Yui's chest throbbed with pain. After getting cut, drenched in water, having a high fever, and feeling as if she had been stabbed in the heart, she was almost as exhausted as she imagined Miaka must feel. The whole time she had been searching for an opportunity to enter, but none presented itself.
That was when she felt it. A small tug in her stomach, then the sudden realization that her and Miaka were connected... somehow. She read on, and realized that this was the place she had been looking for. Miaka had traveled to the place of the one who presided over that book, and was making her final attempt to return home. She closed her eyes and felt Miaka's presence traveling closer and closer... I'm sorry, she thought as she moved herself into the book.
When she opened her eyes she was on a rusty city street that reminded her slightly of some of the deeper parts of the Master World, places she had only traveled to once or twice and only then in curiosity. People walked past chatting, deeply absorbed in their own affairs, and nobody seemed to have noticed that a girl in strange clothing had appeared out of thin air. It was just fine with her, it was best not to make a large disturbance in the worlds she traveled to.
She began to walk down the street, observing anything and everything around her carefully. Before she knew it she had wandered around a corner and into a dead-end alleyway, where three man sat talking. They looked up at her presence, and one of them snickered.
"Hey, girl, what'cha doin back here?"
Yui was fazed for a moment, but then she smiled. "I just lost my way is all."
"Oh... lost your way, eh?" Two more men appeared from behind her.
She turned around to greet them. "You're thinking of raping me or selling me, neither of which will be too easy, considering that I have the power to exterminate your pathetic little lives in a split second, erasing you from the pages of this book forever."
"Yes, but you wouldn't," came another voice, deep and menacing. The men turned to see a tall man in thick and intricate armor, a golden symbol of royalty. His blue eyes pierced through them, and they cowered back and then ran away behind them. He closed his eyes calmly and let them run.
Yui found herself incredibly annoyed. Who was this arrogant idiot, acting like he was so great? "You know, I didn't need your help," she said as she brushed past him. "And there's nothing that would have stopped me from killing them." She began to walk away.
"You wouldn't have killed them, because such an act would cause an unnecessary disturbance in the book."
She stopped cold. He... he knew? Nobody she had ever met in a book knew their reality. Her voice shook. "Who... who are you?"
She could feel the wicked sneer on his face before she even saw it, a power that radiated beyond any of his physical power, as overwhelming as his mere appearance. "Return to the imperial palace with me, and I will tell you everything. If you are as powerful as you say, then you should not have to worry whether I am lying or not. And besides, you came here to become the priestess of Seiryuu, did you not?"
He nodded his head and then walked past her, as if he really didn't care whether she followed him or not. She felt her legs moving by themselves, and she fell in step behind him. She remembered the words of the rogue spirit she had met in the library, and wondered whether this person was out to help her or hurt her. She had a hunch about him, but she knew that in the end he would tell her himself and that it was pointless to ponder on it until then.
They approached the palace, a majestic but somehow dark building. Just like him, she thought. They crossed a bridge and approached a set of tall metal double doors. The doors opened at his approach, and they entered a dark room, the doors clanging to a close behind them. Something large loomed ahead in the darkness, and she thought she could hear the sound of water.
He turned to face her, and though she couldn't see his face, his blue eyes glowed with a devilish delight. "I told you I had preparations to make, and you have arrived just in time. I would have expected nothing less from one such as yourself. "
So I was right, she thought. The spirit has changed form.
"Now that the pawn has arrive, we are ready to proceed. In this world, you are to call me Nakago."
That was when she felt it. A small tug in her stomach, then the sudden realization that her and Miaka were connected... somehow. She read on, and realized that this was the place she had been looking for. Miaka had traveled to the place of the one who presided over that book, and was making her final attempt to return home. She closed her eyes and felt Miaka's presence traveling closer and closer... I'm sorry, she thought as she moved herself into the book.
When she opened her eyes she was on a rusty city street that reminded her slightly of some of the deeper parts of the Master World, places she had only traveled to once or twice and only then in curiosity. People walked past chatting, deeply absorbed in their own affairs, and nobody seemed to have noticed that a girl in strange clothing had appeared out of thin air. It was just fine with her, it was best not to make a large disturbance in the worlds she traveled to.
She began to walk down the street, observing anything and everything around her carefully. Before she knew it she had wandered around a corner and into a dead-end alleyway, where three man sat talking. They looked up at her presence, and one of them snickered.
"Hey, girl, what'cha doin back here?"
Yui was fazed for a moment, but then she smiled. "I just lost my way is all."
"Oh... lost your way, eh?" Two more men appeared from behind her.
She turned around to greet them. "You're thinking of raping me or selling me, neither of which will be too easy, considering that I have the power to exterminate your pathetic little lives in a split second, erasing you from the pages of this book forever."
"Yes, but you wouldn't," came another voice, deep and menacing. The men turned to see a tall man in thick and intricate armor, a golden symbol of royalty. His blue eyes pierced through them, and they cowered back and then ran away behind them. He closed his eyes calmly and let them run.
Yui found herself incredibly annoyed. Who was this arrogant idiot, acting like he was so great? "You know, I didn't need your help," she said as she brushed past him. "And there's nothing that would have stopped me from killing them." She began to walk away.
"You wouldn't have killed them, because such an act would cause an unnecessary disturbance in the book."
She stopped cold. He... he knew? Nobody she had ever met in a book knew their reality. Her voice shook. "Who... who are you?"
She could feel the wicked sneer on his face before she even saw it, a power that radiated beyond any of his physical power, as overwhelming as his mere appearance. "Return to the imperial palace with me, and I will tell you everything. If you are as powerful as you say, then you should not have to worry whether I am lying or not. And besides, you came here to become the priestess of Seiryuu, did you not?"
He nodded his head and then walked past her, as if he really didn't care whether she followed him or not. She felt her legs moving by themselves, and she fell in step behind him. She remembered the words of the rogue spirit she had met in the library, and wondered whether this person was out to help her or hurt her. She had a hunch about him, but she knew that in the end he would tell her himself and that it was pointless to ponder on it until then.
They approached the palace, a majestic but somehow dark building. Just like him, she thought. They crossed a bridge and approached a set of tall metal double doors. The doors opened at his approach, and they entered a dark room, the doors clanging to a close behind them. Something large loomed ahead in the darkness, and she thought she could hear the sound of water.
He turned to face her, and though she couldn't see his face, his blue eyes glowed with a devilish delight. "I told you I had preparations to make, and you have arrived just in time. I would have expected nothing less from one such as yourself. "
So I was right, she thought. The spirit has changed form.
"Now that the pawn has arrive, we are ready to proceed. In this world, you are to call me Nakago."