Disclaimer: Fushigi Yugi and all its characters are the rightful property of Yuu Watase.
Rating: M
Chapter: 4 (Lady Luck)
Miaka woke with a startle, lifting her head up with a jerk. Eyes wide she brought her hands in front of her face and then slowly wrapped them around her body, hugging herself. She rocked back and force slowly trying to comprehend what was happening.
"Where am I?" she thought. "How did I get here? How long have I been here? Why can't I remember anything?"
From the distance she heard muffled noises and commotion coming from a back room.
"Mr. Shouki please I am not ready for this, besides we're not married! Oh….stop, please. I…do…I…do like you a lot but I only meet you today and this is all so sudden. Oh please not there-"
"Oh God!" she thought to herself. "She was in someone's house and judging from the noises coming from the back room she was in a man's house." Her mind began racing with theories, "A man that probably knocked her out and would come get her when he was done with the other girl in the back. Or was she a married woman waking up to the sounds of her lover cheating?"
Miaka looked around taking in her surroundings her eyes caught on an adjacent hanging mirror. Seeing her appearance she seemed foreign even to herself. Noticing herself for the first time since she awoke she was captivated with her own reflection. She was wearing a dress, a beautiful white silk kimono embroidered with a golden phoenix that wrapped itself around her body from the dresses collar down to the bottom of the shimmering cloth. Standing abruptly on her feet she ran to the closest door pulled it open and ran outside.
As her feet connected with the cold Earth she realized her lack of foot wear. She couldn't get very far like this her feet would be throbbing with pain in mere minutes, but what other choice did she have? Running out into the open market streets she faced hundreds of people going this way and that. A whole city was alive and blooming with lively activities as out in the distance the sun melted into the horizon. Looking at the seemingly endless crowds and foreign characters that littered shop windows, suddenly the harsh reality of her situation hit her like a ton of bricks.
She had no money, no shoes, no knowledge of where she was and now with night approaching she had no place to stay. Tears threatened to rise to the surface of her eyes but she quickly rubbed away their traces with the sleeve of her silk robe. Concerned with her doomed plight she jumped when a hand touched her shoulder.
Turning around she saw the top of a bald headed man as his eyes came face to face with her breasts. He leered happily at the twin orbs, seeming pleased that his old age had made him the perfect height for viewing such a wonderful phenomenon. He licked his cracked lips and let out a wheezed hack before speaking in a raspy voice as his left hand clutched a cane.
"Hello pretty girly you look lost!"
Miaka stared down at the old man in utmost disgust.
Taking no notice of her disapproval the old man dropped his cane and let his hands float teasingly over her breasts. He looked up at her face grinning ear to ear giving her a toothless smile.
"Want to come home with me?"
Miaka flung her right hand out and slapped the old man right across the face and then took off down the street. Pushing her way past people she felt her heart beat rapidly at the thought of being caught. Once again her mind producing questions she had no way to answer. "What had she been doing in the house to begin with? Would the man in the house come looking for her? Did the man if the house know her face? Did he know other people in town? Could have her identified? Would that old man find him and tell him she had escaped?" If that was the case she had to get away, the people around here weren't safe. Never slowing her pace she ran faster and faster afraid to stop. Her mind raced with single minded purpose urging her to continue, "Got to get away!"
When her legs finally gave out she found herself in the corner of an alley doubled over trying to catch her breath, she was utterly exhausted. Glancing left and right to make sure no one followed her she began to notice it was now officially dark and she could no longer see where she was going. Instead the only things that provided light were brightly colored masks, town lamps and sparklers floated in midair in a town celebration. Away from the town the alley itself had minimal light sources streaming from the small open windows with individual candles, making the alley jump with shadows of rats and discarded bottles that littered the gutters.
Miaka was tired and weary from running, looking up she heard the sound of a door creak open. A young girl made her way out of the door carrying a bucket. From a distance she looked about the same age as Miaka and was humming to herself as she poured the remains of the bucket out into the pavement. She was wearing a black kimono outlined with sea blue flowers with the belt loosely tied to show off her enormous breasts. She had golden brown hair that went down her back and her faced had white powder on it. She was the most beautiful girl Miaka had ever seen and the first person she had seen that looked somewhat similar to herself. Taking no notice of Miaka the girl turned around to go back into the door where she had came from.
"Wait! Please wait, can you help me?" Miaka hollered
The girl lifted her head and ran toward Miaka. Grateful for her kindness Miaka began to eagerly thank her.
"Thank you I am lost and don't-"
The girl pushed her hand against Miaka's mouth and brought her face an inch away from her own.
"Who are you? What do you want? If your husband was here that's your family's problem now do you understand?"
Reaching underneath her dress near her legs she pulled out a rusted knife and in the blink of an eye pressed it hard against the pale flesh of Miaka's exposed throat. Her voice was barely a whisper as she spoke near Miaka's ear.
"You girls are all the same, you're scum farmer or fish market husband's not getting enough loving at home and they come here. One time to see what all the fuss is about, they go home and brag about their sexual prowess to their friends. Then they start coming every day because they enjoy it. They pick a favorite a red head perhaps or the one with the pretty eyes."
Continuing she let the dagger run up and down Miaka's throat watching her skin tremble underneath the blade.
"You see we give them everything they've every wanted, we let them live out their fantasies and more because they pay us generously for it. But then we get the trash knocking on our doors, girls like you, coming to look for revenge because your husbands gotten rid of you or they spend up the family savings on whores and liquor. You want revenge on the men we've taken because surely we must of drugged them or stolen their hearts? So you come looking for trouble down here late at night hoping to catch the little tramp that slept with your husband, am I right? Little do you know that we're trained in other arts besides sexual pleasures!"
Miaka whimpered at the girl's ruthless voice and began crying, now more than ever unable to stop the flow of tears.
"Please….I'm not a wife out for revenge or anything else of that kind. I am lost and scared and I don't know where I am, oh, please let me go. I swear I won't come back I'll never speak about you to anyone!"
The girl pulled the blade from underneath Miaka's throat swiftly and effortlessly.
"It doesn't matter if you're lying and I know you are….." She trailed off.
"But I'll let you go because I think you have the wrong whore house." Eyeing Miaka's clothing she lifted her dress to reveal her long shapely legs as she put the blade back into its holster. She firmly pressed it against her hip securing its position. Taking out a comb from inside her breasts she began working her hair into a bun as she spoke.
"You're obviously some rich man's wife judging from your appearance. What you want to do is go into the better districts and look for prostitutes. They don't stick out like we do here but their there all the same, just look for the Red Light District. Despite what you might think rich men still want rich whores, they don't like being caught with trashy low cost girls that any drunk off the street can buy with a month's wages."
Still staring at Miaka she let out a sigh and then a snappish yell, "Well what are you waiting for! Get the Hell out of her before I decide to steal that pretty little dress off you and dump your body in the river! Stick around and I just might change my mind."
Every fiber of Miaka's being told her to run but she couldn't. She had been running all day and she just didn't have the strength to do anything else but cry. Still weeping she pleaded helplessly.
"I told you I'm not anybodies wife. Well….I might be but I don't know! I woke up today in a man's house but I ran away and now I have no idea were I am or how I got hear. I've been running all day and I just need someplace to rest for the night, I'm so tired…"
The girl looked at her with disgust, "By the Gods above someone's beaten you senseless! What in the fuck are you babbling about?"
Miaka stopped open mouthed at the crude audacity of the girl's speech, stupefied.
"You've obviously been beaten honey. You're going on and on about nothing. Let's review the facts, you woke up in a man's house, ran away and now you can't remember where you are!" The girl let out a high whistle, "And the girl's say I've got problems."
"Look Hon if you want a place to stay you only need one thing."
Miaka glanced at her hopefully, "Yes, whatever it is I'll gladly give it to you!"
The girl let go of her hair and pushed out her open palm in front of Miaka.
"That'll be fifteen gold ryos for one night stay which includes breakfast. Women don't normally stay here but we can make accommodations, money is money."
Miaka felt the tears start to fight their way up to her eyes again as she spoke.
"I already told you I don't have any of this town's money I really-"
The girl let out a fake yawn cutting her off, "Yes, yes, yes almost forgot you've been beaten extensively so you can't pay right now and you're also suffering from amnesia as you run from your rich no good, I can't remember if I even have one, spouse." Turning around she beckoned lazily behind her shoulder with her hands, "Come with me."
Miaka opened her mouth and closed it three times struggling whether to take the time and correct this mysterious girl's impression of her or just let her assume whatever she wanted. As she watched the last of the girl's dress disappear from behind the door she decided right then and there to let this strange girl think whatever she wanted. Running after her she sent a silent prayer up above as she closed the door behind her, "Please let me find a bed to sleep in and don't let this girl be evil. I have no where else to go."