It had all started one cold morning when I was out in the forest. The morning's breakfast had been unfulfilling; you'd hardly say a mere cup of goat's milk was adequate to fill one's stomach, especially when the truth that that goat wasn't mine in the first place. In fact, to put it bluntly, I stole it.

What could I do? I had been hungry with nothing to fill my empty stomach the day before. Besides, my neighbours (I had no idea if they even considered me to be their neighbour or to even exist, though) were quite well off as herders, and I figured that they could always spare a sneaked cup of milk from one of their many goats once in a while.

I wasn't rich, that's for sure. Both my parents had long died in an avalanche when I was eight years old, leaving me to live a solitary life at the edge of a village with little sympathy from the villagers. Apparently, both my parents had been outcasts in the society, and naturally, I, as their son and only heir of their bloodline should follow in their footsteps and be ostracized for the rest of my life.

In short, my entire life had been reduced to hunting and stealing. There was never much in the forest, maybe some deer when the season was right, or perhaps some mushrooms. After all, food was food. Of course, there were times when I was desperate enough to climb up the mountains in search of yaks and any animals of that sort.

That morning seemed abnormally cold, or perhaps it was just me feeling a little under the weather. After all, hunger does weird things to a person. I wrapped my threadbare coat that was practically two sizes too small for me more tightly around my thin frame, feeling the bite of the chilling wind.

Damn, everything must have been taken by the villagers, I cursed silently as I searched further into the forest. Ever since the invasion by Kuto, food supplies from the capital had been cut off, and with such drastic weather around here, it was practically impossible to plant anything. Everyone was resorting to hunting for wild foods, and that explained the lack of game lately.

I spat at the soil, feeling the fallen leaves from the trees crack under my boots as I trudged through the forest, avoiding hanging branches that seemed ready to fall on me in a split second.. Winter was coming soon, and temperatures would drop like ants from a branch. I had to stock up, or be forced to endure the long, hard winter by my own means.

It was then that my ears caught a slight rustling sound from behind a clump of oak trees. I stiffened, not moving, lest I should frighten my prey (and dinner) away. Slowly, I inched closer, taking great pains not to make a sound to frighten away my food. I could practically taste some braised deer or perhaps steamed rabbit now…

My fingers curved around by bow, holding it tight as I retrieved a single wooden arrow from the crudely carved container behind my back. My entire body tingled as the wind whipped around me, biting my exposed skin and almost turning it to ice. Soon, I would be sitting in the comfort and shelter of my home enjoying something delicious, I comforted myself, steeling myself to shoot. I just needed to get this shot right…

Maneuvering myself through the trees easily (from much experience), I inhaled, feeling my heart thump wildly in my chest under my thin clothes. Soon…soon…

"ARE YOU PLANNING TO DO SOMETHING TO ME, YOU BAKA?"

The sudden accusation tore through the silence of the woods, startling me. I jumped, letting out a strangled yelp before falling to the ground and landing on my rear with a really hard THUD. I was being attacked by Kuto soldiers! Genbu help me!

I froze in my position, waiting for a sword to come and slice my neck off to be carried to the base camp. They'd gorge my eyes, pour poison on my tongue and skin me alive and serve me for dinner! This was it. I was finally going to meet my end in the forest- but wasn't I too young to die? I'd barely enjoyed life yet! I kept my eyes tightly shut, waiting for the strike, but nothing came. Curious, I peeked open to see…

…a girl? Nani? An ONNA?! Out here?!

She was frowning over my curled up form, not looking very pleased at the presence of the bow and arrow in my hand. She raised an eyebrow as I sat up and glared at her. Of all the people to be out in the forest, why a girl? Besides, she was dressed in such foreign (not to mention revealing) clothes …

My eye caught the sight of her short skirt that seemed like a few feet above her knees and I blushed for a moment, raising my eyes to her face as she gave me a thwack on the head. Apparently, she noticed the attention that I was giving to the lower half of her body. Well, she was quite well proportioned, to my opinion…

"Ne, which part of Japan are we in?" she asked, settling down beside me on the dry, leafy ground as she pulled her skirt a little over her knees, and my heart dropped for a while. Why'd she have to do that for? And it was getting to the best part too…

I shook myself mentally, and shut my wide open mouth that seemed to hang loosely from my jaw. Japan? What was Japan? As far as I knew, the country I lived in was named Hokkan, and the other three countries around it were Konan, Kuto and Sairo. No Japan, or whatever she was talking about. Of course, if this 'Japan' place that she was talking about had girls that dressed like her, it couldn't be too bad.

She glared at me from under her eyelids, and I shrunk under the effect of a furious pair of green eyes that glared at me. "You aren't thinking of anymore hentai things, ne?" she asked suspiciously, and I swallowed. Genbu, could this girl read minds?

"I…iie," I squeaked, completely cowered for once. "W…we're in Hokkan in the north. I don't know any 'Japan' either…gomen…"

She sat back, her eyes clouding over in confusion as she leant against the sturdy trunk of one of the trees. I took this opportunity to size her up, scrutinizing every detail on her body. She seemed to come from a strange land; I had yet too see women wearing clothes like these even though I had been to the capital before. She just didn't seem to fit in.

"Ne," I spoke at last, breaking the silence just as I watched her rub her arms, trying to expel the dwelling coldness around her. Judging by her attire, I'd say that she wasn't fit to stay out here in the woods. How long had she been in this forest exactly?

"Ne," I repeated, unsure if she had heard me the first time round. "Why don't you go home? It isn't safe for you to stay here in the forest all by yourself, especially when there are wolves that come out at night," I added, watching as fear flitted across her face.

She hugged her knees, shivering as she looked up at me. "I don't have a home," she replied slowly, watching my reaction as my eyes widened bit by bit. "I don't even know where I am, or where I'm supposed to go. I just opened the book, and I'm here…"

It was then that something struck me. Wait a minute, I thought. Foreign clothes, foreign world (I wasn't sure for this one, but oh well…), the war between Hokkan and Kuto…it all seemed to fit. Masaka…she couldn't be…

"Are you the Genbu no miko?" I asked, shooting up to a kneeling position as I stared at her face. She fit all the characteristics of the famed legendary Genbu no miko that was supposed to appear when Hokkan was facing its greatest dangers.

I never got my answer, for just after that, she collapsed onto the ground, her face pale.

-------

I had no choice but to carry her back. After all, if she really was the Genbu no miko, I could always do something with a few rewards from the emperor himself. Besides, I wasn't that well off in that sense…

I rubbed my hands together as I struck the tinder, trying to make it catch onto the bundle of sticks that I had lugged into my fireplace. It finally caught, and soon, the warmth from the roaring fire spread around the whole room, and my shivers gradually ceased.

I threw one last look at her face before I stepped out of the house. With one extra occupant tonight, I had to look for food. Couldn't let her have a bad impression, especially when I've always tried to have a good impression with the opposite sex.

She looked so peaceful when sleeping, a thought crossed my head, and I shook it away, an annoyed frown touching my lips as I hit the hentai part of my head. I was not going to take advantage of a girl, a defenseless girl, to add, when she was sleeping. I had more dignity than that!

Snorting slightly at myself and the fact that I was scolding and talking to myself, I trudged out of the house. The sun was shining rather brightly now, as it was already afternoon, and I loosened the buttons on my coat. The weather wasn't so bad in the afternoon; in fact, it was a lot warmer than the morning or the evening.

Still, it didn't mean that I could let down my guard. Foxes and bears came out during this time, and I usually avoided going to the forest during afternoon, if possible. After all, I'd like to avoid becoming their food when they were supposed to be cooking in my pot in the first place.

True enough to my suspicions earlier this morning, I caught sight of a few villagers out hunting in the woods. Their luck hadn't been so good either, I noticed smugly with a slight smirk on my face. Of course, there weren't much food to be collected from the woods in this season, and I understood the best on how hard it was to find something for dinner despite the fact that I knew this forest like the back of my hand.

My attention was once again distracted as I caught sight of a brightly coloured patch clinging onto a low branch. I raised an eyebrow, carefully picking it out so that I wouldn't cut myself, and studied it. It looked rather familiar, as if it had been torn off someone I knew…

The picture of the girl suddenly flashed in front of my eyes, and I smiled, understanding. That explained why that weird clothing of hers was so short; it must have got torn off when she was walking through the woods, or maybe she tore it herself on purpose. True enough to my word, I pulled it out slowly, gaping as the cloth slowly grew longer and longer before my eyes. Did that girl think she was bandaging this plant or something?

I sighed, shaking my head but something tugged at my lips. Somehow, I found it funny that the girl could even tear so much fabric off her and risk dying of the freezing weather merely for a plant. Besides, this plant had been here for five years already, and had yet to die despite the many hard winters that it had gone through. It would take a lot more than the cold autumn Hokkan wind to kill it.

Something tugged at the fabric, and I blinked, turning to my right. A small, brown doe stared at me, trying to pull the long roll of cloth away from my hands but I firmly kept hold of it. Reaching to my back, I grabbed an arrow and picked up my bow with one hand while keeping the same wary eye on the deer who seemed to be keen on eating the brightly coloured cloth.

In a split second, I loosened my grip on the fabric lightly slightly, as if to loosen my guard, and the unwary doe fell for my trick. Pulling harder, it stumbled backward as I let it go and quickly fitted by arrow. Taking aim, I concentrated for a second before letting the sharp object fly. It hit the deer point-blank, and I watched as it collapsed onto the ground with a satisfying thud.

"Why did you kill it for?"

I jumped again and spun around to see…her. Groaning, I slapped my forehead and sighed. Looking at her, I raised my eyebrows and stared as she cradled the already dead deer, as if trying to bring it back to life. "Well, it was going to be our dinner tonight, unless you're keen on starving, of course…"

She glared at me once more, not taking her green eyes off me as she turned to face me. I shrugged nonchalantly as I handed back the roll of torn cloth that I had found attached to the thorny plant earlier. "I was hungry. I don't know if you were, but I definitely need some dinner. Can't expect someone to starve because of your love for wild life, you know."

I don't think that was a good reply, judging by the fact that she was now gripping me by my collar and giving me a glare that was equivalent of all the four gods put together. She pulled me close, her eyes narrow as she pronounced each of her words slowly, as if she was talking to a deaf person.

"I know my appetite very much, thank you, unlike some dirty minded hentai who makes a living by killing innocent animals!"

I winced at the impact of the last word, feeling the consequences of a female's wrath as she went on ranting about hentai people who only paid attention to pretty girls and didn't care about…something. I wasn't sure of what she was saying, anyway; she was speaking too fast for me to understand.

I sighed, shaking myself loose from her death grip as I unwound some rope that I had draped around my shoulder to tie the doe's legs up while she continued rambling about something of that sort. For the next ten minutes, I knotted the rope around the four legs of the doe, two at a time while trying to tune out the long lecture that the girl was giving me and rolling my eyes. Genbu, if she was your miko, why did she have to be such a conservative miko?

"Look," I spoke at last, getting tired of her tone and I placed hands on her shoulders. "I don't know how you grew up in your place where ever that is, but we do things differently here, or at least I do. If you're going to complain about how I live, go ramble about it to someone else, okay?"

Apparently, she sensed the annoyance in my voice and fell silent as I stood up. Folding her arms, she looked away obstinately as I held a hand out to pull her up, and I shook my head, sighing and cursing silently udner my breath. Sometimes (or maybe all the time for me), this girl could be so stubborn, and that irritated me to no bounds. Maybe it was a fact that I absolutely, positively detested stubborn females.

She wouldn't budge no matter how much I pulled her, pushed her back or even scolded her, but just continued sitting in that spot until I finally gave up.

"Fine!" I exploded, and I swear I could have seen her cower at the volume of my voice. Even if she didn't, I certainly did. My own tone surprised me, and I blinked. "Sit there and freeze to death, for all I care! Even Genbu couldn't save you if you were to sit out here all evening!"

As I turned to go, I heard a very loud roar from behind us, and I froze. Slowly turning around, I cursed the bad luck that I was having. First a stubborn onna, now a famished bear that was going to make us all its dinner…

Genbu save us all…


Author's notes:

Okay! First chapter up and done! . Not a very good one in my opinion. This is my first try in an FY fic (in this ID anyway), so be gentle when reviewing! *blinks*

I didn't scare you away from reviewing when I said that, did I? Nononono!! Come back!!! *chases after potential reviewers whom she has just successfully chased away* Okay, then…constructive criticism but not flames, then! I don't want to get toasted…I've already had enough of that from Tasuki's tessen… >.

*sighs in relief* Anyway, do review, as I need to know everyone's comments on this fic and how I should improve it. After all, even good fanfic authors need some reviews to cheer them on and some ideas (not that I'm one of course. I just wait for the plot bunnies to hop by, and there are none at the moment….).

Yes, if anyone is going to ask, that girl is Takiko Okuda, the Genbu no miko, but she'll introduce herself in more detail to Tomite later in the story, together with her name. You weren't expecting me to totally leave out her name, did you?? Oh, and if you were wondering just why she had a strange personality, I'd have to say that it was because I was bored of all the usual miko characteristics. Usually, they are portrayed as nice, polite people, so I was thinking: Why not have a slightly stranger miko? It would be fun…

I know that Tomite is wayyyyy OOC, but I can't help it! As I stated earlier (so the fans of the Genbu seishi wouldn't kill me), I have no knowledge whatsoever of the Genbu shichiseishi and am currently doing research to find out more about them. So bear me for a while and continue reading and offering tidbits of information *hint hint* if you have any, okay? ^_^

Oh, by the way, I have to say thanks to Kaze-chan! After reading her fic 'It WAS a Normal day in the Market', I was inspired to write this! Trust me, she, Ryuen and Purple Mouse (a.k.a. the 3 Nurikos) are the best writers ever! ^_^ (By the way, Kaze-chan, Tokaki in your story is cute!! ^^)

Anyways, till next time, ja ne ~! \^o^/