"I have found you, Priestess of Suzaku..." Yumi backed up so that she could see the man better, but there was too much shadow to see his face properly.
"Thank you," Yumi said, trembling a little. It wasn't the first time she had been kissed, but it had felt so... right. He spoke again, and Yumi suddenly wanted to know what he looked like.
"It's not safe for a girl to be alone out here, you know. I'll take you to my place; you'll be safe there. Oh yeah. Call me Genro."
"Come into the light, so I can see you properly," Yumi said, then caught her breath. She didn't have the right to tell him to do anything! Yumi was surprised when he did as she asked.
This man looked unlike anyone Yumi had ever seen before. He had a carefully tended mane of bright orange hair, and his grin revealed pointed fangs. He wore bright earrings and necklaces that flashed in the firelight. His eyes were a fierce brown, and he wore a long coat fastened across the front. Without warning, Genro flushed slightly and looked away. A cool breeze reminded her of what the men had done with her clothing. Blushing, she hurriedly pulled her shirt and jacket closed and fastened them.
"Genro," she said unsteadily, and tried to walk toward him, but stumbled. Yumi's eyes couldn't follow how he did it, but Yumi was suddenly swept into the arms of her flame-haired savior. He is fast! She thought tiredly.
"Hey, Koji!" Genro called, "Over here! Look what I caught!" A second man came out of the shadows, armed with a long knife and a lighted torch.
"Hey, Genro? What do you have there? Oh, I see. It's the girl you came to save. Good job. Are we ready to go back now?" Yumi turned to look at the new person from her vantage point in Genro's arms. Koji had dark hair kept back by a braided band across his forehead. He had a scar along one cheek and keen, dark eyes.
"Yeah, I'm ready, so let's go on back." Genro, still carrying Yumi, started to walk away, but Koji didn't follow immediately.
"Yo, Genro, what about the other one? Ya gonna just leave her?" Genro stopped and spun around to see his friend seemingly trying to grab an invisible person.
"What the hell are you talkin' about? There's no one else here! Let's go." Koji continued to look at a place some three paces to Genro's right, and shivered.
"Then that means there's a spirit hangin' around here, cuz I know I'm not imagining her. Lookit 'er! She's laughin' at me!" Koji shivered again. Genro just shook his head and continued on the path that Yumi presumed led back to his home. As chance would have it, it was the same path she had been following before the interruption. Koji continued to glance around like a spooked cat, but Yumi ignored it, that is, until Koji described the "apparition."
"She's wearing the same kinda stuff as the girl you got yerself there. She's real short, though. About half a hand shorter than... what's your name, anyway?" Koji said to Yumi.
"Sunari. Yumi Sunari, but you can call me Yumi." Yumi told Koji, wishing they would offer her something to eat. Just then, Yumi's stomach growled so loudly that even Koji heard it over his running commentary about the "ghost." Genro almost dropped Yumi in surprise.
"Hell! Was that your stomach?" Genro exclaimed. Yumi blushed in embarrassment, and nodded.
"When was the last time you ate?" Koji asked, and Yumi couldn't answer him, because she couldn't remember. Koji's jaw dropped, and he was suddenly all sympathy for Yumi, forgetting about his ghost.
"Poor girl! We'll get you something good when we get back. We're not much good at cooking, but we got plenty of good stuff. Are you sure you can't remember the last time you ate?"
Yumi thought for a moment, shaking her head.
"I know that I haven't eaten since I got here, where ever here is, but I know that in my home it hasn't been too long." Yumi felt Genro's grip on her tighten, as though his body stiffened at hearing Yumi's statement.
"Are you saying that you're not from around here?" Genro asked quietly. Yumi nodded.
"I think I'm from a different place, a different world even, maybe. But I can't remember how I got here." Genro smiled, showing his fangs, but Yumi was looking ahead, and didn't see it. She could just make out the lights of a house, maybe two houses. Right on cue, her stomach rumbled again, this time not loudly enough to attract attention.
Koji was now ahead of them, and Yumi watched as the lights came closer. A few minutes later, they were level with the bright lights, but Yumi's heart sunk when Genro passed the house up without even slowing down. Yumi squirmed, trying to get free, sure that she could get some food in there, but Genro kept hold of her. The night was getting colder, and Yumi's school uniform was not very warm. She could feel herself shivering.
"Ya don' wanna go in there," he said, laughing. "You'd be asking for more of the same as you got when I found you." He chuckled. Yumi shivered at the thought.
"Are they slavers, too?" She didn't realize that she now had a tight hold of the front of Genro's jacket.
"No, they're my men, but we all want the same thing, right?" He chuckled at the look on Yumi's face when she heard him.
Koji looked back at them, telling them to be quiet, efficiently preventing the outburst Yumi was about give vent to. He parted a clump of brush, revealing a hidden pathway. Yumi tried to get herself free, telling Genro that she could walk on her own, so he put her down, and she immediately stumbled. Before she knew it, she was being carried again, this time slung over Genro's shoulder. It was quite possibly the most embarrassing position she he ever been in. Yumi crossed her arms over her chest and waited for them to get to the food, and Genro was laughing softly at her. Yumi had to contort her body in odd ways to try to see in the direction they were heading. Otherwise, she was stuck watching the path recede behind the small group.
In a surprisingly short time, they had reached wherever it was they were stopping at. It turned out to be a back entrance for the house she had seen earlier, but they entered a private room immediately. Yumi was set down in the corner of the room on a pile of blankets, and Koji, under Genro's request, got some food for her. Yumi didn't even wait to find out what it was before eating it. Koji excused himself and went out into the hall. Now that she was alone with Genro, Yumi felt nervous. Genro took off his coat and came over to where Yumi was sitting. She scrambled backwards, not wanting to repeat her recent experience.
"Dummy." Genro said, throwing his coat over her. "I know yer cold, so you can take this for tonight to warm up." She pulled the coat tight around her body and set to making a bed from the pile of blankets she had been using as a seat. Genro just watched her for a moment, and then sat down, leaning against the wall.
"Go to sleep. No one will hurt ya here." He paused then adjusted his statement, "I'm sleeping here, too. As long as I'm here, no one will hurt ya."
Yumi wrapped herself in her makeshift bed. She was no longer cold, but she still felt chilled, somehow. She couldn't figure out why she hadn't woken up yet, for this had to be a dream of some kind. From the heavy, even breathing coming from Genro, it seemed he had gone to sleep. But Yumi couldn't sleep in this strange place, in the company of strange people.
"Will I be stuck here?" She said softly to herself. "I want to go home..."
About half a silent, sleepless hour later, there was a knock on the door, and Yumi jumped out of her skin, barely holding back a yell.
"Hello? Who is it? This is Koji, a friend of Genro's, can I come in? Oh, hey Koji! Come on in! Thank you." And the door opened, admitting Koji. Under the cover of her blankets Yumi rose her eyebrows in confusion at Koji's odd greeting. Genro stood up, greeting his friend. He was awake the whole time! Yumi snuggled deeper into her borrowed blankets, not wanting the men to know she was eavesdropping.
"What is it?" said Genro's voice. Yumi stayed as silent and still as she could, pretending to be asleep. Koji's response sounded worried.
"Something's wrong. Now, don't laugh. You know that presence I felt earlier? It's bothering some of the guys, and I keep getting the shivers. She won't leave me alone. She looks kinda like your girl there."
Yumi thought immediately of Megumi, her best friend. Was Megumi the presence Koji felt? Yumi and Megumi were always together. Maybe, somehow, Megumi had come here as well! But then again, Yumi never saw anything resembling Megumi since arriving here, and gave up the hopeful thought of seeing a familiar face. Yumi was brought out of her train of thought when Genro replied.
"She's not 'my girl,' but she is different." He sounded like he wasn't telling everything. Koji must have heard it as well, because he asked Genro to explain something.
"Anyway, Genro, how did you know where to find her? You just ran off like a madman, blabbering about being 'pulled' to help a girl. What in the world is going on?" Genro laughed.
"I know this is gonna sound crazy, but I could see what was going to happen to her, and I knew I had to prevent it. Weird, huh? And guess what else?" Koji made a small sound in his throat, telling Genro to continue.
"When I saved her, the symbol showed up brighter than ever before. I could see it through my clothes! I think she's the girl from the legend, the Priestess of Suzaku. The one boss told me about those years ago." For a few moments, there was silence, and then Yumi heard Koji's voice.
"Uh, Genro, are you sure you are okay? Are you telling me that you actually believe the old story?"
"Of course I believe the legend, damn it!" Genro said heatedly. "I am a part the legend, after all. I am one of the Suzaku seven. That's what this mark on my arm means." Koji quickly apologized, and there was an uncomfortable silence, and Yumi could hear the sounds of the two men eating.
"So..." Koji said boldly, "How far did you get with her while I was gone?" Genro spluttered and coughed, choking on his food.
"What do you think I AM?" He gasped out, and Yumi barely stifled a laugh. Koji was laughing at Genro.
"Well, I had to tell the guys something, 'cuz you don't want them touching her, right? Ha! And now they're all talking about how you have finally found yerself a girl." Yumi could tell Koji was smirking just by the way he was talking. Koji continued in a quieter voice.
"Anyway, you don't like girls, right? So it doesn't matter. I'm tired. Good night." Yumi heard the door open, and then Koji gave a final farewell.
"Don't waste any time! Good luck!" The door shut quickly, and Yumi heard a plate smash against the door, and Genro was muttering to himself. A moment later, Genro blew out the candles and everything went dark. Yumi soon heard soft snores. This time she was sure Genro was asleep. Yumi yawned. It was no use. She was tired, warm and comfortable, had a full stomach, and felt safe. It was only a matter of moments before she fell asleep.