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-Prologue: Part 3

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A little girl laughed as she ran and hopped through her garden, stopping to smell all the colorful flowers and look at all the bugs, dancing with the soft breeze and grinning back at the beaming sun. She hopped and ran until she was out of breath, then she twirled down to meet the soft grass with the side of her face, giggling as it tickled and embraced her cheek fondly. She turned and tilted her head up to the sea of clouds above her, smiling and laughing with the passengers on the boats of white as they waved at her happily.

Life was perfect.

The same little girl, now a little older, was running towards two figures that were standing on the edge of a dark land, waiting for her. She threw her small arms around the taller figure, and her father returned the embrace warmly as her mother cheerfully beckoned for them to follow down the path. The little girl took both their hands and walked between them.

Unwittingly, the girl was led out of her garden of happiness into their world of reality.

The dark red blackness seeped into the ground around her. She looked around, bewildered. She seeked the hand of her father, but found that he wasn't standing besides her anymore. She followed the stream of inky blood with her eyes and realized that it was coming from him, his body sprawled all over the ash grey ground.

The small girl, now frightened, clasped her mother's hand and looked up at her for comfort. Her mother, however, didn't look down at her, but simply shook her hand out of her daughter's small fingers.

The girl found herself in a small room, looking out the tiny window at the figure of her mother as she walked solemnly down an ashy path, stepping out of her world and into another, leaving her daughter behind.

-Why did you leave me here?-

The tall brooding man standing besides her smiled reassuringly, flashing large white teeth at the little girl.

-Your mother may hate you, but you can stay here with me, as your father intended.-

He reached across and put his arm on the girl's shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze that unnerved and scared her more than anything.

The girl bit her lip and held in a whimper when she saw the inky dark liquid that seemed to permanently stain his hand. She looked up at him, her cat-like green eyes meeting his, and saw that his were the same exact color as the liquid that was now oozing down her shoulder.

Father's blood.

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Her eyes snapped open as she lay in bed, her body scrunched into a ball and her chest rising and falling rapidly. She sat up abruptly, seeing that it was almost dawn and that there were a few people that were now getting up. No one noticed her, however, seeing as how she hardly ever made noise, even after she had just woken up from a nightmare.

It was strange that she'd start dreaming about that now. After nearly two months with the Sekihoutai, she thought she had left that life way behind her.

Was it catching up?

Was he catching up?

She shuddered involuntarily at the thought of those dark red eyes.

She shook the thoughts from her head, her brown hair whipping the sides of her face. She couldn't think like that. Not now.

She crawled out of bed and began to dress like usual. After all, she had work to do…

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Sanosuke gave a huge yawn as he half dragged his feet, feeling boredness ooze into the depths of his mind. He was, once again, on guard duty, and was, once again, feeling as if his brain had completely shut off from lack of excitement.

Well, there was one consolation prize…

"I can't believe I'm stuck with you," scowled Katsuhiro as he also shuffled along besides Sanosuke. Sano just grinned. Seeing Katsu this miserable was almost worth it.

Apparently, the other soldiers weren't about to forget one little mistake so easily. They decided that if Sano was gonna do guard duty, then he should do it right. And if he had to do it right, then someone had to keep an eye on him.

At least, that was how it was explained to Katsu.

Katsu, although feeling a little swell of pride for being assigned to watch over the idiot rooster, now realized that this was more punishment than anything else.

"This is all your fault," Katsu mumbled wearily. Sano shot him a dirty look as they trudged along. Sano didn't feel like arguing with the annoyed boy, and an uneasy silence quickly blanketed them.

"Hmm, I wonder what we'll be having for dinner," Sano mused to himself to break the awkward silence, "I guess I'll ask Kyouri later…" Katsu pulled a face at the mention of Kyouri's name, which Sano noticed. "What?" Katsu just grunted in reply, not really wanting to answer. "What?" Sano kept pressing him until Katsu finally gave in.

"I don't… like her," her muttered. "She's so… menacing…" Sanosuke gave his friend a funny look, that is, until he burst out laughing.

"Menacing??" he exclaimed. "Kyouri? Yeah right!"

"Shut up, baka!" Katsu retorted quickly. "I mean it! I mean, the way she gives those looks from her creepy green eyes, and the weird feeling you get from being around her... It's disturbing!" Sano stopped laughing and suddenly took on a serious face. It was true, there was something about Kyouri that tended to make other people avoid her. In fact, no one but Sanosuke and the Captain had willingly talked to her the entire time she had been at the base. But Sanosuke just figured it was how she was, just like Katsuhiro had the capability to depress everyone around him.

And yet he still hung out with both of them.

"So?" he snorted. "You're weird too, but you don't see her complaining about it."

"Maybe she should, if she feels as if she's in danger around me."

"That's taking it a little too far, Katsu," Sano said, giving him an admonishing glare. Katsu just shrugged and looked away.

"Just forget it," he mumbled. "Forget I said anything." Sano shrugged.

The tense air quickly settled over them once again as they continued walking in silence, except this time no one made a move to break it.

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" 'Fetch water, fetch water,' I always have to fetch the water," she grumbled to herself as she walked down the slope that led to the river. "I can do other stuff too, you know." She reached the bank and unhooked the buckets that were swinging from the pole on her shoulder. She filled one up and was about to fill another when her blood froze.

Someone was watching her.

She turned around calmly, expecting to see the loud tori-atama rooster head making his way down to her, but instead found the large hill of swaying grass unsettlingly empty. She frowned and shook off the strange feeling, then returned to her task.

It happened again.

Her skin prickled with nervousness and she held in a slight gasp as she felt a pair of ominous eyes watching her. She looked around again, and found herself alone.

"Sano, cut it out!" she yelled out. "I know you're there! Just come out already!" A gust of wind suddenly picked up, making the trees and grass rustle loudly as her hair whipped around her face.

There was no one there.

Her heart began to beat faster as she hooked up the filled buckets to the pole and hurriedly began to walk up the slope.

Someone was following her.

She could feel it.

She began to trot as perspiration mounted on her forehead. Her heart jumped and she turned her head around quickly, but found no one there. She broke into a run, ignoring the small splashes of water that lapped out of the bucket.

The hairs on the back of her neck were still standing straight up and goose bumps covered her arms when she finally reached the kitchen in the camp. She rubbed her neck, but still couldn't stop her skin from prickling. A slight rustle of some trees made her jump in surprise.

"Kyouri-chan, are you all right?" asked one of the kitchen ladies that had come out for the water. Kyouri looked up, surprised.

"Oh, hai hai," she said with a smile on her face. "I just need to use the toilet and I'll be right back."

"All right, just don't tardy." Kyouri nodded in response as she walked off.

The feeling was still with her as she rounded the corner, her heart beating irregularly fast and her breath coming out in short gasps.

They had followed her into the camp.

She clenched her hands into fists as she suddenly sprinted down the path, dodging the soldiers and ignoring their protests as she shot through the camp, hurtling blindly down random paths. As she ran, her sensitive ears picked up the sound of light feet stepping rhythmically on the roofs after her.

She wasn't imagining it. They had found her.

She picked up speed as she rounded a corner and threw open a door, flinging herself into the building and slamming the slide shut behind her. She backed up against the wall of what she realized was one of the storage rooms, then slumped down and hugged her knees.

She couldn't go back. She'd run away before they could make her.

The pounding of her heart in her ears and her ragged breath nearly drowned out everything around her, except the sound of approaching steps. They were walking straight towards the door that was in front of her, taking large and deliberate strides. She could almost feel the person outside as they reached for the door, preparing to open it in a matter of seconds.

She could bolt, she could still run out the door right now and maybe avoid them.

But as she heard the very real crunch of feet in the gravel outside she realized she couldn't move. She was paralyzed with fear.

The door suddenly slid wide open as a pathetic whimper escaped her lips. Her white knuckled hands were still gripping her pants tightly as she saw the figure standing in the doorway.

"S-sano?" she managed to force out of her throat. The young boy stood in the doorway, afternoon sun filtering in around him and making his body seem as if it was lined with gold.

"Kyouri? What's wrong?" he asked as he stepped in, noticing her wide eyes and feeble position. Hearing his voice made the truth of him standing in front of her and not her captor finally sink in, and she let out her baited breath in loud gasps for air as she unclenched her fists.

Kyouri's terror was almost tangible in the air around them, and it only made Sanosuke's worry grow more and more as he stepped up to her hunched body cautiously.

"I saw you run in here," Sano explained. "You seemed as if you were running from something, so I, er, came to see if you were okay." She blinked up at him as if just realizing he was there, then let go of her legs as they stretched out in front of her and rested her head on the wall behind her.

"Oh, I-I'm okay, Sano," she answered feebly. "I just got a little jumpy." Sano arched an eyebrow. He had never imagined her of being jumpy of anything. She just didn't seem like the type to start crying or freaking out whenever there was a mouse around or something like his little sister usually did.

"Jumpy? Jumpy of what?" he asked as he sat down besides her.

"N-nothing," she said with a hollow laugh. "I'm just acting weird."

"Come on Kyouri," he said as he furrowed his eyebrows. "You're my friend and there's obviously something wrong. What is it?" She turned and looked at him suddenly, looking as if he had just started speaking a foreign language.

"I'm your friend?" she asked, astounded. He rubbed the back of his head, wondering why in the world she was acting like she was.

"Of course you're my friend. Geez, where've you been? Now, are you gonna answer the question?" She, however, just turned her head and looked straight ahead, her face still surprised. He was the first friend she'd ever had and she didn't even know it? Where had she been?

"Kyouri? Hello…?" He waved his hand in front of her face as she suddenly snapped back to reality. "Are you okay? You're getting me all worried." She looked at him, her fluorescent green eyes meeting his honey brown ones, and saw the concern flashing through them.

"You are?" she asked, eyes wide.

"Will you cut out the amazed face thing??" he replied sharply. "Is it really that shocking that a friend is worried about you??" She didn't answer right away as he frowned at her exasperatedly. A few seconds of suspended silence clicked by.

Suddenly, a grin broke out on her face as she beamed happily at him.

"I've never had a friend before," she giggled. "Anything I should know?"

"I'm not joking!" he snapped.

"Neither am I," she replied softly. He was taken aback by faraway look in her eyes and sadness in her voice. The annoyed anger that had been building up in him suddenly ebbed away.

"Um, well," he faltered. "Just trust me and tell me if anything's wrong." She smiled yet again.

"I'm fine Sanosuke, really."

"I don't believe you," he said, narrowing his eyes at her and making her laugh. She got up, still laughing, and dusted herself off.

"Really, I am." She held her hand out for him to help him up, and he took it with a more or less perplexed look on his face. "Thank you."

"Um, you're welcome?" he replied, not sure what he was being thanked for. She, however, was unfazed by his baffled attitude and just kept grinning.

"I'd better get back to the kitchens. See you later!" she waved at him cheerfully as she walked out the door and sprinted, more cautiously this time, down the path.

"What just happened?" he asked himself as he watched her disappear around a corner. He frowned and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Man, girls are so weird." He sighed and also walked away back to his chores.

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Note: I'm not as satisfied with this chapter as I think I should be, but I've done the best I can.

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If you're reading this, please review! It'd be really rude (and evil) if you didn't. Tell me why you hated it or liked it, I don't care! I just need some feedback, people! Constructive criticism welcome, and tone down flames a bit so I'll only get singed and not crispy.

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Arigato gozaimasu!

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REVIEW!

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