Chapter 3
“Urgh, what happened?” I mumbled to myself as I woke up.
“You’re alright now,” a soothing voice told me. “We found you blanked out in the middle of the city, and brought you here.” Huh? Here? I opened my eyes, to see I was in a small house. A girl, who looked a few years older than me, probably about 19, was sitting on the edge of the bed I was lying on.
I sat up, and looked around, panicking. “Where am I?” I asked the girl. What happened? The last thing I remembered was that the book flashed, and then I blacked out.
“Don’t worry, you’re safe. You’re in my house, I live here with my sister.” The girl answered me. I looked at her, and realised she was actually really pretty. “I’m Haruko,” she smiled.
“Uh, I’m Suzuki,” I smiled back.
The door to the house opened, and another girl walked in. She looked about 18. “Ah, so she’s awake!” she said, looking at me. She walked up to the bed, and sat down next to Haruko.
“Suzuki, this is my sister, Narikin,” Haruko smiled, gesturing to the girl.
“Nice to meet you,” Narikin smiled.
“Yes,” I nodded. Then I realised that both of the girls were wearing kimonos. Where was I? “So where am I?” I asked, trying to figure out how far away from home I was.
“You’re in the Konan Empire of course,” Narikin answered.
“The Konan… Empire?” I said, in a state of shock.
“Yup!” Narikin nodded.
I jumped out of the bed, and ran out the front door. “No way,” I whispered, when I saw what was in front of me. A large city, that looked like it was from a painting of ancient China. “No way!” I shook my head. “I was just at Minako’s house! It’s impossible!” I cried out.
“Hey, are you all right?” Haruko and Narikin ran up to me.
“I want to go home!” I cried, and another flash of light surrounded me.
I looked around, and realised my body was disappearing. “Suzuki!” Narikin and Haruko called. Then, it was like I was floating.
“What’s happening?” I whispered, and looked down to see Haru, Minako, and her father, staring at the universe of the four gods.
“Suzuki!” They all called out. “Suzuki! Where are you?!”
“I’m here!” I tried to call out, when a voice whispered in my mind. It is not time for you to return home just yet little one... And I was pulled away from the scene beneath me. “Wait!” I cried. “I want to stay!”
When I opened my eyes again, Narikin and Haruko were staring at me. “What just happened?” Narikin blinked in surprise.
“I don’t know. But, it seems strangely familiar,” Haruko answered her, and Narikin and I both turned to stare at her. Trust them… The voice flittered through my mind. And for some reason, I did. Come… The voice whispered again, and my legs started to move with me telling them too.
“Where are you going?” Narikin and Haruko both turned to look at me.
“Follow me,” I heard someone tell them, and I realised it was me. I saw Haruko turn to Narikin, who shrugged, and started to follow me. Haruko looked at us both, and followed behind.
Here… The voice whispered, and I stopped walking. I looked around, and I stopped when I saw a shrine with a portrait painted on it. “This shrine is dedicated to the priestess of Suzaku, and her seven warriors, destined to protect her,” Narikin read the writing engraved on the shrine. I turned to look at her, and realised that both her and Haruko were staring at the portrait of the priestess and her warriors, as if they were in a trance.
They both reached out to the shrine at the same time, but they were focused on two different people. Haruko placed her hand on the picture of a man, with a character written on his neck. “Hotohori,” she whispered as she closed her eyes and smiled.
Narikin put her hand on one of the other pictures, a man with a symbol written on his chest. “Nuriko,” she whispered as she smiled and closed her eyes.
I looked closer at the two portraits, and realised, with a shock, that Narikin looked a lot like Nuriko. It was the same with Haruko, she looked a lot like the man she said was named Hotohori. All of a sudden, a bright light flashed, and surrounded Haruko and Narikin.
When the light disappeared, I looked at the two girls. They both seemed as if nothing had happened. Then I looked at Haruko’s neck. “Haruko! You’re neck!” I cried out. On her neck, was the same character that had been on the neck of the paining of Hotohori. I looked back at the painting, and gasped. The mark had disappeared off Hotohori’s neck.
I then looked at the painting of Nuriko, and with another gasp, I realised the character had disappeared off his chest. I walked up to Narikin, and, peeking out from the top of her kimono, I spotted the character that had previously been on the painting. What had just happened?
