The sound of leaves dancing in the wind. The sweet scent of nostalgia lingering in the air.
A young boy ran through the grass, pulling a little girl along by the hand. Laughter escaped her lips as she followed him. A sense of freedom filled her chest, and a bright smile spread across her face. Eyes sparkled with joy, she found herself smiling along with him.
Suddenly, the world burned.
Darkness swallowed everything, consuming every trace of light.
The little girl's hands were stained with blood.
The light in her eyes drowned beneath terror.
The boy stumbled forward, desperately trying to reach her, but his legs gave out beneath him.
Burns and blood covered his pale skin.
With trembling hands stretched toward her, he let out a desperate cry.
The world turned Dark again, consuming everything in its wake.
Only a scream lingered in the void… a final try to reach the girl one last time.
"...L-LISARAAA!!!"
"Huh—!"
My eyes snapped open.
I sat upright in the bed, breathing heavily.
"…That dream again"
I touched my face, drenched in sweat… heart beating fast.
Even after all these years, it still refused to leave me.
Just then, the sound of the doorbell echoed through the house. Curious, I stepped out of my room and heard voices downstairs. I tried to take a peek just to find Mei and another woman standing at the front door. I tried not to be found out like this, I quickly retreated to the bathroom.
I quietly pressed my ear against the door. From what I could hear, Ishida had already led them into the main hall.
"Please, have a seat on the couch"
"I'll go make us some tea."
"Oh my! What a gentle young man" The woman smiled gently.
"Mom, I'll also go and help him"
"Mom? So that's who Mei calls her mother? Yeah that's what that lowlife I mean that's what Ishida calls his mother. But what are they doing this early in the morning", I thought to myself.
"Oh! there's no need for that but if you don't mind, could you go and wake Lisara up?"
"my my isn't that the cousin I heard from Mei. I am eager to her as well"
"Her room is on the first floor"
"fine, I'll go check"
I walked over to the sink . . . Cold water splashed against my face as I stared into the mirror.
That nightmare from my childhood still haunts me. That day I lost someone very precious to me. The one I loved the most. The one who pulled me out of those bars they called "ROYALTY"—a gilded prison wrapped in silk and crowns.
"That day I laughed the most, the freest day of my life"
Yet on that very same day, I lost him forever. And now I'm trapped here instead. Perhaps the gods truly enjoy watching me suffer. A bitter smile twisting my lips. "But I am not a plaything for their amusement. I will return home. And someday, I will find him.", I muttered to myself.
I took a deep breath and left the bathroom and went for my room.
As expected, Mei was already waiting inside my room.
*Sigh*
"And here I thought I finally got rid of you. What a shame", Mei Taunted
"Excuse me! You came to my room without permission, and now you're speaking to me like that? hOW dARE yOU!"
"Whatever."
She rolled her eyes.
" I don't want to squabble first thing in the morning. Ishida was calling you so come downstairs."
She turned toward the door.
"So much for my birthday morning" she muttered.
"Wait! Today's your birthday?!", I called out to her.
"Yeah! So what?" she turned to me.
"N-Nothing! alright, I'm coming" I tied my hair and followed her down stairs.
"Oh my! so this was the girl Mei was talk...."
"HUH!"
A look of surprise flashed across her face.
For a brief moment, it was as if she had seen something completely unexpected. Then a faint smile appeared on her lips.
"Well... I suppose such things can happen in this world as well.", she muttered.
Still, I gave a polite bow.
"Nice to meet you"
"Such elegance...", The woman stared at me.
"And that face..." Her voice grew quieter.
"No... I can't be mistaken… such miracle can happen too?" Mrs. Nakashima muttered again.
Ishida entered the room carrying a tray and placed several cups on the table.
"Is there any problem?"
"OH! Not at all" Mrs. Nakashima noded her head sideways as she took the cup from the table.
"So, we are throwing a little birthday party at our household today, and I'd like both of you to come and attend it"
You have to come, Ishida!" Mei suddenly grabbed his arm.
"If you don't, I won't talk to you anymore!"
"Mei.", Mrs. Nakashima sighed. Though there was no heat in it. "It's not proper to behave like a child."
"Ehhh...", Mei pouted.
Mrs. Nakashima placed her cup down and stood up, taking her handbag from the couch.
"We should be going now. There's still a lot to prepare."
"Of course."
Ishida stood as well.
"I'll walk you out."
I sat on the couch took one of the cups and drank a little and faced the ceiling,
"A birthday party, huh..."
For a moment, memories of my own celebrations surfaced.
Bright halls.
Lavish decorations.
Endless formalities.
Then they faded away.
"I'll miss mine this year" I thought to myself
The door opened again, Ishida came and sat on the couch beside me.
"So how are Mei's parents?" I turned to him, "Are they good?"
"Yeah.", He Nodded.
"They've always treated me well. Since Noah and I are basically Mei's only friends, they're especially nice to us."
"Are they gonna invite Noah too?"
"of course! And since we have no school today we all can attend it."
"so it's gonna be the three of us only"
"pretty much"
"HUH! I wonder how it will be there"
He gave a little smirk, "Oh You'll see"
"But first you'll need some clothes. So get ready. We are heading to the shopping mall"
"HUH! What's that?...."
"Whoa ! This place looks like a palace, even bigger than that"
I had never seen a place so massive and bright. Thousands of people crowded the place, moving like ants in a colony.
"It's big indeed, It's the second biggest mall in Kyoto", Ishida said.
As we approached the entrance, the glass doors suddenly slid open.
I immediately jumped back.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" I screamed, accidentally grabbing the fool's arm.
Several people turned to look at us.
"It's just an automatic door," Ishida replied with a tired sigh.
"A door that opens by itself is not 'just' anything."
A surge of excitement burst into me.
I grabbed Ishida's sleeves and dragged him into all the stores that piqued my interest, and after circling the mall we arrived at a strange staircase.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
"The stairs are moving."
"Well… They're called escalators."
"Why are they moving?"
"So people don't have to climb."
I stared at him for a moment.
"Don't you think they are a bit lazy"
"Well these are made for those who can't properly walk, but the others also using it because this is convenient" Ishida replied.
After successfully surviving the moving stairs, we went to the second floor where we found a clothing store suitable for me, and I tried a variety of clothes.
I like trying new clothes because they are so much fun to try. They are all colorful and they smell so nice.
I went greedy and bought a little too many there.
"while we are at it, let's check some places." Ishida proposed.
"We have some historical architecture in Nagahama"
From there we navigated to the concrete crayons of the city. Compared to the strange machines and towering buildings of this era, I found myself far more interested in these historical things that had survived the passage of time.
The laughter… The freedom.
The warmth of the summer wind. And then the pain that followed. The joy and sorrow of that day were so tightly intertwined that one could never appear without the other.
I glanced towards Ishida.
He was looking around with the same curiosity as before, completely unaware of my gaze.
For a moment, my breath caught. The expression on his face...
The light in his eyes... It reminded me of someone. Of him.
A chill ran down my spine.
No.
They weren't the same. And yet... The resemblance was enough to make my chest ache. I quickly looked away.
We decided to go to a library. Since I am not familiar with the letters of this world, we think that would be the best choice, and even though I hate to admit it, I made quite a bit of blunder for this lack of knowledge.
Ishida consulted a directory map near the entrance and guided me toward the back, I saw some kids playing there.
"HAAH! Do I HAVE TO READ BOOKS OF A TODDLER NOW!" I hissed, forcing my voice into a harsh whisper.
Eventually, I found a picture book with a cute cat on the cover. I opened it and tried to read, but the symbols on the page made no sense to me.
"Want me to read it for you" he called from behind.
I turned and glared at him.
"Do I look like a child to you"
"But you can't read it on your own", he opposed with a good argue
I hated how reasonable that sounded.
After a moment, I reluctantly accepted his help. He also suggested buying a few educational DVDs and animated films so I wouldn't have to rely on him every time I wanted to learn something.
As much as I hated to admit it, it was a good idea. After gathering what we needed, we left the library.
"I am hungry with all the running now" I bailed.
"So don't run around so much next time", he replied with an annoying face.
"Shut up, and buy me some food", I bailed again
I swear I don't behave like a child all the time. Yet for some reason, around him, I find myself letting my guard down.
"Okay! Fine" he started sounding like a dad surrendering to his kid's desires
"Huh! There it is, you want some crape?"
He pointed out on a large, pink vehicle with a big window on it, and there was a guy giving food to others, crowded with customers.
"Is it good?"
"You bet. They're especially popular with girls."
That sounded convincing enough.As it turned out, it was a very good choice.
It was delicious; It was sweet and there was a white thing with too many glittery things on it.
We walked while eating our crepes.
The sun had begun to dip below the horizon.
A stone path stretched beside the lake, and we followed it at an unhurried pace.
The water was a mirror of purple and bruised orange in the twilight.
It was breathtaking, a moment of serenity that halted me in my tracks.
"It's beautiful" came out of my mouth.
"This is the place where I found you", he smirked "and surprisingly enough I was eating crepe that time too"
I looked at him,
He was kind, reliable and despite taking care of a random stranger who didn't even from this world he never complained a single time.
Not when I broke things.
Not when I caused trouble.
Not even when I made his life more difficult.
The more I thought about it, the less I understood him.
"Hey Ishida, why did you take in a total stranger like me in your care?" I asked looking at the twilight coming out of the lake.
He smiled again,
"When I saw you lying beside the lake, my heart just told me to reach out."
My eyes widened. For a moment, the world around me faded.
The sound of the lake. The evening breeze. The distant voices of people.
Everything disappeared.
Only a memory remained." Why did you sneak me away from the carriage?"
The boy replied, "My heart just told me to reach out, that's it"
Suddenly I spouted the words "Urahara"
He looked at me with a confusing face,
"Urahara, who is that, and why are you crying?"
"It's nothing" I brushed off my tears and moved towards home.
He followed me behind.
We walked towards home in the setting sun. Hot summer breeze felt so irritating enough to make me wish for a carriage.
"Huh! I don't want to walk anymore. Can we use those taxi things?"
"Haah! We are this close to home"
"But I don't want to walk"
"Don't be like a child. Bear with it a a little"
"Huuuuh"
As we made our way through the quieter streets, the cheerful atmosphere from before gradually faded. At first, I thought nothing of it.
Then I noticed it. A strange feeling.
When crossing the alleys I felt someone was watching.
I glanced behind me. Nothing unusual. Yet the feeling remained.
Back in my world, people stared at me all the time. I was a princess. Attention was unavoidable. But why here!?
But this felt different.
Heavier. Unpleasant.
The further we walked, the stronger the feeling became. Without realizing it, I moved closer to Ishida.
"Hey, do you feel that too" he asked very quietly.
"Yes, it's kind of creepy!"
"Okay now listen, from what I noticed two guys are following us"
"They've taken every turn we have for the last five minutes."
When I peeked, I saw that two guys are walking behind us, one is wearing white clothes, his eyes were looking upwards and whistling, and the other guy had a hat on his head.
"But why are they Here? Do they recognize me? Are they trying to kidnap and sell me?"
"I don't want to become a slave. I am not even a Princess here then Why?"
"Please help me"
I make a desperate plead to Ishida. But he remained calm.
"They are not here for you, They are here for me."
"You?"
"I'll tell you everything later. Now listen, they might have weapons on them so we can't confront them.
We need to shake them off, under no circumstances can we let them find out where we live. So, when I say run, don't hesitate. Got it?"
"Y-yess"
We turned to an unknown alley and when he saw a chance he grabbed my hands.
"Now."
"Run!"
And then, we started RUNNING!