Disclaimer: It would be nice if I owned Fushigi Yuugi, of course… but I don't, nor would I claim to. :P 'Curious Playing Around' (you'll see.. ^_^;;) belongs to Yu Watase as well.
Ari: I didn't expect to finish writing chapter 4 so quickly, since I had to write so many new pages to finish it up. ^_^ (I'm kind of a picky writer… I'm not overly critical of myself, but I do tend to be a perfectionist, which sometimes stops me from writing. It's usually better with this story, though, for some reason.) So, without further ado, I present… Modern Miko, chapter 4! … *sneezes* Stupid cold. -_- (Oh yeah… more reviewer comments at the bottom.)
Modern Miko: Chapter Four
Stretched out on a shaded patch of grass slightly damp from early morning dew, Ari felt like she had slept for days. A bird called harshly somewhere above her, breaking the dream-like silence of the moment. She propped herself up on one elbow and glanced around as her eyes adjusted to the light. That was when she remembered.
She was in a book, a book where impossible things happened like friends disappearing before your eyes and being transported to random places. It truly was amazing that she felt so calm about the whole situation. Then again, she'd probably freak out in a few hours or so, when it really hit her.
Deciding that nothing would be accomplished by just sitting there thinking and wondering, she stretched her arms—and hit something soft, and decidedly un-grasslike. Jerking her arm back, she held her breath as Tatara shifted in his sleep. He only grunted and flung one arm up over his eyes, before settling back into deep, rhythmic breathing. Ari relaxed a bit, waiting a few minutes before rising to her feet.
She was about to walk away, when a familiar metallic glint caught her eye.
How could I forget?
Taking care not to crush too many leaves as she crept to his side, Ari kept her eye one the small circle of silver resting in the center of Tatara's palm. His fingers were slightly curved protectively around it, but under ideal conditions it seemed easy enough to get to. She hoped. The way his friend had acted, she didn't know what to expect if he woke up—especially if it was while she was trying to take something from him. Bandits. She really didn't want to find out.
Barely daring to breath, she crouched on the other side of him and stretched her fingers slowly toward the ring. Every movement, every twitch, every breath was slightly off beat caused Ari to hesitate, to wonder if this was really something she should be doing. At the same time, every moment of hesitation brought the possibility of a rather…uncomfortable… awakening closer. Leaning over him, she snatched up the ring between two fingers as carefully yet quickly as she possibly could.
Unfortunately, it wasn't careful enough. Though still asleep, Tatara sensed the loss of the weight of the ring, and began to stir. Ari's heart stopped.
"Roast boar tonight…" he muttered, patting the ground around him as if searching for the ring.
Men…always thinking about food, even in their sleep. Ari shook her head sadly. It was then that an idea occurred to her.
"Indiana Jones!" she whispered excitedly. Scrabbling around for a stone of the right size and weight, she watched Tatara's sleeping form from the corner of her eye. He really didn't look the bandit type, she mused. Appearances could be deceiving, of course, but it just didn't seem to fit.
Except for his hair, she thought. So ragged, and hanging in his face…that fits the part just perfectly. Finally finding what she had been looking for, she crept back to the place where he lay. It may have been her imagination, but he seemed to be sleeping more shallowly. It probably would be best for her to get out of there as soon as possible.
Pressing a smooth, round stone into his palm, she breathed a silent prayer that she would be able to pull this off. He seemed to relax, partially closing a fist around the phantom 'ring'. Ari, convinced that he was satisfied for the moment, snuck out of the glade and left him to his sleep.
******
Travis had never had a worse headache in all his sixteen years. It overwhelmed him, consumed him; he was the headache. Pressing his forehead against the refreshingly cool tile floor, he tried to think past the pain. His head still throbbed, but the cold sensation soothed the worst of it.
It wasn't that he had forgotten what had happened, but rather that he had a hard time letting himself think back on it. In some ways, it seemed almost better to believe it had happened to someone else, that it was just something he had read about, played, or watched on TV. He wouldn't let himself look at the book, still lying open the same way they had left it, but he knew it was there. Just as real as the headache that now tormented him.
The book sent me back. Why?
There hadn't been any warning. One minute he was charging that freak with blue hair, the next he…wasn't. There was no other way to say it; there was no in between. And it hadn't been anything like how he had gone in.
Unlike when he entered the book-world—he had no idea what it was called, as he didn't read or speak Japanese—there had been no blinding, colored light around him when he disappeared. That was the first difference, but not the most extreme. The instant he disappeared, he had returned to that surreal, floaty place that was neither the book's world, nor the 'real' world. Instead of just floating around for a bit and then returning to his world, Trav experienced something entirely different.
On his way in, he had been surrounded by streaks of purple and green, swirling around him. On the return trip, it was a smoky orange. Instead of swirling like the other colors, it began to flicker. Rapidly. That by itself seemed enough to give someone a headache. Trav was reminded of the Pokemon incident quite a few years back where all those little Japanese kids had seizures.
The flickering became faster and faster, until it reached a plateau, and stopped. Travis had had only a moment's relief, before he felt an intense tingling sensation. Like when someone's foot falls asleep, except it was his entire body. That was when he began to feel deep down that something had gone horribly wrong. The last thought he had, before he felt like he was being split in two. Pain ripped through his skull, his left shoulder felt like it was on fire. He was burning up, tingling, and vaguely nauseated all at the same time. Just before it seemed that he might pass out, it was over just as quickly as it had begun.
Which had left him here, lying prone on the floor of the store's back-room. When his ears had stopped roaring and his heart stopped thumping like he had run for miles, only one thought was clear. That was not supposed to happen. And he lay there for an unknown amount of time, the lingering pain taking over.
But that was then. For as much as he had gone through in that hellish anti-place, the effects had ebbed rather quickly. Not a tingle remained within a few minutes, and upon returning to the room his shoulder hadn't burned at all. It wasn't long before nothing was left but the persistent headache and a touch of nausea. He hoped that it would all go away soon, but he feared he was stuck with the headache for now.
If Yume and Ari return… I don't want them to ever have to go through that. Whatever it was.
It was a few minutes before Travis even attempted to lift his head, to make himself consider changing his position. Cautiously he lifted himself, as slowly as he possibly could. When his pain didn't worsen, he breathed a little easier. Eventually, he was able to stand and look around.
He was unable to tell what time of day it was due to the lack of windows in the room and his lack of a watch, but he figured they had been in the book for about an hour. Long enough for his aunt to get worried, definitely. Trav glanced over at the book. It certainly looked innocent enough, if you didn't notice the eerily charred edges. He walked over to it, studying it for a moment. There was no way he wanted to touch it again, but something had to be done. Taking a deep breath, ready to pull away if he sensed anything unusual, he stretched his fingers towards it… then thought better of it. He nudged it with his foot until it closed, and then picked it up by its spine.
Well, now what?
His headache was essentially gone by this point. Getting a firmer, more confident grip on the spine, he stepped towards the door and turned the knob with his other hand.
The man at the desk hardly looked up when Travis approached. He did, however, eye the book that Travis set in front of him.
"Where did you find this?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow.
"On… on a shelf?" Travis said, wondering if the books in the back-room were valuable. There was no question; one way or another, he had to get the book out of here.
"Are you sure?"
Travis stood there, blinking, not sure what to say.
"Because it looks like it might be from that foreign shipment we received," the man continued. "Some of them looked pretty nice, but this one appears to be damaged." He peered at it over his glasses.
"No matter," he finally said. "If you'd like, you can have it for free. It's not of any use to me."
Travis couldn't believe his luck. Then again… now I'm stuck with this thing. I need it, but it's almost more of a curse than 'luck' really. Still, he hadn't expected that it would be that easy.
"Really? Thank you, sir," he said quickly, before rushing out the door, book in hand. Now he just needed the one person he could think of that could read the thing, and more importantly, the only person that would believe his story.
Mirai.
******
Ari: I'm sorry, Trav! T_T Ehh… ouch. Soon Mirai will be in the story! Yay! Which reminds me, I credit it 'Indiana Jones' idea to Mirai. ^_~ She thought of it when I didn't know where to go from there, yup.
And now, for something completely different… random insanity. No Q&A for today. Skip this if you don't like really odd 'bloopers' type things, kind of like Yu Watase does in some of the FY manga, and at the end of some of the OAV episodes. This is just where we let off any ideas we get that aren't consistent with the plot, or are just off the wall weird. It happens sometimes, when we're all together and hyped up on sugar. ^_^;;
******
CURIOUS PLAYING AROUND! (Modern Miko Version, Pt. 1)
"Indiana Jones!" she whispered excitedly. She began to search for a stone of the right size and weight.
"Ahh, venison…" Tatara muttered, startling Ari and nearly causing her to trip over him. He settled back into sleep, still subconsciously searching around for the ring.
Ari: Gomen. ^_^;; I hope this isn't seen as a bad pun… I detest puns. I just couldn't resist. If you don't get this joke… then go watch Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Even if you don't want to get this joke, go watch it. It's hilarious, and really good. ;) If you've seen it and *still* don't know what I'm talking about… well, it's from one of the signature lines of Indiana, where he says 'Ahh, Venice' throughout the movie. Since the Ari's idea came from Indiana Jones, and Tatara had just been talking about meat, I thought it was appropriate. Hopefully it was funny to someone other than me… otherwise I guess I'll just be amused by myself. ^_^;; So, that's all for now! Hope you all liked the chapter!
Err… oh yeah. Reviewer comments. Guess I'm kind of rambling on today. Maybe it's because I'm getting better from my cold. *coughs* Well, I did promise. Alrighty.
Yo-Yo Kirby: Wow. ^_^ *laughs* I like your analogy… very amusing. It still makes me chuckle when I read it. I am very flattered that you thought it was that good. Perhaps I'll read your .hack//sign fic one day… that is, when I get around to finishing the series. ^_^;;
Rhapsody: You'll be reading from now on? Cool. ^_^ Glad ya like the descriptions… I'm very into detail. I can never just say "Then they were drawn into the book, and ended up in a desert", for example. Plot, on the other hand… sometimes eludes me. -_- This one seems to be coming together quite nicely, however.
WeaselGirl: Hehehe. ^_^ Yeah. I kind of like this Tamahome a bit better too, in some ways. Bandits do indeed rock. Hope you update soon, too! Have to see Ayane's reaction. ^_~
Ciara Winter: 'Wicked cool'. Hehe, thanks! *grins* Glad you like it.
Lalala: Thank ya! ^_^ Always happy to hear another person likes the story.
FYFangirl26: Yeah, the disappearing people would indeed be quite freaky. o_O Lol, and yeah… this Tamahome is drastically different. I didn't know so many people would actually like him better, though. ^_^;; Very interesting. Oh, and I read your fic and reviewed it! I really like it! *grins*