed it on her face, then looked around.
There were a few berries on a bush across the clearing, but not enough to make a really good meal. There seemed to be no other food nearby, so Nikki made her way over to the bush and ate.
She quickly polished off the berries. They were sweet and juicy, but there weren't many of them. She was still starving. She wondered if she could find the mountain through all these trees.
Suddenly, a stick cracked behind her. She spun around. She could hear someone walking towards the clearing. Unsure of what to do, she started inching towards the trees. Suddenly, two large men burst into the clearing. Nikki wasn't sure what they were after, but she wasn't going to stay long enough to find out. She leapt to her feet and ran as fast as she could, which after walking so long, wasn't very fast. She wove in and out of the trees, with no idea of where she was going. She could hear the two men yell, and then take off after her. They were closing in.
Nikki tripped over an exposed root. She caught herself, and was quickly on her feet again. But the heat, exertion and lack of food finally caught up with her. The forest started spinning, and then everything went black. Her legs finally gave out, and she collapsed.

It hurt. It hurt all over. Nikki opened her eyes. Her head was spinning, and she could feel a lump growing on her forehead. She must have hit her head when she fell.
As her eyes slowly came into focus, she realized she was in a dimly lit room. It was obviously night. She tried to sit up, but her hands were bound behind her. She struggled to loosen the knot, but she couldn't.
A male voice sounded above her. "So, you're awake now. You've been out for days." An attractive young man with blue hair and a scar across his left cheek emerged from the shadows.
Nikki struggled to sit up, but her shoulder would not support her. "Wha...what do you want?" she asked weakly.
He leaned down close to her face. "I want you!" he whispered.
Nikki closed her eyes. Whatever this guy was going to do, she didn't want to see it.
Suddenly, he burst out laughing. Nikki opened her eyes and glared at him. "You think I was serious?" he said. "Get real.
I was just joking. My name's Koji. Are you hungry or what?" Nikki looked around. There was a plate of food on the ground beside her. She stared blankly at it.
"Oh, right," said Koji. "Sorry. Just had to make sure you wouldn't try to kill us or anything." He untied her hands. "You won't, right?" he asked. She sat up and rubbed her wrists. "Yes," Nikki replied, "That's exactly what I'm going to do. I'll take on every guy in this whole place by myself, bare-handed. That sounds like fun."
Koji laughed. "You sound like Genrou," he said, "Only, he probably would try something like that. Anyways, you're too weak right now to try anything. Eat."
Nikki didn't like the fact that this Koji person knew how weak she was, but for some reason, she found herself trusting him. She ate the food he gave her, only half wondering if it was poisoned. `No,' she thought to herself, `If he had wanted to kill me, he could have done it already.'
When she finished, she asked Koji for something to drink. "What," he asked, "Like water?"
Nikki thought for a moment. "Got anything with a little more...substance to it?" she asked.
Koji nodded. "Follow me."

Koji led Nikki down a dark hallway. Though she was feeling a bit stronger, she had trouble keeping up with him.
"Need help?" he asked over his shoulder.
"No. I can make it just fine on my own." she said, only half believing it. She wouldn't show anybody, least of all some guy she just met, how weak she was. She wouldn't let anybody get the better of her.
Koji stopped in front of a large door. He knocked. "Hello?" he said. Without waiting for a response, he proceeded to invite himself in. "Who's there? It's me, Koji. Can I come in?
You're welcome. Thank you." He opened the door and walked through.
Nikki followed, thinking to herself, `Great. First, I'm lost in the middle of nowhere with no food or water. Then, I'm chased by two guys through the forest. Now, I've been kidnapped by the village idiot! My life could not possibly get any worse.'
Nikki stood in the middle of a large room with a couple of tables. Sitting at the tables were a few dozen large, ugly men, much like the two that were chasing her earlier. All eyes were on her. A few of the men were looking her up and down. `Well,' she thought, `I stand corrected.' Koji grabbed her by the arm and pulled her after him. They disappeared behind a curtain at the far side of the room.
Behind the curtain was a small room, more like a closet, with a couple of chests in one corner. Koji opened one of the chests and took out a small flask. He tossed it to Nikki.
"I hope you can handle it," he said, "That there's enough to get eight of these guys drunk. This stuff's pretty strong. I've..."
He stopped and stared in disbelief. Nikki was polishing off the last of the flask's contents. She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and tossed the empty container back to Koji.
"Yeah, that stuff's ok. Got any more?" she asked.
Koji stared at Nikki, then the empty flask, then back at Nikki. "You...drank...all of it?!" Koji stammered, "And you're still standing?! What kind of girl are you?"

Back in the room she woke up in, Nikki was explaining her situation to Koji, who was having a hard time getting it all. "Well," Nikki said, "I was in the Library when I found these two girls reading a book. A bright light came out of the book, and when I came to, I was stranded in the middle of nowhere. I had nothing to drink, and I only had one chocolate bar to eat, and my shoulder was hurting. I had to walk for about two days just to find water, and then two of your guys jumped me. I fell, hit my head, and woke up here. Where am I, anyways?" she asked.
"Mt. Leikaku, in the Bandit's stronghold." Koji answered. He stared at her for a moment. "I've just got two questions," he said, "What's a Library, and what is a chocolate bar?"
Nikki looked at him for a moment. "What," she said, "You've never heard of a chocolate bar?! You know, Hershey, Caramilk, Mars..."
Koji stared blankly at her.
"Ok, moving on then. I'd like to get home as soon as possible, but I have no idea where home is from here."
"Well, where are you from?" asked Koji.
Nikki answered, "I'm from Los Angeles, California, but right now I'm living in Tokyo." Which was not a complete lie.
"Where's that? I've never heard of those places. Maybe you hit your head harder than you thought." Koji said.
"Tokyo is in Japan," Nikki replied, "and my head's just fine. I just want to go home!"
"I have no idea where it is you're from," said Koji, "But we can figure this out in the morning. This is my room, but you can sleep here tonight. I'll make sure you're not disturbed. Is there anything else you'd like?"
"Yeah," Nikki replied, "My bag. Where is it?"
"Um...I put it away...for safe keeping. I'll go get it. Stay here. I'll be right back." Koji left the room, closing the door behind him.
`Well, gee, where else am I supposed to go?' Nikki thought. She got up from where she had been sitting on the floor and crossed the room towards the bed. It was little more than a stack of pillows, but it would be the most comfortable thing she'd slept on for a long time.
She walked around the bed to the sliding door that exited onto a balcony overlooking the mountain, and the forest below. `This is getting weirder by the minute,' she thought, `But in a way, it's kind of starting to make sense. Wherever I am, the people here have never heard of chocolate or Libraries, and they dress way weird. I mean, Koji's fashion is totally out-of-date. And they've never heard of Japan or California? It's like I've gone back in time or something.'
She stood on the balcony a moment longer, before heading back inside.