CHAPTER 2: NEW ACQUAINTANCES
Toki tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable in the tight sleeping bag on the uneven ground. Even the calming sound of the water running past in the stream did nothing to lull her into sleep. Toki sighed, glancing sidelong at the weapon in the grass and then looking up at the half-moon hanging in the dark sky. As all that had happened replayed in her mind, all sorts of questions surfaced. What is this necklace? Who sent it to me? She turned the gemstone around in her fingers and held it up to her face. Why did they bring me here? And what about these other people that Takeshi said are here, too?
An owl’s hoot startled Toki from her confused thoughts. A slight crack from a nearby bush nearly sent Toki jumping to her feet, but the constricting sleeping bag just flipped over instead as a mouse fled the bush at the sound of Toki’s shriek.
“Ughhh…” Toki turned back over in the sleeping bag. “I wanna go home and sleep in my real bed.” She lay there, trying to force sleep again, but having thoughts of home invade her mind instead. “I wish I had my phone. I want to hear Mom’s voice. Even Atsuko’s bratty voice would do.” She sighed again and started humming the first tune that came to mind. A vivid image of her sister singing and dancing with her flashed through her mind. Oh. This is the song that Yumi used to like so much.
The next thing Toki knew, she was waking up as the sky lightened before dawn. Where…? Her sleepy eyes sprang open as she bolted upright. “Mom? Atsuko?” Registering her surroundings – the stream, the courtyard, and the castle – she remembered the previous day’s events. Oh. Right. She dragged herself from the sleeping bag and stared down at the long-poled sword that was in the grass about a foot away. She hoisted up the heavy naginata and swung it as Takeshi had shown her – once, twice, again and again, until, before she knew it, the sun had risen above the trees past the courtyard.
Exhausted, Toki settled in the grass for a break, when a voice called out, “Hey, you!”
Toki quickly jumped up at the provocation. Am I in trouble? She readied the weapon that Takeshi had given her for protection, dreading the moment that she would actually have to use it. Toki searched for where the voice had come from and spotted the person in a tree nearby. Uneasily, she called out, “What do you want?”
The person in the tree stood up on a thick, low-hanging bough. Now that Toki could see the full figure, she realized that it was a lean-bodied girl. The girl’s long, indigo ribbon blew in the breeze. “Looks like you’ve finally gotten a bit better with that oddball sword of yours,” the girl commented. She whipped out what looked like a hand fan as she proudly placed her other hand on her hip. “How ‘bout a fight?”
“NO WAY!” Toki shouted. Is she nuts? Or is everyone here a fighting maniac?!
“I think it’s time to test your skills a bit,” the girl insisted.
“I said, NO,” Toki repeated firmly.
“Look,” the girl kept pushing, “if you ever hope to become a swordswoman, don’t think you’ll get far with that attitude. I’m gonna teach you a thing or two – whether you like it or not!” She sized Toki up for a long moment. Who is...this total newb?! As she watched Toki try to threateningly hold the sword out despite her trembling arms, she held back a laugh. It was like watching a frightened rabbit attempt to lift a baseball bat. Well, you gotta give her points for standing her ground.
As Toki was about to protest again, a familiar voice called out from behind them.
“That’s enough!” Takeshi stepped in front of Toki and faced the tall girl in the tree. The girl in the tree put her hand fan away, and when Takeshi motioned for her to come down from her perch, she jumped and landed lightly on her feet. “Kita, this is Toki Shimizu,” Takeshi introduced her. “Toki, this is Kita Hikichi.”
Toki uneasily stared at the girl who’d threatened her only moments ago but seemed to be friends with Takeshi.
“I’ve brought both of you here for the same purpose,” Takeshi continued. “There’s no reason for you to fight each other.”
“All right, Takeshi, I got it. Look, I just wanted to test her out a bit; I wasn’t actually gonna hurt her or anything,” Kita brushed him off. “But, seriously, you brought this squirt here to help us fight? She doesn’t seem like she could do much.”
In that moment, Toki recalled the taunts of the girls in school. This again…? Shut up, you don’t even know me! Seething, Toki jabbed her naginata into the dirt and stomped forward. “Quit treating me like some NOBODY!”
Takeshi stepped between the girls again. “Enough, already!” he cried. “All right, look. I’ve got to leave for a bit. Can you cool off and play nice for a while?”
“Play nice?” Who does this kid think he’s talking to? Toki bit her tongue and stepped back as Takeshi eyed her. And what’s he looking at me for? She started it!
“Whatever, Takeshi,” Kita sighed.
“Good.” And with that, Takeshi disappeared off again, leaving the girls to stand in an awkward silence.
Kita finally spoke up first. “So. Takeshi brought you here, too, huh?”
“Yeah. So?” Toki said guardedly. “Why are we here, anyway? Where is here?”
To Toki’s surprise, Kita laughed. “How ‘bout we walk while we talk? Aren’tcha sick of standing still yet?” She turned to start walking, casting her gaze back over her shoulder. “I know I am. And this is gonna be a looong convo.”
“Come again?” Toki asked confusedly.
“Y’know, I kinda like you, Squirt. You’ve got spunk,” Kita chuckled. “But you’ve gotta loosen up a bit. You’re so uptight.”
I’m uptight? You tried to attack me! Toki thought indignantly.
And just like that, the older girl strutted off as if she was about to go on a casual stroll with a buddy of hers. Toki could only stare after her in bewilderment. Okay… So, now she wants to be my friend…?
“You comin’?” Kita called.
Not particularly caring for the idea of being left alone for hours again, Toki took off after her. The scenery quickly changed from woods and streams to small clay buildings with thatched roofs. The girls started following one of the small dirt pathways stretched between the austere structures. Toki couldn’t help but notice that the people around them, like Takeshi, were all dressed in blues and greys, and some girls and women were wearing purple. A lot of them – but not all – also had varying shades of blue hair.
“You see, Takeshi hasn’t exactly told anyone what’s going on yet,” Kita began. “I got here several weeks ago, and I still don’t know what he wants from me. The guy likes to keep people in suspense. I’m sure you’ve kind of noticed that already.”
Toki curiously looked in the windows of some small shops as she listened. “No kidding,” she muttered. “So, have you figured out a way back home while you’ve had all this free time?”
“Nope. I don’t even know how I got here, so I don’t know how to leave,” Kita told her. “Not that I’ve had much chance to figure it out, either.”
“What?!” Toki cried, her attention finally drawn away from the shops and the many sellers’ stands that lined the path they were following. “What do you mean, you haven’t had a chance? What have you been up to all this time?”
“Well… Takeshi wound up introducing me to this girl who lives near the village, and she’s been teaching me how to fight.” Kita smiled with excitement at the thought. “Like in the classic martial arts movies. I’ve always been into that stuff.” She threw a couple punches to demonstrate. “By the way, my teacher’s a ninja.”
So, it’s not just me – Takeshi leaves everybody he brings here on their own to learn how to fight, huh? Toki was having a hard time believing the ninja part, though. But then again, just being in this place was already unbelievable enough. “So, where’s your weapon?”
“Right here,” Kita said, pulling out two red-and-green hand fans decorated with a yellow floral design.
It really was a fan that she was holding before. “Fans? Really? You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Toki snickered.
“These aren’t ordinary fans, Squirt,” Kita corrected her proudly. “They give me control over air. Just one of these can whip up a twister in seconds!” She scanned for something she could demonstrate with without causing a lot of damage and spotted a crabapple in a nearby tree. “Just watch.”
Kita motioned for Toki to step back. Then, she drew back her hand and flicked the fan upward. It felt like something sliced through the air, and Toki heard a sharp whistle. The tree branches above them blew upward, the apple’s stem snapped, and the fruit fell from the tree into Kita’s hand.
Toki gaped for a second, registering what had just happened, before breaking into a starry-eyed smile. It was like something out of a superhero TV show. “Wow!”
“You’re funny.” Kita chuckled. “You remind me of my little sis’ back home.”
“You have a sister? What is she like?” Toki asked. She found herself wondering what her own sister was doing now, and just as she’d gotten lost in the thought, Kita walked off into one of the shops. “Hey, where are you going?” Toki called and ran after her.
“Look!” Kita pointed out a dress hanging on a rack near the doorway. “It seems like this one would suit you!”
“I can pick out my own clothes, thank you very much!” Toki cried in embarrassment.
“Aw, come on, you’re running around in your socks,” Kita pointed out, “and we don’t know how long we’ll be stuck here. You might as well have fun with it.”
Toki felt her face flush. “But I don’t have any way to pay you back,” she admitted.
“Oh, is that all?” Kita’s face lit up. “It’s on me! Just consider it a gift to make up for picking a fight with you earlier.” She winked at Toki and called over a helper in the shop – a young woman with purple hair and a curved marking on her forehead.
Toki resigned herself to accepting Kita’s gift, especially seeing how psyched she was to be shopping with someone she said reminded her of her sister. In truth, Toki felt a sense of nostalgia from it, too – not just because Aki went shopping with her on the weekends, but also because her older sister used to take her on the trains to the malls in the big city and buy outfits and accessories for her when she was a kid.
This was a little different from those excursions. There were no other sizes of any of the outfits on display. The shop helper took Toki’s measurements and fitted the dress for her. When it came time to pay, only traded goods were accepted, and Kita gave the shop owner a handful of what looked like small gemstones in the rough. By the time it was all said and done, they had a dress on the way that they’d have to pick up later that night.
What an odd place, Toki thought as they left the shop.
“Okay, back on topic,” Kita abruptly said. “What were we talking about?”
Toki wanted to ask more about Kita’s sister, but Kita quickly retraced her steps and got her train of thought back.
“Oh, yeah! Figuring a way out of here,” she said. “What I’ve picked up from the bits and pieces I’ve heard from Takeshi and my teacher is that we’re not on Earth anymore, but some other world, the Water Gate, where people have powers. Seems nuts, I know. But Takeshi won’t spill much more info than that until he gets these mysterious ‘others’ together. Guess we’re just waiting for the whole gang to finish showing up.”
“Another world, huh? It all sounds insane…” And yet, the more she saw, the less she could deny it… and the more frustrated she felt that Takeshi wouldn’t give them more information. Toki wondered if she should even trust Takeshi, after all that had happened. Come to think of it… he knew my name, and I’d never even introduced myself, she realized. “How does Takeshi know us, anyway? What makes him think he has the right to keep us here?” As Toki thought more and more about it, her anxiety—and anger—grew.
“He seems harmless enough,” Kita said resignedly. “I mean, he’s just a kid, y’know?” She shrugged. “Maybe he’s a bit weird, but I think we can trust him.”
“Trust him?” Toki blurted out. “What has he told us about himself, huh? – Nothing! How do we know he’s not tied up with bad peop – ?”
“Uh, Toki!!”
Before Toki could take heed, she collided with a boy on the path and fell – and, as she glanced around in confusion, she noticed for the first time the way some of the village's residents around them were looking at them, some even drawing away.
“Would you mind watching where you’re going?”
The boy’s irritated comment snapped Toki back into the moment. She had knocked the redhead onto his backside, and she was awkwardly perched over him. Toki’s face flushed. She instantly jumped to her feet. “Sorry! Sorry! I didn’t mean it! Really!!” She clumsily caught the boy’s wrist. “Here, let me help you up!” she offered.
The boy abruptly jerked his arm back. “No, that’s okay,” he declined tersely, masking a wince. “I don’t need your help.” Toki stepped aside, and the boy got to his feet.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Toki asked.
“Yeah, it’s no big deal.” The boy dusted himself off and straightened out the orange bandanna that hung around his neck. As he took his first good look at the girls, his knitted eyebrows raised with curiosity. They weren’t familiar faces, and their clothes were more of a contemporary style compared to the villagers’ semi-traditional oriental clothing. To top it off, they were gawking like tourists. They don’t seem to have family marks, either. So, they must be… He gave them one last quick look-over. “I don’t think I’ve seen you two around here before. What are your names?”
Kita stepped between them. “I’m Kita Hikichi, and this is Toki Shimizu.” She gestured to Toki. “We’re kind of new around here.”
“I see. Then, are you two part of Takeshi’s group?” the boy asked.
“Yeah!” Toki blurted out. “How did you know?”
“My name’s Reka Norikawa,” the redhead introduced himself, “and Takeshi invited me here too. Speaking of whom, have you guys seen Takeshi?” he asked. Under his breath, he muttered, “It’s hard to get in touch with that guy.”
“Yeah, we saw him this morning,” Kita replied. “And before that, Toki met him when she got here last night.”
“Last night?” Reka repeated. “Then are you the last one?”
“Me? I guess … maybe…?” Toki scratched her head and blinked questioningly at the boy. The others that Takeshi and Kita kept talking about are here already? Where, then? “Um… Just how many people did Takeshi bring here?”
“Eight, including myself,” Reka replied.
“EIGHT?!?” Kita and Toki blurted out in unison.
“That’s right,” Reka replied.
He’s putting eight people through this? Toki thought to herself. Reka seemed to know more about what was going on, so she asked, “Do you know what it is he’s roping us all into?”
“You’re from Earth, so you’re probably not aware of this, but there’s a big emergency in the Gates right now. He needs us to help him patch things up.”
“‘Gates’?” Toki repeated.
“The dimensions,” Reka explained. “Here, we call them ‘Gates’. This is the Water Gate, and I come from the Fire Gate. Takeshi’s asking people from all over to come and help out.”
“Wait a minute,” Kita interrupted, “how did you know we’re from Earth specifically?”
Reka pointed to the marking he had on his forehead – which many of the villagers also had, though they were all different shapes and colors. His reddish marking was shaped similarly to a backwards letter ‘F’ from the English alphabet. “You guys don’t have family marks,” he said. “That’s a dead giveaway, since it’s a custom of Gate natives.” He glanced around for a moment, and then turned and started walking away. “Let’s not keep talking here.”
Toki felt the eyes of the villagers on them and heard their murmurs as she, Kita and Reka made their way out of the market. Now that Reka had explained, she realized that it was mainly him that the villagers were looking at. Is it because he’s not from here? Toki guessed. We all stick out, don’t we? In any case, it felt good when they were free of the stares and heading back into another wooded area.
“You seem to know Takeshi pretty well,” Toki observed. “Are you two friends, Reka?”
“I wouldn’t exactly call us ‘friends’,” Reka replied, “but I’ve gotten to know him a little. We’re more like partners.”
“Oh. That’s a surprise.”
Kita cocked an eyebrow in disbelief. “So, Reka,” Kita spoke up, “do you know your way around pretty well?”
“Somewhat,” Reka answered. “Why? You guys looking for a tour guide?” The corner of his mouth upturned in a small smile.
“I guess you could say that,” Kita chuckled.
“All right, then. I’ll take you to the settlement where I’m staying, so you guys can see more of the area.”
The woods gave way to barren rocks and highlands. Soon, they were walking through a rocky gorge. This was the route that Reka usually took, but something felt off to him as they started inward. It felt like they were being watched. “Hey, let’s turn around and go another way,” he suggested warily.
“Why, you scared of a little rough terrain?” Kita asked. “C’mon, where’s your adventurer’s spirit? We can keep going!”
Even after surveying the surroundings for a moment, Reka didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. “Fine, but let’s walk a bit faster, okay?”
“Go faster?” Toki panted. “I’m tired already!” As she hunched over a bit from fatigue, she noticed the bandage wrapped around Reka’s right wrist. His arm… Is that why he wouldn’t let me help him up earlier? “Uh, hey, Reka,” she finally spoke up, “what happened to your wrist?”
Her attention captured, Kita looked down at the bandage as well. “Are you hurt?” she asked.
“It’s nothing,” Reka said curtly. The coldness in his icy-blue eyes was a little scary. But it only lasted for a moment. Suddenly, his expression changed to alarm, and Reka held his arm out to stop the girls.
“Huh? What is it?” Toki asked.
They tensed as two older teens dressed in red shirts similar to Reka’s stepped out from behind the tall rocks of the gorge walls. “Freeze where you are!” ordered the older of the two.
* * * * *
“What are we doing here, Shaoqiang?” Jun-ai rested her hands on her hips and impatiently looked around. “The last person I want to talk to is the brat who stranded us here. Let’s go.”
Her cousin calmly explained, “If Takeshi brought us here, then he’s probably our best shot at getting home. We should find out what he wants.”
“In other words, we’ve got to be on this kid’s good side if we ever want to leave this place.” Jun-ai huffed. “Fine, then. If you think it’s best, I’ll play along for now.”
Shaoqiang looked ahead at the small boy dressed in blue, with a bright red mark on his right cheek and hair even bluer than his shirt, who was walking their way. A part of him still couldn’t believe that this twelve- or thirteen-year-old boy was the one who’d summoned them here. It couldn’t be an easy thing to gather and coordinate with so many people. He was curious about what could be driving him to do all this. It couldn’t all be for some trivial whim.
“There you are!” Takeshi hurried toward them. “I’m sorry I couldn’t catch up with you earlier.”
“Just cut to the chase,” Jun-ai said. “It’s time you gave us some answers—”
“Stop, Jun,” Shaoqiang cut her off. Turning back toward Takeshi, he said, “I apologize for my cousin’s rudeness. Please pardon her.”
Takeshi accepted the apology with a nod. “Allow me to apologize, as well, for causing you needless frustration,” he said. “Everyone has arrived. If you come with me to my village, I’ll explain everything.”
That was when a man with slate-blue hair and a marking on his forehead came running toward them. “Young Takeshi!” he called. “The Fire Guards have been spotted in the Wind Labyrinth!” The man stumbled to a stop and caught his breath. “Three visitors were seen leaving the village in that direction. I assume they were your guests – one of them was that Llanian child…”
Visitors? With Reka? Takeshi’s eyes widened with alarm. “Shaoqiang, Jun-ai,” Takeshi said urgently, “before we go to the village, can you come with me to help them?”
* * * * *
Toki’s shriek echoed off the walls of the gorge as the older of the two mystery attackers lunged at her and she realized that she had nothing to defend herself with. Kita pulled her out of the way. “Where’s your weird sword-stick thingy?” she tensely half-yelled as she pulled her fans from the clips on her belt loops.
“I—I left it,” Toki stammered.
“What do you mean, you left it?!” Kita cried. She and Reka blocked the two teens’ paths to Toki, and Kita held her fans at the ready as Reka blocked a punch.
“My naginata… It’s still back at that courtyard…” Toki shook with fear. So this was why she needed a weapon – to protect herself from people like these. I can’t believe I forgot it back there… I can’t fight. And now these two have to cover for me. The guilt hit hard and fast. Why am I so useless?
“Squirt! Earth to Toki! Get back in the game!”
The older of their two opponents slipped between Kita and Toki and flung Kita aside. Toki froze, and the boy knocked her out.
Kita scrambled back to her feet, dashed ahead with her fan drawn back and then whipped it forward, releasing a burst of wind that blew the older teen away from Toki. “Toki!” Kita skidded to a stop and attacked the boy again with another strong wind. The boy crashed into the gorge wall and sat stunned for a moment. Kita looked around for his partner and saw him and Reka going at each other fiercely. “Reka, are you all right?” she called.
In the instant that Reka glanced her way, his opponent seized his bandaged wrist and twisted his arm. Reka let out a sharp cry and forced his opponent back with a blast of hot air.
“Get back!” Kita called out. As soon as Reka could jump out of the way, she blew the boy off his feet with a gale-force wind from her fan.
“DUCK!!” Takeshi’s voice echoed from somewhere behind them.
Reka yanked Kita down to the ground with him, and a storm of shuriken flew over their heads and lodged in the dirt, forcing the enemies back. “What the heck is going on now?!” Kita cried.
“Three of you couldn’t even hold off two scrawny goons?”
Kita sat up and looked back over her shoulder at the twig-thin, almond-eyed girl and the tall, slender but well-muscled young man that had arrived with Takeshi.
“Pathetic,” spat the girl.
Says the one who’s even scrawnier than the goons, Kita retorted silently.
“Do you need a hand?” the young man asked in a thick Mandarin accent.
“Yes, please!” Kita spoke up.
The young man reached for the sword at his waist. Charging forward and launching the blade from its scabbard hilt-first, he knocked out the older of the two enemy teens.
Takeshi stepped up to the younger and raised his hand, pulling groundwater from under the dirt. He froze the boy's hands together and said, “I suggest you leave.” That was enough to send the outnumbered fighter running with his tail between his legs.
“Let’s go to the village now,” Takeshi said. “The others are waiting.”
