Part 3 : Lost Little Lamb
Willow spent the better part of the morning just wandering around Kyoto, getting to know where everything was and mostly walking because she had nothing else to do. She kept getting weird glances from the passers by. Her clothes weren't something they saw very often. [And they won't for at least another century,] Willow thought dryly.
At noon, the redhead realized her lack of money was becoming a problem. Her stomach was growling : she was positively starving. She'd even eat raw fish if it was the only food she could get. [Goddess, forgive me.] She passed by a merchant and while he was distracted by a client, she grabbed some vegetables and quickly walked away.
[Maybe I should have stayed at the inn. No, Will, forget it! Maybe he let you stay alive because he was too tired to kill you that same night. You could have been dead by now if you had stayed with Hitokiri Battousai. He is *not* a sweet, very mature boy. He is a killer. Somehow, I don't think his name brings love and joy is men's heart.] She sighed and closed her eyes.
[How am I going to get out of this one? I can't keep stealing from merchants forever and I don't think it's a good idea to sleep in the streets. Surely, the Scoobies are looking for a way to get me back in my time. I just want to go home.]
All day long, she wandered around the city, not really knowing where she was going. [If only I had my laptop with me. Then maybe I could find a way home.] She hugged herself tightly.
Willow was finally aware of her surrounding when the cold wind settled in. The sun had set an hour ago and it was getting colder and colder. She looked around her for a place to hide for the night. "Great. Totally wonderful."
Footsteps could be heard coming her way. The moonlight showed her three men walking quickly in her direction. The darkness suddenly seemed to disappear and she could clearly see their faces. "Oh shit!" It was the three drunk men that ran away from the manslayer the night before. Not thinking it twice, Willow ran, the men hot on her trail.
"Oh God! Oh God! I don't want to die! Where is a manslayer when you need one?" Her legs were tiring fast and she had trouble breathing. [I can't hold on much longer.] She shot a quick look behind her. Only two men ran. [Where's the last one?]
She got her answer quick enough. Something slammed her into the nearby wall. She grunted when her head hit it hard. Dizzy, she tried to focus on the angry man in front of her. Her eyes widened when she saw him unsheath his wakisashi (A/N: short sword). He grinned evilly. "You're going to get it, bitch!"
Years of fighting the supernatural finally paid off. She was able to dodge him easilly. He slammed into the wall and growled when he saw she had escaped the deadly blade. She put her hand in front of her. "Look, I didn't kill your friend, so why don't you just try and kill the one who did?"
He sneered. "He's next. Don't worry. You're just practice."
Something in Willow snapped at that comment. Her eyes hardened and the man froze, suddenly less confidant. When the redhead didn't move, he shrugged it adn tried to plunge the wakisashi in her heart.
He never went that far. He was slammed back in the wall by an unseen force and the weapon flew out of his hand. directly into the redhead's one. She caught it easily and looked at him. "Now, who's got the power?"
"You think you know how to use it? You're just a scared little girl. I can still kill you even if I don't have the blade."
"Bored now." She took the blade by two fingers and threw the short sword at the man. He fell back, crying in pain. She walked slowly to him and crouched down before the sprawled man. "I'm curious. How does it feel to have that thing stuck in your guts?" She grabbed the handle and pulled on it roughly. The man grunted. Blood was slowly trickling down his mouth. "It's curious how so many small things like a wakisashi can do." She winked at him mockingly while he suffered from slow death. "Don't worry. Soon enough, the pain will go away and you'll be able to rest. eternally." She stood up and stepped back.
When the man finally died, no blood left in his veins, Willow finally snapped out of it. She looked down at her bloody hand holding a bloody short sword. "Oh God! What did I do?" she whispered. [You saved your own ass, you dumbass,] her inner voice said. She looked up to see the two men left walking to her. "Uh oh! Time to make a run for it." She ran.
Willow could hear the men running loudly behind her. She clutched the wakisashi tighter. Hope swept her up when she heard a fight not too far away from her. [Let it be Him.]
But it wasn't Him. Four men in light blue kimono were fighting a couple of bandits. [They're part of the same group as those Hitokiri Battousai killed yesterday.] One of them was very tall and had black hair pulled into a high ponytail. Some bang were falling on his face covering bits of his cold yellow eyes. He was definitly the chief of this unit.
She startled when she heard the two drunk men approaching at high speed. She squealed and ran to the black haired man. Well, almost running. Her legs couldn't work anymore. "Help! There's two men trying to kill me!"
She stopped dead in her tracks when the chief pulled is sword and pointed it at her throat. "Put down your weapon."
"There! The Shisengumi!" The two men pursuing her ran to the men in blue, Shisengumi they had called them. "The girl, she killed one of our friend!"
Willow cried in surprise when the black haired man grabbed her wrist and squeeze, forcing her to drop the wakisashi. He looked at her bloody hand and sneered at her. "I was only defending myself!" she yelled back. "They tried to rape me!"
"The other guy tried to do that and your friend killed him!"
"What friend?" One of the Shisengumi asked.
"He had red hair and grey eyes with gold flecks in them."
The black haired man turned toward her. "A friend of the Battousai? That could be valuable to our cause. She'll serve of example. Execute her tomorrow on the public place."
Willow's eyes widened. "What?! The guy saved my virtue last night and he's suddenly my friend? Hey! Let go of me!" The Shisengumi grabbed her arms and pulled her toward their base, still kicking and screaming her head off.
In the shadows of a house stood a young man with red hair and cold eyes. "Trouble follows that girl," he muttered. He walked toward Katsura's house, one of the leaders of the Ishin Shishi, the organization he worked for, the Imperialists. "Time to report the situation."
Willow spent the better part of the morning just wandering around Kyoto, getting to know where everything was and mostly walking because she had nothing else to do. She kept getting weird glances from the passers by. Her clothes weren't something they saw very often. [And they won't for at least another century,] Willow thought dryly.
At noon, the redhead realized her lack of money was becoming a problem. Her stomach was growling : she was positively starving. She'd even eat raw fish if it was the only food she could get. [Goddess, forgive me.] She passed by a merchant and while he was distracted by a client, she grabbed some vegetables and quickly walked away.
[Maybe I should have stayed at the inn. No, Will, forget it! Maybe he let you stay alive because he was too tired to kill you that same night. You could have been dead by now if you had stayed with Hitokiri Battousai. He is *not* a sweet, very mature boy. He is a killer. Somehow, I don't think his name brings love and joy is men's heart.] She sighed and closed her eyes.
[How am I going to get out of this one? I can't keep stealing from merchants forever and I don't think it's a good idea to sleep in the streets. Surely, the Scoobies are looking for a way to get me back in my time. I just want to go home.]
All day long, she wandered around the city, not really knowing where she was going. [If only I had my laptop with me. Then maybe I could find a way home.] She hugged herself tightly.
Willow was finally aware of her surrounding when the cold wind settled in. The sun had set an hour ago and it was getting colder and colder. She looked around her for a place to hide for the night. "Great. Totally wonderful."
Footsteps could be heard coming her way. The moonlight showed her three men walking quickly in her direction. The darkness suddenly seemed to disappear and she could clearly see their faces. "Oh shit!" It was the three drunk men that ran away from the manslayer the night before. Not thinking it twice, Willow ran, the men hot on her trail.
"Oh God! Oh God! I don't want to die! Where is a manslayer when you need one?" Her legs were tiring fast and she had trouble breathing. [I can't hold on much longer.] She shot a quick look behind her. Only two men ran. [Where's the last one?]
She got her answer quick enough. Something slammed her into the nearby wall. She grunted when her head hit it hard. Dizzy, she tried to focus on the angry man in front of her. Her eyes widened when she saw him unsheath his wakisashi (A/N: short sword). He grinned evilly. "You're going to get it, bitch!"
Years of fighting the supernatural finally paid off. She was able to dodge him easilly. He slammed into the wall and growled when he saw she had escaped the deadly blade. She put her hand in front of her. "Look, I didn't kill your friend, so why don't you just try and kill the one who did?"
He sneered. "He's next. Don't worry. You're just practice."
Something in Willow snapped at that comment. Her eyes hardened and the man froze, suddenly less confidant. When the redhead didn't move, he shrugged it adn tried to plunge the wakisashi in her heart.
He never went that far. He was slammed back in the wall by an unseen force and the weapon flew out of his hand. directly into the redhead's one. She caught it easily and looked at him. "Now, who's got the power?"
"You think you know how to use it? You're just a scared little girl. I can still kill you even if I don't have the blade."
"Bored now." She took the blade by two fingers and threw the short sword at the man. He fell back, crying in pain. She walked slowly to him and crouched down before the sprawled man. "I'm curious. How does it feel to have that thing stuck in your guts?" She grabbed the handle and pulled on it roughly. The man grunted. Blood was slowly trickling down his mouth. "It's curious how so many small things like a wakisashi can do." She winked at him mockingly while he suffered from slow death. "Don't worry. Soon enough, the pain will go away and you'll be able to rest. eternally." She stood up and stepped back.
When the man finally died, no blood left in his veins, Willow finally snapped out of it. She looked down at her bloody hand holding a bloody short sword. "Oh God! What did I do?" she whispered. [You saved your own ass, you dumbass,] her inner voice said. She looked up to see the two men left walking to her. "Uh oh! Time to make a run for it." She ran.
Willow could hear the men running loudly behind her. She clutched the wakisashi tighter. Hope swept her up when she heard a fight not too far away from her. [Let it be Him.]
But it wasn't Him. Four men in light blue kimono were fighting a couple of bandits. [They're part of the same group as those Hitokiri Battousai killed yesterday.] One of them was very tall and had black hair pulled into a high ponytail. Some bang were falling on his face covering bits of his cold yellow eyes. He was definitly the chief of this unit.
She startled when she heard the two drunk men approaching at high speed. She squealed and ran to the black haired man. Well, almost running. Her legs couldn't work anymore. "Help! There's two men trying to kill me!"
She stopped dead in her tracks when the chief pulled is sword and pointed it at her throat. "Put down your weapon."
"There! The Shisengumi!" The two men pursuing her ran to the men in blue, Shisengumi they had called them. "The girl, she killed one of our friend!"
Willow cried in surprise when the black haired man grabbed her wrist and squeeze, forcing her to drop the wakisashi. He looked at her bloody hand and sneered at her. "I was only defending myself!" she yelled back. "They tried to rape me!"
"The other guy tried to do that and your friend killed him!"
"What friend?" One of the Shisengumi asked.
"He had red hair and grey eyes with gold flecks in them."
The black haired man turned toward her. "A friend of the Battousai? That could be valuable to our cause. She'll serve of example. Execute her tomorrow on the public place."
Willow's eyes widened. "What?! The guy saved my virtue last night and he's suddenly my friend? Hey! Let go of me!" The Shisengumi grabbed her arms and pulled her toward their base, still kicking and screaming her head off.
In the shadows of a house stood a young man with red hair and cold eyes. "Trouble follows that girl," he muttered. He walked toward Katsura's house, one of the leaders of the Ishin Shishi, the organization he worked for, the Imperialists. "Time to report the situation."