Miko no Chikyuu, Gejo no Japan
An: Hello everyone! Well first off I wanna say thank you to everyone who has kindly reviewed my story! ^.^v I also wanna say that chapters for this story will be very slow because school is really time consuming in fact I got a bunch of homework this weekend! =( So I think there should be about one chapter out each week unless I get writers block which I have had! =P Also with the terrorist attacks on Tuesday was very startling and my heart goes out to everyone that has been effected by this tragedy and especially to those who knew someone that was killed in that attack.
*~~~~~~*
And with that the driver lightly whipped the horses and they were off at a steady pace.
*~~~~~~*
"Move it! I would like to get back into town before nightfall!" The slave-driver yelled at Usagi and all the other slaves he had with him. Usagi was so downcast that she blocked everyone out even her new "owner" no matter how much he barked at them. Her feet were cold, dirty, and sore but she didn't even pay any heed towards these problems. 'Hotaru. I don't know how, but…..I will find you someday and then we'll run off together. Just the two of us. Without a care in the world and no one to tie us down.' Unfortunately she wasn't paying attention to anything she was doing and accidentally tripped over a hidden rock. She immediately fell to flat on her face in the cold mud, which she was already covered in. Usagi then lifted her head only to be met with a pair of cold onyx eyes. It was her slave-driver, her tormenter. He then grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up to her feet. She grabbed his hand trying to pry it off her hair but his grip remained firm and he did not falter. "If you can't keep up with the rest of us then I'll just have to feed you to my lions. They're worth more than you ever will be!" He then pushed her back down on the ground, turned his back and walked away.
Usagi just sat there for what seemed like several seconds before one of the slaves grabbed both her upper arms from behind and pulled her along before she could get her footing. The young slave man, who looked to be only about 20, continued to drag her along staring straight ahead with dead lifeless eyes. And just when Usagi got her footing a woman ran from the crowd yelling her name. As soon as the woman emerged from the crowd Usagi immediately recognized her. "Mother?!" Usagi managed to yell while the slave stopped to look at the woman. He let Usagi go and tried to grab Usagi's mother but she evaded him and fell to her knees in front of Usagi. "I thought I would never see you again!" The weeping young woman reached her arms out for Usagi who just stepped back. "Sweetie?" Her mother pleaded with drenched eyes. "You sold us off! Just for money and now you want to take us back!" Usagi yelled scowling with watery eyes. "Sweetie no your wrong." She then reached forward again only to be met with the same coldness. "Your father arranged the whole thing! It was his decision and me being only the mere house-wife could not stand up to him, non-the-less stop him. I pleaded but he refused to listen! Please believe me! I love you two more than life itself!" Usagi's mother was now on the verge of balling. "Mother." Usagi weakly stated and fell into her mother's tight embrace. But they only remained so for a few seconds, for the new "owner" pulled Usagi's mother out of her grasp. He grabbed her by the hair also and flung her onto her back. Her mother looked up at him with great sorrow. "She's my property now, if you want her back you have to pay twice the price I got for her!" She found herself like a defeated woman, helpless prey stuck in a corner at the predators mercy. "Now get out of my way and stop wasting my time!" He looked towards his newly acquired property. "And you come with me! You've cost me enough trouble as it is!" He then grabbed her by the neck and pushed her along. Usagi looked back for one final glimpse at her mother, who was crouched on the ground with her knees to her chest, arms wrapped around them, looking at the ground with a hidden face of sorrow.
/Little did I know that this would be the last time I would ever see her again./*
*~~~~~~~~*
Hotaru was walking slowly behind the woman that had just recently "purchased" her. "Child please! That look is no good for a future priestess, or a future queen." Hotaru then slowly averted her head away from the ground and looked at the woman who was standing right in front of her. "What'd you say?" She asked lightly. "I said you must look more presentable in front of the young prince, and emperor." The woman had a soft and gentle gaze but Hotaru could see right through her and saw something in her eye that was out of place, something of sorrow? Hatred? She was almost unreadable. "What for?" Hotaru asked the young woman. "I did not pay so much for you just for your company! I was paid by the emperor to buy the girl that I've been looking for my whole life! And I believe that that search is now over and I must train you in the ways of a proper priestess." The woman said gazing intensely at the young girl.
"So I'm merely a cheap commodity bought for the convenience of others. I was torn away from my perfect life for your selfish purposes!" Hotaru yelled looking up. But when she did Mizurei slapped her across her face, hard! "Do watch that mouth of yours' young lady or one day you'll find yourself really 'dug in' because of it!" Mizurei looked at her sternly. Hotaru held her red cheek and then looked up at Mizurei. "We are going now so do hurry up." Mizurei said turning away from the shattered girl. Two silky black horses were then brought forward. The person that brought them forward was a young man that was so scrawny he looked like he hadn't eaten for weeks. Mizurei then mounted her horse and ordered the young man to help Hotaru onto her own. "I hope you can ride a horse Hotaru. And also don't even think of riding away, for this horse is younger and faster than yours'." Once she was on the horse, and the young man gone, Hotaru grabbed the reins tightly and looked at Mizurei. "Listen child we have to be going since our guests will get home before we do. And we can't keep the emperor waiting now can we?" Mizurei then hit the horses' side and it started off at a slow gallop with Hotaru following close behind. She turned her head to catch one last glimpse at the town she knew so well.
/Even to this day I just can't bring myself to go back there, no matter how much I've wanted to./**
~~~~~~Several hours later~~~~~~~
The old man finally reached his destination, even if the sun had already set. "Finally you scum were able to get here!" He berated them on his horse as the others were running as fast as their feet could carry them towards the old man. But there were two people missing. "Where's Abdual and that young slave girl?" He asked eyeing his crowd with no sign of the two. He then kicked the horse and it started back into the forest. After several minutes of searching he finally saw Abdual running slowly and still faltering for he had the young Usagi in both his arms. He got the most terrified look on his face as he saw the master. "Abdual what's wrong with you boy?! Can't you keep up with everyone else? Have you already outlived your usefulness?!" "No Sir! I sorry!" He yelled dropped to his knees bowing to his master as if he were the emperor himself! "Get off your feet boy and move it! I will not tolerate laziness!" He then kicked his horse forward and he was off. Abdual then got off his feet and continued his perilous run with Usagi still in his arms.
After they had all reached the town, a half hour later much to the master's disappointment, and while the master stayed inside the small inn, the slaves had to sleep in the barn. All slaves were asleep but Usagi who was looking out the stable's window towards the inn. She could hear inside the room, with the only lights on, and it was the master and Abdual arguing, over what she could not hear but had a fairly good idea. And then after several minutes the arguing stopped and that's when the gut-wrenching screams began. The master was beating upon Abdual that she could be sure of! 'It's all your fault you baka! If he didn't have to drag you then he wouldn't be suffering like this!' Usagi then clenched her little hands and stared down at the hay, which was now her bed.
"Don't let it get to you. The master is always finding some excuse to beat us down. He's trying to kill our spirits you see, but we stay strong together. In fact your lucky he didn't decide to beat you along with him, probably because you're new."
Usagi then looked at the teenage girl that looked to be asleep next to her. But the teenager sat up and stared at Usagi coolly. "My name's Kiray. (^.^v If you've read my other story you know who she is!) I've been a slave all my life, and half of it has been spent with that old man up there. But don't ever let him catch you saying that about him or you'll fall under his whip."
"My names Usagi. And it truly is my fault for his punishment." Usagi said once again looking at the ground.
"That's not true now because he starves us a lot and that makes us weaker and weaker, which he enjoys, and then pushes us to our limits. So if anyone can't keep up they fall under his whip, and Abdual has been deteriorating for several weeks now. You see he has a cold. Everyone is staying away from him for fear of catching it. It's a killer you know. The world is rotting and we're the first to go since we're all expendable."
"But why doesn't anyone do anything? We would over power him! Why don't we all just run away?!" Usagi yelled with much fervor.
"For a little kid you have much spirit, especially for a slave, and that's exactly what he's looking to destroy. I think we could be a great pair you and I. We can look out for each other like sisters. And don't you even mention the word "run away" in this place. Cause many people here would just about sell us down the river than stand together. They would get an extra ration of bread if they did. So you better watch that mouth. And anyway if you do manage to escape then he'll just send the merciless dogs on ya. We have got nothing but that's the way I prefer it since there's nothing tying me down and nothing to watch out for so that won't give me a weakness."
"But I thought you wanted to be my sister?" Usagi asked her.
"Not quite kid. I could be just using ya to get more food! You better watch out for people like us. In this world kid we have only got to look out for ourselves and no one else." Kiray then winked at her and then laid back down. Usagi then noticed that the screaming had stopped and the lights were all now off. Usagi then laid down and tried to get what little sleep she would have been allowed.
TBC…………..
An: Hope you liked it. Little shorter than I thought but I don't have much left in this brain of mine! Been pouring all my thoughts and ideas into homework and such! So I'm really drained! =P But next chapter I'll fill you in on Hotaru and then a little more of Usagi! ^.^ Hope everyone likes this so far! Also another pilot will appear in the next chapter! Wait and read to find out who it is! ^.^v
And please review, cause I always luv to read others thoughts!