Ryoko was awakened in confusing manner. A wavy figure resembling her sister was screaming something in a panicked haze. She felt as though she was being rushed to do something. Although, the only thing that passed through Ryoko's mind at that moment was the urge to go back to sleep. Ryoko laid out a peaceful yawn, lazily stretching her legs beneath the blanket. She fought back at her sister's attempts to pull her out of bed. There was an unusual, constant rumble in the ground

The line between dream and reality was slowly mending. In an instant, all the serene sounds that had been on her mind were unmuffled. She turned her gaze in a panic, seeing her sister's worried, tear-ridden eyes. “Please! Get up!” Kota shouts, pulling all her weight into tearing the blanket off of Ryoko's body.

“W-What's going on!?” She responds, frantically jumping out of bed, searching for her bearings.

“The town's being attacked! Grab your gear, we need to get out!” She yells, frantically tying the strap on a dusty shieth.

Ryoko nods attentively, clutching her wooden bow and stone sword. She glances at the satchel, considering leaving the book that she found last night in order to save weight. On second thought, she grabs her satchel. Kota yanks her by the hand, rushing her through the door. “Stay close! I don't want you getting hurt!”

In the brisk morning, a massacre was taking place. Unfamiliar men weilding heavy weapons were advancing through the village, burning houses and killing innocents. Dark smoke clouds were visible in the distance. Ryoko caught a glimpse of a woman wailing incoherently at the limp body of a child. She turned her head almost immediately. All around them lay scattered corpses, throats slashed, chests caked in blood, and limbs dismembered. Ryoko almost threw up, her eyes clouded with thick tears. The smell was gruesome.

Everywhere she looked, thoughts spewed into her head to give up. Yet the presence of her nearby sister kept her running. Suddenly, a disturbingly wet slash rang out. Ryoko turned her head anxiously. Her sister's skin was pale, eyes open wide. Ryoko couldn't hear anything but her heart throbbing weakly in her chest. Her eyes were focused on her sister's torso. The only person who remained close to her. A thick blade was stabbed through her back, prodding through the left side of her chest.

Although she should have obeyed her sister and ran, she simply stared at the sword. Her eyes wandered to her face, mouth filled with blood, gargled screams incomprehensible. Kota's eyes were practically pouring tears. She was shoved suddenly shoved off of the blade, falling onto the dirt, her body bouncing once.

Ryoko didn't think about her next move. She just ran.

She ran for as long as she could. There was a calming feeling to the sunset on the horizon, visible through the treeline above. Although she planned to catch her breath hours ago, she never stopped running. Her throat was coarse, and her legs ached tremendously. Her body was trembling. It wasn't long after that until she collapsed, crashing onto her right shoulder and rolling three feet.

She looked up at the welcoming shadow of a large tree, thick branches shading the rising sun. An uncomfortable jab from the corner of her bow pushed into her arm, yet she remained motionless.

It was a gorgeous forest. The ground was painted with fluffy green moss that climbed the trunks of trees and the sides of rocks. Soft flower beds were scattered here and there, different species of flowers with bloomed pedals brandishing their colors. Above, branches and leaves swayed with the wind. The shadows danced along. The air was humid and brisk from the cold. The only sounds that remained were her emphysematous gasps for breath, the chrips of birds, and the sway of the wind.

Then she burst into tears. She tangled her fingers into her hair, yanking at the white strands until they tore. The pain brought some sort of numbing. Her sister was dead. The only person who remained in this world who seemed to have aknowledged her existance had been slaughtered.

She cried for hours. It was only after the sun was half-way in the sky that Ryoko ran out of tears.

Sorely, she tried sitting up, leaning her back against the tree's mossy base. She used the sleeve of her robe to wipe the tears out of her eyes. Her eyes focused on one of the folds. It was a beautiful, white robe, with the consistensy of a bed-sheet. It stretched down to her legs, with sleeves that covered her arms and fabric that bunched loosely. It was all that she wore, other than the satchel.

Her teary eyes wandered towards the bag at her side, the book within it sticking out partially through the strap. “A distraction...”She mutters lowly, blinking a few times to clear her eyes. She undoes the strap, gently pulling the book out of its canvas. She sits cross-legged, opening the book to the first page and placing it into her lap.