BROKEN PRINCESS PREVIEW

From BROKEN PRINCESS
CHAPTER I:
THE GIRL WHO HATED THE WORLD




      The first enemy that attacked her that night was a clunking behemoth of metal, possessing a thunderous roar that rivaled the fiercest of Oni. Twin ovals of light on opposite sides of its head, apparently its eyes, blinded her as it barreled towards her. Its shiny maw twisted in a menacing smirk, as if welcoming the human obstruction in its path. Yet she would not be moved; she could not be deterred from the grave mission that was now her life’s work.

She set her legs slightly apart and rooted herself firmly to the spot, vehemently quelling her fear. If she retreated now, more than the battle would be lost. The one million souls she now embodied would lose their chance at retribution.  Retribution was more than a simple tenet of the Nemesis Code, her personal system of ethnics. The dying faces of her charges, forever seared in her mind’s eye, had changed that.

The monster drew nigh, unflinching in its charge. For mere moments the young woman found herself distracted by its bizarre construction. Its back resembled a turtle shell, but was long and rectangular instead of round. Instead of legs, the monster speedily raced forward on spongy round things, resembling circular rice cakes of an ugly black color. Searching her memory, the young maiden could find no known precedent of such a demon…and she had encountered legions in her time as the Musashi Province’s ultimate guardian.

A piercing roar emanated from the demon as it loomed, oval eyes of light overwhelming her senses. However, the spongy round “cakes” of the creature suddenly stopped spinning. A deafening squeal accompanied plumes of smoke from the “cakes” as the large metal beast began to slide sideways.

She moved quickly but insignificantly, her right hand reaching down to her side and up again. As her newfound enemy roared the merest of inches from her, its boxlike face suddenly crumbled inward, as if plowing into an invisible wall. It then somersaulted forward, completely over the unperturbed girl, and landed inverted with an earth-shaking crash, skidding to a stop a few dozen feet behind her in a piercing symphony of screeching metal, acrid smoke, and searing sparks.

Yet the young woman’s focus was not on the downed monster. A large projectile had flown out of its body upon impact. It was a glowing yellow sphere, about the size of a palanquin. As it landed on the side of the road, it bounced for several yards like a child’s ball before disappearing into the midst of a grove of sakura trees. The young woman gave chase through a flurry of fallen cherry blossoms, approaching the glowing sphere warily just as the top half dissolved into nothingness.

A gasp escaped her lips.

A silver-haired bespectacled man, attired in a strange nondescript gray uniform, sat within the spongy blue interior with anger, confusion and fear unified on his slightly wrinkled face. His own clarity and vision was still distorted, detecting only colors and sounds. At that very second he could only determine red and white-the red resembling a perfect circle on a white backdrop - an image he had only seen in the history books.

“Are you alright, good person?” the girl asked quietly, offering her right hand to him after a minute of indecision. Admittedly, she was taken aback. This man had been inside the belly of the beast, no doubt a victim of an earlier rampage!

The old man’s vision sharpened into focus on a pair of cracked ruby lips, appealing despite their weather-beaten condition. His eyes slowly worked their way upward, absorbing robust high cheekbones, dark golden-peach skin, shaved eyebrows, and finally, shimmering copper eyes, reflections of an afternoon sun across a serene ocean. The components formed a face that, although beautiful, was marred with exhaustion. Lush light blue tresses completed the splendid loveliness, bestowing an ethereal charm despite their heavy unkemptness. Seemingly of infinite length, they were bound in a high ponytail by a radiant yellow ribbon that formed an elegant hair bow.

“My…my truck…” he managed to croak.

“Tr…tr…ucku?” the girl repeated, blinking rapidly, confused by the new concept.

The man’s eyes continued to roam the strange woman’s form as she helped him out of the half-sphere. The blurring of white and red solidified into a shimmering, although dirty, long-sleeved white blouse that conformed to a svelte physique, with a glowing ruby object in the center of her bosom. Closer scrutiny revealed it to be a red magatama jewel, resembling the ancient curved bead that was shaped like a comma. A blue and white-striped sailor collar connected to the top of the magatama and drifted over her slender shoulders, becoming more of a cape as the edge ended at the small of her back.

As he regained his footing he pushed her away, more rough than necessary, and inspected the half-sphere thoroughly.

“Damn cheap company, with their cheap Pacifiers…” he grumbled to himself, slapping the side of it angrily.

“My lord…” the girl, who observed with a puzzled expression, took a wary step towards him. “What manner of creature was this? How did it consume-”

“Girlie, what the hell were you doing in the middle of the road?!” the man growled at her, his eyes blazing behind his glasses. “Don’t you know you could’ve been killed?!”

The blue-haired maiden parted her lips to reply, but confusion continued to dominate her features. The man, breathing rapidly, took off his dirty glasses and wiped them on his uniform shirt. As he replaced them, he began to notice the remaining attire of the bizarre girl. Around her willowy waist was a belt of glistening gold, with a buckle that was literally a circular golden mirror. A pleated red skirt, sinfully short, flared mischievously around well-developed upper thighs, while long dark golden peach legs ended in bare feet shod in sparkling silver tengu geta with diamond-encrusted straps.

She resembled a schoolgirl heroine from an old shojo manga…or maybe a twisted ecchi fantasy.

“A little far from Harajuku, aren’t you?” he huffed, looking her over once again.

“Harrah-Jukku?” the girl blinked naively. “What is this place? Is this where the enemy lives?”

“Enemy?” he cocked his head to the side, giving her a bizarre look. “What enemy? What are you talking about?”

“The monster that ate you.” The girl replied. “It resembles…it resembles the creatures that…”

She trailed off and stared down at her hands. The man followed her gaze and noticed how horrifically bruised and bloodied her knuckles were, although both hands were partially wrapped in red ribbons.

“Are you…are you in some type of trouble, kid?” he asked in a regretful tone. “Look, in all honesty…I shouldn’t even be wasting time with you…I gotta go check on the merchandise and see what survived. And since the truck crashed, the Public Guardians will probably be here soon…”

As he walked away from the half-sphere, the girl kept in step with him.

“So…you know nothing?” she asked again.

“About what?” he stared at her blankly.

“The monster that ate you?” she said quietly.

“Look kid, you’re a great cosplayer and all, but you’re really starting to creep me out…” the man trudged ahead, emerging from the sakura grove and reaching the side of the road before she did. Spotting his upturned eighteen wheeler a few feet away, he suddenly took off in a dead run towards it, energized by pure astonishment. Desperately seeking answers to this strange new world, the girl meekly followed.

“Oh God!” the man marveled at the heap that was once his company’s vehicle. “How…how did this happen? I expected it to turn over…but this-!”

“How can you lament that beast?!” the girl whispered, staring at the old man with a horrified look on her face.

“‘Beast’?!” the man suddenly snapped. “This was a goddamn truck, you crazy otaku! Don’t you realize how much trouble I’m in…you’re in?! My job is on the line, you idiot! Wake up and smell the real world!”

She said nothing at first, only staring down at her hands once again. Then, her arms drifted to her sides. Her head raised slowly, her eyes staring daggers at the man. His heart skipped a beat as he witnessed the clueless demeanor of the young woman shift to a more grave expression. Before his very eyes, he watched as her pupils transformed from a warm gold to an icy blue, the irises becoming blood red slits. They resembled the eyes of a serpent…a hungry, demonic serpent ready to strike.