Life on the line

Kuna was moving through alleyways trying to dodge a gang of ruffians who were chasing after him because of his clothing. He was moving as fast as he could, but the ruffians where still keeping up with him which surprised him a lot. He would have thought that being as athletic as he was would give him an edge, that had evaporated quickly enough as he tried running away only for them to keep up with him. There had been a few times where he had been able to get some distance away from them by throwing things in their way, which had tripped them up. His luck had run out though upon him reaching a dead end. The blond would flash a smile at the gangsters as they closed ranks to prevent him from running.

"Hey guys...maybe we can talk this out?"

The gang of youths stopped in mid-stride and turned around to face Seijin, and they could immediately recognize the face of the high priestess, whatever malignant thoughts crossed their minds were quickly dashed by her appearance. There was no way that they could deal with the kind of trouble a high priestess could bring down on top of their heads. They would give her a collective of dirty looks and half murmured insults before skulking away and leaving Kuna unscathed.

The blond wiped his forehead and a lot of his tension disappeared once the youths were gone. "Thanks a lot." He would say noting the formal way that she dressed, but she seemed as athletic as the rest of the villagers looked, quite perplexing. "You wouldn't know where I happen to be by any chance do you?" He asked.

It seemed that his appearance nor mannerisms disturbed the girl, which was odd since he would think a bit of caution would be used around a unknown like himself. It indicated one of two things the first was that she was relatively powerful enough not to be disturb by a stranger like himself, and the second was that she had dealt with people from the future like himself before. It seemed though that it was a mix of the two the lent itself to her confidence in handling him. He was just mostly grateful that she wasn't there to kill him for looking at her in the wrong manner. "Ah, I am Inoue Kuna, and I'll be quite honest. I have no real clue when or where I am." He said scratching the back of his blond head.

He listened too the information in rapt attention assimilating it and letting the gears work in his mind. *A group of people appeared here two years ago, so Izuya didn't just transport me here. No, I can't just assume that he is behind all of it, so it was probably some other person that was responsible in bringing the first group here.* There was another pause in his thinking while he gave a bow towards the girl and followed her out of the alleyway *She mentioned a portal, something physical perhaps, that could be a way for me too find my way back too the present, which would be good for me. I want to learn though as much as possible about all of this.* He finished his thoughts while following her. "What happened to that group?"

He gave a slight nod of his head thinking about what was said. Kuna was immediately presented with the knowledge to go home, but he did not want to leave just yet. There were a few things that questioned in the back of his mind. "Hm, thank you for telling me where I could possibly get back too my own time, but I have a few more questions to ask." The blond said while mulling them over in his mind "You don't seem too curious to find out what happened in the future or am I mistaken?" He asked as they finally came into the main avenue of the village. People were staring at the both of them, but it was the association that the priestess was having with the unusually dressed man.

He cocked an eyebrow at what she said. There were lots of issues with time and space that had to be considered, but still it was an interesting answer. "Sorry for asking about it, just seemed strange you not wanting to know the outcome of your life to see what could be changed, but you are probably right the less you know the better it is." Kuna said thinking back too his conversations with Izuya. "It seems like this is a pretty peaceful village, don't you have to worry about demons and lesser spirits?" He asked knowing that like his reasoning in the future there was probably a set of groups that hunted spirits down to keep humanity safe.

That got him thinking for a bit. "Seems like we are dealing with multiple dimensions each connected too a portal. That is pretty interesting." He would say with a laugh before raking a hand through his hair. "Its good to know though that you've been able to keep things under control." He would say more absent mindfully while he thought on a few other subjects he could ask about, "Can you tell me a little bit more about this spirit hunters because I would be interested in taking back as much knowledge as I can about spirits before trying to find that portal of which you spoke of before." He would say knowing that this was probably the best method he had of learning and being able to get the chance of putting his hands on Izuya and accomplish his goal all at the same time.

He looked disappointing, but it was better to go on then just nothing at all. Kuna wasn't so self involved to see that she was getting uncomfortable with his line of questioning, and he did certainly not want to alienate her. She was the only person who had helped her so far. "Thank you for answering all of my questions. I just have one more question." He looked around again "You know of a place where I get food and boarding?" It was then that he realized that any money that he had too would no doubt not be any good as well "Annnnd some place where I could earn money?" He asked flashing the whites of his teeth in a smile.

Kuna would once again give a nod and his thanks. There was a thought to ask about her religion since she had identified herself as a priestess, but he thought it best to hold back on questions like those until he was more settled in around his surroundings. "I must thank you again for giving me all of the assistance that you have given me. I thought everybody would be hostile since I am sticking out quite obviously." He said referencing both the looks they were getting along with the youths that had been chasing after him before. *Note to self look into learning some self defense courses.* Kuna thought in his mind.

He kind of found it odd that she would giggle like that, and he would take a few seconds to figure out why. She got some enjoyment out of helping people. That was something that he could admire from a person especially in the future where everything seemed more nihilistic in their attitudes. "Yeah, it seems like that is a common attitude across times." He would tap the side of his chin at her next question. "I think spending at least a few months exploring this world and learning what I can." He would say looking back at her.

"Scholar? No, I am afraid not, just a high school student." He would say knowing she probably wouldn't get the reference he was making. Kuna scratched his chin at what he said wondering if he should bother explaining it, but she had pretty much expressed no interest in wanting to know about the future; therefore, there was no reason to try and explain it. "I figured I might as well make the most of this opportunity and learn as much as possible since getting dumped here."

"Yeah, a lot of people speak like this." He would say very much grateful that the language gap wasn't that great between them that it made communication impossible, merely difficult. "I would have explained it, but you kind of expressed a disinterest in learning about the future. Hence, I was not sure to explain the meaning of the word, but it looks like you've got the meaning of it regardless." He would say as he scratched his chin

"Its actually interesting depending on how you look at space time mech..." He would pause once more knowing it would probably go over her head, so he would stop in his tracks. "I guess it would just depend on how the physics of everything worked, but there is a wealth of possibilities." He would say. "You said you were a priestess? Are you a local shinto priestess or another denomination?" He asked her.

He gave a nod of his head. "Pretty interesting." Kuna would say as he looked around and kept pace with her as the continued to stroll the avenue. "What are the tenets of your faith?" Kuna would continue saying while there was a slight rumble of his stomach showing the teenager that he hadn't eaten in a long time since coming here. "Ah, sorry about that haven't gotten anything to eat since I got dumped here." The Blond explained as he slowed to a stop.

He would give a slight nod of his head, somewhat ashamed that he would be having to take charity, but you had to do what you had to do some hundred years in the past as it were. "Thank you for the food." He would say once more before following her through the village until they reached the temple. It immediately reminded him of all the Buddhist temples that were around Sai city, but he did not expect for the architecture to change all that much in regards to religion.

He was observing the place and he could see the iconography repeated through the grounds of the temple. *Seems to be one of the tenets of their faith.* Kuna thought to himself to himself as he watched others scurrying about the temple. It seemed to be a normal daily routines as far as the high school student could tell. His attention would perk up at the mention of food, and he eagerly followed her into the dining hall. It looked like there was nothing much different with how the food was made or prepared, and he could see several of his favorite dishes as well. He tempered himself though as he picked up a plate and utensils, and began picking out enough to satisfy himself. There he would sit down. "Should I offer up a prayer to your god before I eat?"

"Well, you would have to lead it since I am kind of ignorant of your religion." He would say letting her lead the brief prayer and following it up by mimicking what she said. Kuna would wait until it was over before taking his chopsticks and immediately digging into the assorted foods that he had assembled onto his plate. "I have a slight personal question if you don't mind me asking, but when did you know you wanted to be a priestess of this temple?" Kuna asked her between bites of food.

He listened to her half halfheartedly. "Haven't you always questioned what you wanted to do though; haven't wondered what your life would be like as somebody else?" Kuna asked as he finished one side of his plate. "So, who is this watcher guy you were saying in your prayer? Your central deity figure?" He said with a little smile towards her. It was interesting to listen about this religion even if he had no intention of joining it. He was just being a good guest.

Kuna gave a slight nod of his head. "Ah." He would simply say as he finished the rest of the food on his plate and contemplated everything she had said. "Usually, religions have a mythology, so I was just curious about yours." He would say as he scratched the back of his head. "What does your religion say about the dead and spirits?" He asked.

Kuna would give a slight nod of his head. "Sounds familiar too some of the religions in the future."He would say propping his head up with his right hand. "You mentioned the Watcher in your prayer, and he seems the central figure in your mythology is the Watcher." There would be a pause as he thought on it some more "Then you just mentioned this Merkus and his teachings. I am going to guess that Merkus another major figure in your religion. My guess would be a prophet, who brought the word of the watcher too the past?" Kuna theorized.

"Ah, sorry about that. Its just when looking at all religions there are stories and creation myths that impart the basic tenets of the religion." He would explain. "I was just looking at your religion from a secular point of view. I am sorry though if I offended you. So, if the Watcher sent Merkus down to teach you to do good things to get into heaven, would their be any central antithesis to Merkus or the watcher?" Kuna would say as he cleaned off the last bit of his plate.

"Well, I guess I should have put it into context." Kuna would say as he picked up a few of his utensils. "You have the watcher as your deity and Merkus is the prophet and one of the big figures within your religion."He would then pause and look back up to her "I do hope you won't take offense at what I am saying. Its just me working things out in my own way of understanding your religion and beliefs." That said he would continue on "There are several questions that a religion answers. Why was the earth created and things of that nature. My question was there any counter figure too the watcher or Merkus that would be known as evil, whose job it is too tempt mortals and all that evil rig-amoral."

He gave a slight nod of his head, and he had a hundred different questions to ask. It seemed like though he needed to wrap the conversation up, so he would give a gracious nod of his head too the girl. "I think I have asked all the questions I need, and I get the feeling that I am holding you up too much from performing your duties. Thank you for your help with the thugs and getting me something to eat. I am very much in your debt." Kuna would say as he stood up and gave her a formal bow. "I think I will spend some time in the gardens if that is alright and think about what you told me."

Sent to UYB