When am I?

KatherinWinter

The best treasures are buried within
Original poster
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Posting Speed
  1. Multiple posts per day
  2. 1-3 posts per day
  3. One post per day
Online Availability
It varies
Writing Levels
  1. Give-No-Fucks
  2. Beginner
  3. Elementary
  4. Intermediate
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
Genres
Fantasy, Romance
Zack had finally bought the house of his dreams. He was looking forward to renovating it. But first he had to empty it out. Who ever had lived here last had abandoned a lot of stuff. He was going through it slowly. He was setting personal stuff aside to store just in case someone came looking for it. Everything else he was dividing into either donate or garbage piles. He picked up a unique carved box. He opened it just like he had every other box. The second the lid opened he was blinded by light.
 
It had been almost a year since Miyuki had fled from the castle with only a horse and meager supplies. Since then, she had settled down in a small village that the warring samurai lords tended to avoid. As far as Miyuki knew, the lords hadn't even bothered to search for her. The family she now lived with didn't quite know about her past, but they knew that Miyuki had once been someone special to the samurai lords and they were willing to keep her safe.

Right now, Miyuki was washing clothes by the river. As she gently scrubbed the dirt off of a shirt, the world suddenly lit up, a blinding light shining before Miyuki's eyes. "What..?"
 
Zack fell to his knees as the light started to fade. He didnt know what happening but he didnt like it one bit. He sat there on his knees in the dirt trying to clear his vision. All he could see were spots. He didnt know why but he didnt think that he was in his mother's house anymore. Everything sounded different. And then there was the grass he felt under his legs. When he could see again Zack discovered that he was kneeling beside a river. "What...?"
 
As Miyuki watched, the light soon subsided, and a boy appeared before her. The girl couldn't help but gasp in surprise, quickly rising to her feet and backing away, her right hand already instinctively reaching for the katana that hung at her waist. Miyuki drew the blade out of its sheath with a metallic shiiing! and pointed it straight at the boy. "Who are you and what are you doing here? You better start talking now. The katana isn't just for show," she hissed, her eyes scanning the area behind the boy for any other intruders.
 
Zack stated in shock at the sword that was pointed at him. No he thought as he tilted his head. Not a sword a katana the woman pointing at him said. At least that's what he thought she said. He had a hard time understanding her accent. He held his hands up to show that he was unarmed. "My name is Zack. I don't know how I got here but I'm not going to hurt you."
 
Miyuki narrowed her eyes in suspicion, though she let her katana arm fall to her side, recognizing how uncomfortable it was making Zack. "How do you not know how you got here? Where did you come from, at least?" the girl asked. The boy in front of her, Zack, was dressed strangely too. Everyone these days wore long, flowing robes, from the lowliest peasants to the greatest samurai lords. However, what Zack was wearing was like nothing Miyuki had ever seen before. Miyuki bit her lip, still blinking at Zack in confusion as she waited for him to reply.
 
"One minute I was in my mother's attic going through boxes the next I'm on the ground next to a river. I've never heard of anything like it." Zack explained. He watched her warily as he shifted positions. If they were going to talk he waltzed to be comfortable. He moved so that he was sitting cross legged. He was glad that he was wearing his old comfortable jeans and a thin tshirt. His tshirt was one of his mother's favorites. It show Dr. Doolittle surrounded by animals. He had worn it in her honor.
 
Miyuki only blinked at Zack in confusion. "I'm afraid I do not understand what you mean. Do you serve one of the samurai lords, the daimyo? Lord Toyotomi Hideyoshi, perhaps, or Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. As she watched, the boy moved to sit on the cool grass and Miyuki followed suit, kneeling down and smoothing out her robe as she did so. "My name is Miyuki, by the way," she mumbled. Suddenly, she noticed something that she had been foolish to not notice before. "You're a foreigner? Where are you from?" Miyuki quickly asked, her eyes dancing over Zack's blond hair and grayish eyes.
 
"I don't know any of those people." Zack assured her. At least he thought they were people. He wasn't completely sure of that fact. He looked around curiously. Where he was he? He didn't think he was in America anymore. "Yea I think I might be a foreigner. I live in America."
 
"P-pardon?" Miyuki sputtered, her eyes widening in surprise and confusion. "Wh-what is this America you speak of? And how do you not know of Lord Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu?" The girl quickly rose to her feet again, the hilt of her katana still clutched tightly in her right hand. "Everyone knows of the samurai lords and Lord Toyotomi and Lord Tokugawa are the two most powerful... after Lord Oda died at least," she mumbled, her expression of shock fading into a concerned frown at the end of her statement. Taking a deep breath, Miyuki glanced at Zack again. "This might sound somewhat strange... but exactly where do you think you are?" she asked him.
 
Zack braced himself for the blow. He wasn't much of a fighter. But he wouldn't run either. He looked up at her before looking around. He considered her questions. He had always been a good student. He had been a regular nerd growing up. School had been important to his mother and he had wanted to make her proud. "By my guess I am rural Japan. Which means America his literally in the other side of the world."
 
"Well, yes... rural Japan..." Miyuki muttered softly. If he knew of Japan, Miyuki should know of this America he spoke of... but she didn't, even after all of the geography lessons her father had forced her through. "If you came from America... which as you say, is on the other side of the world, and got here just in that flash of light, how did you get here?" the girl softly mused, glancing over Zack suspiciously, "And I've never seen someone attired like you. Even the foreigners usually wear robe-like clothing."
 
Zack shrugged. "I don't know Miyuki. All I know is that I was going through boxes in my mothers attic. I found this elaborately decorated box. It was beautiful. I thought it was a music box so I opened it. I was surrounded by a bright light and then I was here. As for my clothing this is what I usually wear when I'm doing chores."
 
"You wear... that when you're doing chores?" Miyuki asked, confusion plainly written on her face. The girl shrugged, mumbling, "Well, it's not really my place to judge." The girl slowly sheathed her katana and knelt down on the ground, returning to her clothes-washing. As she scrubbed another shirt clean, something else occurred to Miyuki... something so absurdly strange that nobody else would ever think of it. She continued to scrub, not even turning to look at Zack as she asked, "Wait. One last question. This'll sound completely insane... but, what year is it?"
 
Zack sat quietly on the grass. He was deep in thought. He was trying to figure out he had ended up in rural Japan. It didn't make an sense. The only explanation that he had was magic. It was the only thing he could think if to explain how he had gotten on the other side of the world. He looked up at her odd question. "It's 2010 isn't it?"
 
When she heard Zack's words, Miyuki's hands stopped moving and she turned her head to stare at him, her eyes wide with shock. "Wh-what did you just say, Zack?" she asked, the clothes falling from her hands as her right hand flew to her mouth, covering it in horror. "Take this seriously! It's not a joke! Stop fooling around!" she hissed, biting her lip.
 
Zack looked up at her with a frown on his face. He considered himself a patient man but Mituki was pushing his limit. "I am being serious! It's June 16, 2010." He told her he was sure of the date. It wasn't one he was likely to forget. His mother had been dead a year now. "What year do you think it is?"
 
Miyuki sighed softly, knowing that she was making Zack angry. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have put it that way. As far as I know, though, today is June 21, 1583..." she murmured, concern and also, sadness blossoming in her eyes. "I-I'm sure of the date. My father was killed exactly a year ago..." Miyuki said quietly, looking away.

Miyuki had never been close to Oda Nobunaga, though she had been his favorite daughter. When he died, though, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi had begun planning an arranged marriage for her, Miyuki's world had come crashing down around her. She hadn't seen Aunt Oichi in a year. A tear welled up in Miyuki's eye and the girl hastily wiped it away.
 
Zack stood to his feet. He went to Miyuki. He didn't know the customs of ancient Japan very well. While he was a nerd that was on culture he had never studied. He opened his arms to her silently offering her a hug. "I know how much the death of a parent can hurt. In my... world... time... I lost my mother a year ago."
 
Miyuki stiffened. It wasn't proper for her to hug Zack like this... but then again, he didn't know the customs, so... it was alright, wasn't it? Miyuki shook away all of her thoughts and stepped forward, gently embracing Zack, as if she were scared that she would break the boy. It was an awkward hug and Miyuki quickly pulled away, but she managed to give Zack a small smile. "Thanks... I really needed that. And I'm sorry for your loss, too. My father and I... we weren't too close... but you seem like you really loved your mother."
 
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