This Isn't Tokyo... {open}

[由 Yuna 奈]

A forest?

No, this wasn't right... the shrine she had been in only moments before was definitely nowhere near a forest. Well, Motoko wasn't sure whether it had been moments, or hours, to be honest. All the same, this was definitely not where she was when she fainted.

Fainted... the word left a bad taste in her mouth. She wasn't the type to faint, and yet she had. The only in her defense was that she wasn't to blame for fainting. That spirit had done something to her... it's power was unnatural. She had never seen anything like it before in her life. To be honest her experience with the supernatural was extremely limited, but all the same, there had just been something off from the beginning.

Why had her sister asked for help in the first place? Tsuruko could normally handle something like that easily by herself. She didn't need Motoko's help at all, and yet she had specifically said that she couldn't do it without her help. Strange... Motoko sighed. This wasn't the time to be thinking about that though. There were more important things to be concerned about.

The swords woman continued walking through the forest until she came to a well. Now that was odd... a well in the middle of a forest... This was definitely not Tokyo. A shiver ran down the young woman's spine. There was evil in the air... Before Motoko could even bring up her katana a turtle flew into her face.

The woman let out a shriek and stumbled backward, trying to lurch the thing off, but it wouldn't let go of her. "Turtle, turtle, turtle!" Where had the thing come from? It had popped out of nowhere at her. She let out another shriek as it licked her nose, and began to swing her katana around madly.

[pyroalumina]

While walking through a forest, the Taro's infamous 'disease' of hunger struck him, sending him from a place to camp out for the night to a search for food. Taro decided to go to high ground to find his food until he saw a girl about his age looking like she was lost. Taro caught an idea that he felt he would regret. If the girl was lost then, mixed with Taro's speed and tree-climbing, he could rob her for any valuables she had with her. If he got something from her then maybe he wouldn't need to hunt for his food and he could just pay for it like anyone else. So, he secretly followed her in the trees making sure she wouldn't see him. Taro wasn't so skilled with walking in trees as he was with running. That came obvious since Taro wasn't really the most quiet person. Occasionally, a branch would snap causing him to hide higher in the branches and work on from then. Though, like a hawk looking down on his prey, he expertly walked on the branches and broke a couple, though catching them before they would fall on the ground -or the girl.

Everything was going well and he eventually followed her to a well. Thank god, I'm so thirsty! he thought. If that well had any water, he would hold off robbing the young female and quenching his thirst. Then again, he could get two things and escape scott-free. He dropped down from his tree and crouched, getting ready to pounce on his prey until his eye caught wind of something on a rock. His attention was directed on a hard shelled green animal making his way over a rock. To anyone else, it would be desperate to take the turtle but to him it was lunch and nothing more. He grabbed it and looked at it, inspecting it from the head down to the tail. He smirked and walked to the well, not paying attention to where he was going he tripped on a root from the tree, having his lunch fall straight from his hand into the air and sadly, into the girl's face.

There went Taro's lunch. Yup, he had grabbed that turtle and was about to try some way on cooking it, however, it had got out of his hands and landed on the face of a young girl. Oh how he dreaded when things like that happened. It seemed that bad luck trailed him wherever he went, and it was trying to take it's toll on his stomach. He darted to save his meal but backed up and watched as the girl pulled out a sword and blindly swung it around and started screaming. Taro's tail twitched as he looked at the girl's act with a confused look. Was she honestly that scared of a turtle? It made him think, having different questions swimming in his mind. The most important question was; If she was going to swing that sword around like a fool, what the hell would he eat for lunch??

"Hey...Hey...girl! You done? You gonna eat that?" He asked.

[由 Yuna 奈]

Motoko quickly came out of her turtle daze, since the poor creature had already fallen to the ground and had slunk off somewhere. She was relieved that it wasn't in sight, if only so she wouldn't embarrass herself anymore. Not that she really cared about embarrassment... she believed that it was a part of life, even for one as proud as her.

Looking up she frowned. What was that man doing in a tree? Was he... was he spying on her? She felt her temper flare, and had to really work to keep herself from attacking him directly. She didn't know if he had been spying on her for sure, and until she did know, she shouldn't attack him. ...even if the prospect was tempting.

Narrowing her eyes she glared coolly up at him. "Excuse me, but I do not think what I do is any of your business."

[pyroalumina]

Taro gasped. What a bad attitude for a girl to have, especially one who messed with a predator's meal. He frowned and spat on the ground in her direction. He tapped his foot on the ground and cracked his knuckles, staring at her. He absolutley had nothing to say after that remark. He scratched his nose and gritted his teeth, finally thinking about something to say to her.

"It is my business I find out what you do with that turtle. Simply because that turtle you was trying to slice up was my lunch. So, I suggest you get it before it goes away. Hey, I never saw a person get that crazy over one little turtle. You'd think that you'd be more scared of a wolf, me really, than a small...little...snack er... animial." He said showing her his tail. He smirked and kept his eyes on her. Robbing her and running away would be easy but there would be no fun in that. Like a pup with a cornered small animal, he would play with her until he tired with her. This was against everything Taro naturally was though but hey, hunger could change a person's personality for the worse, rather than the better.

Taro kept his eyes fixed on the turtle and saw it trying to leave. One thing about that prey, they were very slow and he could tend to his other needs. So, while leaving the turtle alone, he looked around at the forest and took a seat on the edge of the well. He looked in it and whistled.

"So, are ya lost in this forest?" He asked.

[由 Yuna 奈]

Motoko looked calmly at him, determined to not lose her temper, or to show any emotion. That wasn't such a hard feat, since she had been doing both for years and years, ever since she was a young child. Even though her time at the Hinata Apartments had managed to get her to show more emotion most of the time, she could still easily revert back into the stoic person whom was so admired.

"If you are looking for the turtle, I do not know where it went," she replied, her tone one of disinterest. "It crawled off somewhere once it fell to the ground. So I suggest you look somewhere else for your meal." Even though she managed to keep her outward appearance calm, her inner self was anything but. He had a tail? What sort of trickery was this? That wasn't normal, even in some of the strangest parts of Tokyo.

Could it be that this really wasn't Tokyo? Or if it was... she had somehow been transported back into the past? If that were so, then her sister asking her to go and exorcise that evil spirit made sense. Tsuruko hadn't wanted anything to happen to herself, so she had sent Motoko to do the work for her. What a selfish sister I have, she thought darkly.

Motoko shook her head, placing her sheathed katana back on her waist. "No, I am not lost. And if I were, I would be able to find my way in time." The unspoken end of the sentence was, 'I just don't know how much time'.

[pyroalumina]

One of Taro's nerves snapped. His eyes darted around, looking for the turtle in each direction. What was going on with this girl? Like seriously, how could she loose something like that? Taro jumped to the floor and sniffed for the turtle, even going as far as whistling for it. But, there was no answer and he was left, once again, without food. He growled, barring his teeth then turned to the girl. He held the palm of his hand on his forehead and paced. He looked around on the floor and thought about taking a blade of grass and munching on that. No, that would be a disgrace to him and wolves in general. She suggested that he find something else to eat. A smart decision but Taro was a person who didn't like searching. The kid was lazy and couldn't stand most work. For him, finding that turtle would be his work for the hour and he would do whatever he felt until he got hungry again.

"Find something else to eat?! How do you suppose I do that? That turtle was going to be my lunch but now, I'm going to die from starvation!" He said with a plop to the ground in front of her feet. He saw a catipillar squirm away leaving him with a disgusted look on his face. He stood up and looked at the girl.

"Listen you, I could care less if you was lost or not! You lost my lunch and now...you owe me big time." He said with a smirk. "If you know what I mean."

[由 Yuna 奈]

Motoko frowned slightly. He wanted to eat the turtle? Flashbacks to when Su had tried to eat Tama ran through her mind. She almost rolled her eyes, but managed to keep herself from doing so. But really, why did so many people want to eat turtles? She doubted that they tasted very good, and they were just so... so slimy and disgusting. And creepy, too.

"I don't see why you can't just find something else." She frowned again, tilting her head to the side ever so slightly. "I highly doubt that you would starve to death before finding something."

Now what was he going on about? She owed him? For making a turtle get away? This was ridiculous... it wasn't even her fault that the turtle got away from him. She decided she might as well mention that to him. "You do know that you were the one who lost the turtle in the first place, right? So you were responsible for it's disappearance." Placing a hand on her sword handle she narrowed her eyes dangerously. "And I highly doubt you want to try anything on me, demon."

[pyroalumina]

Taro rose up and looked at her with a strained expression on his face. He would have to let his hunger stand aside so he went and sat on a rock looking into space. Even though he would forget about the turtle, she was now blaming him for the slip up. Taro did a low growl and shook his head lightly. He then jumped up and balled his fist in anger, having his voice raise to a frightening tone.

"It was my fault?! If you never went into the attack mode to try and slice up something that wasn't going to kill you, he would've never left! By the way, what girl carries around a sword and goes picking fights with people stronger than you?" He said chuckling and showing a muscle. "Don't you think it's kind of stupid to pick fights with wolf demons?"

He then saw her put her reach for her sword, something that made Taro's ears perk in shock and also in an entertaining state. He came down from the rock and went into his defensive mode which involved him circling the opponent and slightly barring his teeth.

"I didn't mean it like the way you think...or want," He said saything 'or want' really low. "What's a person like you carrying around a sword anyway?"

[由 Yuna 奈]

Motoko sighed. This was just getting worse and worse... she definitely didn't want to fight this thing, even though the prospect of teaching him a lesson really was quite appealing. If she fought him now, there was a possibility that she would lose. Her head hurt, probably from when she hit it on... well, she wasn't quite sure what she had hit it on, but she remembered the feeling of running into something.

"Well, if you had never dropped the turtle in the first place, than I would never have attacked it."

Looking down at her sword she sighed again, and removed her hand from the hilt. There was no point in holding it and further provoking this demon--wolf demon?--into a fight. "Calm yourself, demon. I do not wish to fight you."

Pressing her lips together she wondered why she was still speaking to this thing, instead of just walking away. Probably because she didn't want to end up getting more lost in this forest, though she wouldn't admit that. "It is none of your business why I choose to carry a sword." Although I don't completely choose it... it is more thrust upon me.

[pyroalumina]

Taro sneered at the fact that she accused him of dropping the turtle but then he started thinking about it. Had he turned around instead of following her, maybe he wouldn't have dropped it. Honest mistake if looked at it in the logical persepective. Taro let out a weak laugh and stopped circling the girl.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Sorry for accusing you," He said bowing his head down. He then saw her take her hand off of her weapon and let out a small sigh. He didn't want to nor was he going to fight the girl. Taro was a man of peace and only fought if necessary and since she was going on the offense, he only acted on the defense.

"Taro," He said. "Taro Kenchi, not demon. I wasn't going to fight you anyway and since you calmned down there's no reason to fight now am I right?" He said with a laugh. He was so relaxed that he forgot all about his hunger. He then looked around in the forest and then turned back to the girl.

"No need to bite my head off with the sword girl. Just curious, ya know?" He said. He jumped to a tree branch and stood up, looking down back at the girl.

"You sure you're not lost? I know the way if you want to get out of here," He said.

[由 Yuna 奈]

When he introduced himself, Motoko vaguely wondered if she should give a name other than her own. She was tempted to give her sister's instead, but decided against it. What would the point be in using a false name? It wasn't as though he would ever be able to use her real name against her or anything. She knew by now that she was definitely not going to meet up with anyone she knew.

"Motoko Aoyama," she said quietly, her normally dark eyes appearing even darker than normal. She sighed, and shook her head. She knew that even if she got out of this forest she would still be in trouble, and at a complete loss for what to do.

"Even if you could get me out of this forest, it would do me no good in the long run." She looked down at herself and sighed again. She was wearing a white haori and red hakama, perfectly average clothing for this age--at least, she assumed that it was. The point was that there was no way she could say she didn't think she was from this era without sounding completely insane.

Finally she settled on the closest she could come to the truth without sounding crazy. "I'm not from anywhere around here, and I doubt that I would be able to find my way, even if I were not in this forest."

[pyroalumina]

"Motoko Aoyama," he said. Cute name."

Taro jumped on the branch and did it continously doing it in the same motion a person would jump on a diving board. He grabbed the branch on top of him and landed back on the ground in front of her, falling straight on his rear-end. He slowly got up and rubbed his back. He looked at her with an embarrassed look and straightened himself out, having his tail twitch.

"I'm not a feline or anything."

"Why? Do you have somebody outside that wants you dead or something? You should be OK since you have that sword and everything, and well...I'll help you out too!" Taro said. Taro then started thinking.

"You're not from here? Exactly where are you from? It can't be hard to find your way if you tell me where you're from. If you need help, it's no problem for me." He rushed to the tree again and caught a grip on the trunk.

"Besides, how did you end up in this forest?"

[由 Yuna 奈]

Motoko's lips twitched when he fell out of the tree. She at least managed to keep from laughing though, although she knew the partial smirk she had on her face now was just as bad form. Quickly she wiped the smirk off her face, returning it to a blank one. "You should try and be more careful," she commented.

Laughing in a way that would have made even some of the strongest, meanest swordsmen she knew shiver, she shook her head. "Where I'm from? You wouldn't believe me if I told you. And I highly doubt you would ever be able to get me back there." She paused before adding, "Alive, anyway."

"And no, I do not have anyone after me. At least, no one who would be able to find me." After all, people from another era wouldn't be able to get me here. "And I do not know how I came to be in this forest. I simply awoke here." After being knocked unconscious by an evil spirit approximately five hundred years in the future.

Gods, that voice in her head was really starting to annoy her. Motoko wished she could just tune the voice out, though she knew she couldn't.

[pyroalumina]

While on the trunk of the tree, Taro slid back down when Motoko started talking again. He looked at the tree and lightly kicked it putting on a pissed look on his face. He nodded in agreement and licked his lips. He then rose from the ground, having his ears and tail move to the right and to the left when he heard Motoko just laugh in a terrorizing voice. He looked at her with a face twisted in confusion and shock.

"I wouldn't believe you eh? Go ahead, try me. I've heard so many stories and met so many weird people I bet your story won't even cut it," He said. Taro couldn't say much about him getting her to where she came from. He was a person who just ran through the world and kept some locations memorized. To tell the truth, he didn't know where he was exactly but he knew two things about his current location; He knew how to get out and there was hardly any food there.

"So you just woke up in here? That's weird and sounds creepy. You're basically lost with no way on getting home huh," He stated messing up his hair, "You must have family worrying about you."

[由 Yuna 奈]

Motoko frowned slightly. He was definitely persistent, so she had to give him credit for that. Still though, he was a man... and he was definitely grating on her nerves. Someone had once commented to her that her hatred of men was thanks to her sister marrying one and leaving the family, but... she had never put much stock in that. All the same, for all she knew, that could be true.

"Have you ever heard of Tokyo?" she asked, already knowing the answer. Even though she knew Tokyo hadn't even been formed yet, she knew there was still a chance that he knew of it. If he did, he had probably met someone else in her situation...

Her eyes darkened, taking in a sad quality that was just barely visible. "No... I doubt that my family is worried. My only family is my sister, and she is never worried about me. She has other concerns." And I doubt anyone at the Apartments will be worried; they think I'm at a kendo retreat.