Author's Notes: I got inspiration dropped on my head today like an anvil, so I began to write feverishly. I really hope I'm not being too hasty, putting out a chapter so soon. Here's the next chapter, please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own this story. I do not own the plot. I own nothing, not even the manga, much less the rights to it or the anime.

Chapter 2: And a priestess will come from another world to save us all...

"Miaka-chan! Hurry up! We're going to miss the train!" Yui yelled exasperatedly at her friend, who was currently being distracted by a food display set up in the street. The ditzy girl was trying everything on the display table, much to the vendor's dismay, demolishing whatever tasty, savory-smelling food she could get her hands on. Rushing over to Miaka, Yui pulled on her friend's arm, then shouted in her ear, "Come on! We can't be late!" Reluctantly, Miaka allowed herself to be dragged away from the table, leaving a half empty table and a seriously disappointed vendor who was counting his losses, trying to decide whether to move back inside to avoid another incident.

The girls, running through the crowd like a pair of maniacs and drawing many perturbed looks as they did so, managed to reach the station just in time to board the train. The smell of steam and gasoline was in the air, which gave Yui a bit of a headache. She usually got sick to her stomach in places like this, but what can one do? Walk? Not possible, it was too far from her home to school and to the library and back. "Yatta! We made it!" Miaka crowed loudly, getting many dirty looks from fellow riders for being so obnoxiously noisy. "Quick, let's grab a seat, Yui-chan!" she sang, grabbing the short-haired blonde's arm and leading her to an empty spot. As the train pulled away and began its travel at high speed, Miaka chattered away energetically, while Yui merely nodded and gave a noise of agreement now and then, barely listening to the prattle. For awhile now, Yui felt like something important would happen this day. She did not know what could possibly happen, especially since they were just going to the National Library to return a book. What could possibly happen on such a mundane trip?

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Never in her life had Yui been so afraid. The men accosting Miaka and her were rough and definitely nothing good in their minds as regarding them. What had happened in the library? That weird book seemed to have transported the two schoolgirls to some place unrecognizable. It was hot, dusty, and two men that stood before them, swords drawn meant nothing but trouble. "Miaka, run!" she shouted to her confused and disoriented friend and she herself sprung to her feet and began to run for all she was worth. One of the men began to chase her, while the other ran in the opposite direction after Miaka. Her heart pounded in her ears as blood rushed through them as she fled. It was a good thing she ran track, because she managed to stay ahead of the man and out of his clutches. How long could she keep this up, though? She could only run so fast for so long, her stanima would give out quickly. Could she escape? Yui did not know nor dare to put any energy to pondering. Air rushed in and out of her lungs, through her nose rapidly. Because she was so frightened, her breath was not steady at first until she willed it so. As she continued to run, Yui prayed Miaka faired better than she; she prayed Miaka was quick on her feet and wits and managed to escape...

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The second man chasing her as fast as he could stopped quickly as she did. "All right!" Miaka shouted bravely, despite her trembling heart and legs. "Let's do this then!" she continued, dropping into a mimick of a fighting stance she saw on television.

Raising an eyebrow, the man obliged, stepping into a proper stance, his sword out low and his fist guarding his face. "As you wish, little girl," he sneered, knowing at a glance that the girl was weak and had no experience fighting as he had...

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Author's Note: I think I'll stop it there and contemplate my next move. I like to keep things in patterns if at all possible and if I continue, I'll tangle up my story threads and get confused and run around saying Oro! for an hour or so. Ok, maybe I won't do the Oro! bit, but I will probably do the other two parts for sure. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review and tell me what you think. Ja ne!

Review Responses:

Ayriel: Thank you for your kind words, they go a long way to givinging me the incentive I need to continue writing. Doncha love angst though? Helps one get a lot of his/her chest, ya know? I feel like every writer puts more than a little bit of his/her own problems into the writing he/she does. We all face pain in one shape or form in life, it's guarenteed, and so when we write things that are painful for the characters, we put it in terms that we understand and feel ourselves. When you're reading something someone wrote, you are reading about them, their experiences, yet in a different setting and with different people. That's my theory, anyways. And by now you're figuring out that I like to ramble. Hope you don't mind. I'm glad you enjoyed the first enstallment, I hope you like the rest as well. Thanks again for reviewing, and congrats on being the first to do so!