♦⊱ Chapter 1 - Stunned ⊰♦

Ruka pov:

"Finally! Exams are over!" my best friend Kiyo wheezed, dragging herself out of the school building with Yuri and Akira.

"This was by far the most stressful week of my life," came Akira's response. He ruffled his hair causing it to become a bird's nest, "We should do something to lift the mood and start summer vacation with full gusto."

"I agree!" I chimed and linked arms with Yuri. "Let's go to the amusement park tomorrow!"

"That's an excellent idea! I couldn't have thought of anything better," grinned Kiyo. "I'll ask my mom if she can take us there. She's off from work tomorrow, after all."

With our plans for the next day decided, we parted ways to head home and get some rest after the month's slogging to do well in our finals. I had a bucket list of things I wanted to do during the summer vacation, one of the main things being starting a music band with my three best friends. I didn't want to boast but I had practiced playing the guitar for years and I was pretty good at it. Kiyo was great at playing the flute, Yuri, the drums and Akira was a blessed pianist. Yuri and I sang too and we wanted to put together our skills to make people who listened to our songs happy.

Besides planning to spend a good amount of time on that, I wanted to join pottery classes and learn how to make porcelain ware that I was so fond of. I always loved how delicate they were, their beauty accentuated by simple patterns of different colors.

There were several more small-scale things I wanted to get done that I hadn't been able to spare time for during school including learning to drive a bike, ride a skateboard and a couple of other exciting things that most people would call unladylike. I also hoped to date too, on the insistence of my friends, for I had lived close to sixteen years of my life without a boyfriend.

I was close to almost everyone in my class. I was closer with the guys though, since they saw me like a guy friend thanks to my love for adventure, music, and my jovial attitude. I was closest to Kiyo, Yuri and Akira though, since we had been together since kindergarten. We shared all secrets with each other for we saw each other as family instead of friends.

Having scanned my pass over the ticket sensor, I walked past the rotating rails to enter the subway station. I regarded the familiar faces I passed by with smiles and evening greetings. Most of them were elderly women and returned my greetings with toothy grins, some even close enough to tease me about getting a boyfriend soon so he could pick me up and drop me home from school every day. I helped a group of them get onto the train, holding their hand to ensure they didn't lose balance when steeping over the gap between the platform and the train's floor while I rewarded their teasing with a flushed smile.

We took seats and I settled to looking through the messages in my phone – it was one of the latest prototypes, a high-end, have-it-all gadget that was to be soon released in the market. My parents being rich and running their own big business had bought it for me despite me not being very particular about owning overly fancy stuff. However, it was a matter of maintaining status for my parents when in front of other people in his business circle so I had no choice but to use this phone. Besides, this prototype was actually designed by a very close business partner and he wanted a few people to use it and review it before it was released for the public. With the cool, advanced features, I was sure it would be a hit.

It wasn't just my phone though – I had an expensive laptop, clothes, jewelry, and shoes. It was annoying to have expensive things though because I always had to be extra careful to make sure nothing was stolen or damaged. I didn't want Father's hard earned money to be wasted.

Sighing and pushing the unnecessary thoughts out of my head, I put on my headphones to listen to some music for the remaining fifteen minute ride. I managed to doze off for a few minutes too before I alighted at the platform of the station closest to my house. I put away my phone and enjoyed the short walk to my house, gazing at the blue sky, relishing the gentle breeze that kissed my skin.

When I stepped past the tall iron gates of my house, the man seated in the security cabin stepped out to greet me with a warm smile, "Welcome home, Ruka sama."

"No matter how many times I tell you not to be so formal with me, you don't change, Hayato san," I said with a laugh. "Well, it's good to be home. Thank you for your warm welcome."

"I appreciate your courtesy, Ruka sama, but it's my duty to be formal with you."

"I shook my head while he continued to smile, "As you say, Hayato san."

Mother and Father had taught Kojiro – my younger brother – and me to always respect our elders, and every person in the world. It was our responsibility, for no one was above the other. Hayato san might be working for us but he was many years older than me with much more experience on the world, so I always tried my best to be respectful to him. I even felt awkward sometimes when he spoke to me so formally but I couldn't do anything besides adjust to the royal treatment.

"I'm home!" I announced as I stepped in through the grand double doors of my house. Well, it was probably apt to call it a mansion though.

I took off my shoes and put them away in the shoe rack before handing my bag to a maid so she could keep it in my room. I stepped into the living room only to have a wide smile my make its way onto my face at the sight of the person seated on the sofa reading the newspaper.

"Papa!" I chimed and sprinted to him. He stood and caught me in his arms as I fell against him, embracing him tightly. When he let go, I gave him a beaming smile, "When did you get back from New York?"

Papa was a very busy person. He often traveled to different countries for business and it had been more than a month since I had seen him this time. I was looking forward to catching up on all the things that had happened when he was traveling – I'm sure our talking would go on till the evening.

"Just this afternoon," he said as we sat down. He reached for a bag behind the couch and held it out to me with a big smile, "Look what I got you!"

"It's beautiful!" I said airily, having pulled out a beautiful summer dress from the bag. I held it to myself and then hugged Papa sideways, thanking him for the wonderful gift.

Just as I stood to wash up, Kojiro and our dog Sparks came running down the stairs to greet me. While Kojiro hugged me around the waist, his face flushed, Sparks barked and shuffled around at my feet.

"Welcome home, Nee chan!" Kojiro said, grinning up at me. I ruffled his hair, thanking him with a quick peck on his forehead and then crouched to reward our lovable Labrador with ruffles.

Just as I had expected, talking with Papa had gone till dinner time and coursed over dinner too. We had received good news that he had just signed another big contract with a leading technology company in the US. Unfortunately, it meant that he would be leaving to the US in three days and staying there for at least a couple of weeks until the first level of the project had progressed smoothly.

Post dinner and a scrumptious helping of chocolate pudding, I excused myself from everyone to take Sparks on his usual after-dinner walk. Kojiro decided to come along and after getting Sparks' leash, which earned wags of excitement so strong that his entire body shook, we headed out for a stroll around our block after a laugh at his delightful behavior.

We didn't put the leash on Sparks because he was a very friendly dog. He often remained close to us and didn't approach other people we passed by unless they gave off vibes that they were not afraid of him. He was probably the sweetest dog in the world and everyone in the mansion including Hayato san, the maids and butlers loved him very much.

While we walked, Kojiro and I spoke about school. He told me about his final exams that he had done really well on as always, and the upcoming sports event being held for charity during his summer vacations. I told him about the plan to go to the amusement park tomorrow for which he was very excited. Being a total softie for my brother, I almost never left him behind on fun excursions with friends. As such, he had become the one person even my friends spoiled when we went out together.

In the twenty minutes that we took to walk around our block, stopping once to let a few kids play with Sparks, rain clouds had covered most of the sky. It soon began to drizzle and I ushered Kojiro and Sparks to pick up the pace so we didn't get drenched by the time we made it home. Much to my dismay, lightning and thunder began and we broke into a sprint.

We were barely one house away from home when a powerful bolt of lightning struck the ground right in front of us. I screamed as I was thrown back, shutting my ears at the deafening thunder that followed. I curled up, trembling from fright – I had always hated lightning and thunder because of an incident in my childhood. My ears were ringing and my head pounding and I remained on the ground for several moments until I felt better.

Wincing and still trembling slightly, I opened my eyes and uncovered my ears. With a more important task at hand than my fear of thunderstorms, I looked on either side to make sure that Kojiro and Sparks were alright but they were nowhere to be seen. In fact, I noticed that I wasn't in the middle of the tarred street but in the middle of a small, dark alley. It was still drizzling and I was soaked to the bone. I frowned as I stood, wondering where I was and how I had got here – had the force of the lightning thrown me back several feet? If so, then Kojiro and Sparks too had probably landed far away from where we had nearly been hit.

"Kojiro! Sparks!" I called out, cupping my hands around my mouth but all I got in return were echoes of my voice.

Feeling uneasy, I stepped towards the light at the end of the alley only to notice rather primeval buildings. I looked on either side but there was no change in architecture for as far as I could see. I wasn't in the posh locality I lived in, instead was surrounding by building no more than two stories high, built of wood and thatched straw for the roofs.

I reached for my phone in my pocket. Unlocking the screen, I hoped that I could call Mother or Father but there was no reception. I frowned, put my phone away and picked a random direction to walk in, in hopes of finding something that made sense.

"Well, well! Look what we have here," I heard a voice when I had barely walked a few steps. I swiveled on my feet, my heart skipping a beat in anxiousness when I spotted five men wearing tattered kimonos watching me with dirty grins. They had white bands tied around their foreheads and carried rusty katanas at their waists.

Why did they have rusty katanas anyway? Surely they weren't real, were they?

"Why don't you come with us nicely, sweetheart, so we can treat you well?" one of them said, eyeing from head to toe as if he was undressing me with his eyes.

I swallowed thickly in disgust and glared. There was no way I was going to let them do what they were obviously thinking of doing. My response to their words made them glare in return and unsheathe their katanas. They pointed them at me threateningly and my glare faltered, replaced by an expression of fear.

"How dare you glare at us, you wench!" another man spat.

I didn't bother responding to his insult. I took a step back, turned on my heel and ran. They chased after me, their footsteps loud over the sound of the light drizzle. My heart pounded in my ears and adrenaline rushed through my veins. I probably could have fought them off to some extent if they didn't have katanas but with them armed, one wrong move and I could lose my life.

I did not want to lose my life! I hadn't even turned sixteen yet and I had so many things I still wanted to do in my life!

I looked around desperately, hoping to find someone to help or at least see civilization that was familiar to me. However, I only saw more primeval buildings with people dressed in kimonos, hair tied in top knots, all with expressions of nervousness upon seeing the men chasing me. Not one person stepped up to help as they slowly began to gain on me.

My eyes went wide when I heard a grunt and felt a sharp pain through my back. Barely turning my head to look behind me, I realized that one of the men had managed to slash me with his katana and the sharp pain from the contact turned almost unbearable immediately. I gasped for air and stumbled on my feet but pushed on for I didn't want to die or end up getting caught by the men for whatever sick reason they wanted me for.

I managed to push myself to run faster for just a few moments to put some distance between us. However, a spell of dizziness hit me causing my balance to falter. I tripped over a loose rock in the ground and fell forward. I shut my eyes waiting for hard impact but was caught in someone's arms. With raspy breaths, I lifted my head to meet sparking, emerald eyes.

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Here's edited chapter 1! So, what do you all think? I hope it's better paced that the previous version ^^

And!!!!! *does excited wiggly dance* Did you notice the fancy additions to the chapter title?? The diamond and the curly thingy on either side?? XD I wanted to try something fancy!

Anyway, I will once again ask you, what do you guys think of the new cover?

Hope you enjoyed!

Vote!

COMMENT!

:D