Chapter 2

The train jostled and screeched to a halt, shaking Kita from her deep sleep. The train had served as an uncomfortable bed, and the crick she had in her neck was her reward for falling asleep. Kita cursed out loud as the whistle of the train blew and the blurred shapes of trees slowly became distinguishable again. Kita took a quick glance at her watch before rising to gather her belongings, she had been asleep for three hours.

Kita read the letter she had already read a million times one last time and shoved it into the pocket of her jeans. She didn't realize exactly how much stuff she had packed with her, nor did she realize just how much her relatives had helped her get her things on the train then she did when she was trying to get the rest of her bags off. Kita pulled desperately at the handles to her heavy suitcases, trying to get them to budge out of the small space they had been crammed into. However, none of them would budge, save for a few millimeters, no matter how hard she pulled at them.

"Miss, would you like me to help you with those bags?" A voice from behind Kita made her turn around, only to be overwhelmed in the shadow of a rather tall man dressed from head to toe in black. Even this man's hair was black, and to top it all off, Kita noted sarcastically, he sported a pair of thin black shades.

"I can get my things just fine," Kita said turning back to her luggage. She was determined to do it by herself, she had always done things on her own when she lived in the city with her parents, and now that they were dead, everything they taught her about independence was not going to be thrown to the wind.

"Miss Kinomoto, I believe," The tall man addressed Kita by her last name. "Miss Li would be very upset with me should I be late in delivering you to her door, please, allow me to help you with your things."

Kita stared at the man and gave her luggage a final tug before giving up. She stepped aside and let the "Grim Reaper" as she had decided to call him, take a chance at budging her luggage.

To the teen's surprise, the tall man gave a fierce yank at the top suitcase and pulled it free. He calmly set it down on the floor and pulled the other suitcase out with it. Kita just stood and watched as he took one suitcase in each hand and walked off the train as silently as he had boarded it. Kita chased after the man, thinking about yelling at him for wandering off with her luggage, but she held her tongue remembering how tall he was.

The ride to Funaho Li's home was a long and bumpy one. Kita had gotten over her initial shock and disappointment at seeing and having to ride in a horse drawn carriage. We're in the age of automobiles, subways, and airplanes, what have I done so wrong to deserve a bumpy carriage and a smelly horse, she kept asking herself. Her tall darkly clad companion did not seem to mind the ride, however, and more than once she thought she saw him crack a smile at her apparent suffering. She cursed the strange man ten times over, but in her head of course. She tried to divert her attention to the scenery around her. She had to admit, it would have been pretty if she was riding in the backseat of a limo, or even in a convertable, the trees were thick and densely covered in leaves, and small patches of wildflowers grew on the sides of the brick road.

"This is ridiculous," she muttered to herself angrily. "If I have died and gone to hell, hell shouldn't look like Oz."