A/N: Don't you love psuedo-Japanese things? It's created by people who have never experienced Japanese culture, are too lazy to do the research, and think they know enough after watching their favorite anime series three times. You get a selective taste here, however, as the author has done a lot of research on Japan, but is too lazy to construct a plot that applies to the work. Hope you enjoy the stupid anyway. :

シズカ
Shizuka

2: 丘の上の家
The House on the Hill

Objective “Point A to Point B” equates to solving an elaborate maze. To get to Point B, one must first cross to Point A2 before going diagonally to Point A3, which is adjacent to PointA76, and diagonal of Point G, which is seven units away from Point A4, which is tangent to Point B83, about nine points across from Point B.

As that was all pointless (and senseless) jabbering, Leiko had purchased a similar route to get herself and her sister back home.

From train to train they hopped over routes until their last carriage was destined for what looked like the middle of nowhere. It was a vast sea of tall grass, bobbing on hills like large waves, shimmering in passing zephyrs. A platform built right through the sea carried a red train until it slowed to a stop. Released were Ango and Leiko with a pile of suitcases and duffle-bags, and the train soon abandoned them on the wooden station.

“We walk from here,” instructed Leiko, donning five of the eight parcels they were carrying in total; all hers, with her little sister carrying the sixth parcel that she couldn’t fit in her arms.

“What kind of sucky route did you pick out for us?” growled Ango, following Leiko blindly as one of her sister’s suitcases was piled right in front of her face.

“The cheapest one I could get,” replied Leiko, walking briskly. “You’d want to compromise the funds, too, if you saw that pair of shoes in the window.”

“You had enough money to buy a house!” screamed Ango. “What’d you do with all the money?”

Leiko didn’t answer, and Ango kept grumbling as the two sisters walked through the tall grass in the sun.

It was some time before they reached a most peculiar object hiding within the rich green stalks at the foot of a tall hill: a moldy boulder, carved in the shape of a dog. The once-fine details in its hair were crumbling with age. It was hardly conspicuous, reaching only the height of their knees. Around its neck was a chain of shime kazari.

Leiko set down her parcels to freely approach the guardian statue. Crouching before it, she patted the dog on the head. “Arise.”

As though by command, a gust suddenly rose, swaying the entire sea of grass around them. The sound it made was like rain, like the sea, overwhelming but soft in all directions. Then behind the dog-statue, there was a ghost of a shape forming, swift and smooth in its appearance, taking to the contour of the tall grassy hill.

Like an invisible painter painting on an enormous canvas, large red columns were soon drawn, shooting high up to the sky. More columns and elegant lintels were drawn – several toriiof intimidating proportion. Twixt these gates cascaded a river, hardening into stone after each level was covered. Sheer, glistening walls formed in bold, quick strokes. Rectangular windows and shoji screens formed like passionate strokes of kanji. At last, in a few eloquent sweeps came glimmering roofs, and right beneath it, the family emblem in a gold plaque.

“Home sweet home,” sighed Leiko, picking up her suitcases again and casually proceeding up the newly formed stairs, where the thin air used to be. “Hurry up, Ango.”

Ango, who had dropped her bags to watch the ephemeral entrance, took the moment to gaze in wonder at the place she lived in. She passed the guardian dog and placed a hand on the post of the first gate, also wrapped in a loop of shime kazari. The house was fantastically huge, built hundreds of years ago, and passed down to every lord of the west. Standing there, she knew she was incredibly fortunate to be the master’s daughter.

But something in the gentle breeze told her something wasn’t right. Ango looked up at the gate lintel, and at the trees around it. Sunlight streamed down through the mesh of the leaves, leaving small patches of gold along the dirt and stone. The winds subsided. Time stood completely still.

Yeah, something was definitely wrong.

“Ango! Watch out!”

The younger sister dodged and rolled in the nick of time to avoid a gleaming sword aimed to plunge through her heart. A figure had lunged right at her from out of the trees, armed with a katana and who knows what. His face would’ve been completely covered if not for his eyes, peering out through an opaque, oval white mask. The figure recovered and drew into an attacking stance. Rising from the ground, Ango prepared to dodge a few more strikes.

He lunged, and she ducked, swerving around the slash of the sword to appear at his right shoulder. She ducked again to avoid the blade from coming full-circle towards her. On the ground she swung her leg in attempt to trip him, but upon missing, her foot was then caught under his. Trapped, she found the end of the blade was tipped right over her heart.

She rolled along her back, and with her other leg kicked the face of the blade away from her.

But the stranger was stronger than that, and swiftly resumed his sword to three inches above his victim’s chest. At the same time, Ango put her two hands in front of her, as though using them to shield herself. The blade tip plummeted once more.

“GINGETSU!”

Ango clenched her eyes shut as a bright light burst, preparing to feel the pain of a blade piercing her flesh. But there was instead a loud thump, and a weight on her two hands. Ango’s eyes eased open. The sword had been stopped by a black pole that appeared in her hands. It was long, thick, and heavy, and at one end was a graceful, silver crescent. It had been months, but she had luckily managed to summon her favorite weapon, Gingetsu the scythe.

Confidence rising, Ango pushed harder against the blade tip. “Get… off of me…” she growled, “you… you idiot!”

Her free leg pushed him in the stomach and she broke her other foot free. Released, Ango swung her scythe up and parried her attacker’s blade, using the meantime to get on her feet again. Pulling back, she aimed to swing once more. “Come at me!” she snarled. “I’ll kill you!”

As though appalled, the strange figure stared amazed at her, transfixed perhaps on the unexpected dodge, or on the unexpected appearance of a weapon. And suddenly, of all things… he began to laugh. To laugh.

Ango grew furious, holding her scythe tighter. “What’s so funny?” she roared. “Stop laughing!” The figure kept laughing. “I said I’ll kill you!”

Then the stranger spoke, “You haven’t changed one bit, have you, Ango?”

In the next few moments, Ango saw her life flashing before her eyes as the mask was quickly undone from her opponent’s head, revealing a smooth, long, but terrible face. It was handsomely shaped, fair in skin tone, and totally horrific. It bore a smile and a very familiar look in two thin yellow eyes, horrendous in every aspect. Ango was lost for words.

It was the grown face of Kamidake, her arch nemesis from child hood.

Something inside Ango unleashed a blood-curdling scream and died.

“Kamidake-kun!” squealed Leiko from the side.

Kamidake turned and beamed at the tall, pretty girl who was absent for the last several paragraphs. “Hey, Leiko,” said Kamidake as she approached him and waved. He was about half a head taller than her now. Last time, she used to be a full head taller than him.

Now, Leiko is pretty tall, but a good kind of tall, and taller than Ango, but if Kamidake is now taller than Leiko, then that would mean he was also taller than Ango, which should be even more taller than he was taller before, which meant she was even shorter than him than before and omg nooooo….

“Well, well,” said an effervescent Leiko, examining him up and down, “you grew up quite nicely.”

“And so have you,” replied Kamidake.

“Hello!” snapped Ango, cutting the charm sharply. “You just attacked me!” Kamidake shrugged, as though saying, ‘I was just doing my job’ or something lame-tarded like that. “Then why are you still my father’s coffee boy?” she sputtered, “Haven’t you grown up enough? Why are you still here?”

“I’m supposed to be guarding this entrance,” grunted Kamidake. “And I have one last exam before I can move out, to answer your question.” He sheathed his sword, and paused. “What’re you two doing here?”

Ango was quick to answer. “One: we live here. Two: definitely not to see you!”

Leiko slapped her sister on the shoulder. “Ango, be nice.”

“Tuh.” The younger sister slung her scythe over her shoulder and picked up the two bags that were hers with one hand. Brushing through Kamidake and Leiko, she proceeded up the stairs alone, muttering to herself. How could she have not expected him to be here? How could she have hoped that he would never be around again?

Midway up the stairs, she heard a voice call from down below.

“Hebi-chan…”

She wheeled around on her heels. “I SAID YOU CAN’T CALL ME THAT!” she screamed. Then she turned back around, and stomped up the stairs even more infuriated than before.