Before round 1...

Damn... Damn it all to hell. The samurai trudged on through the forest of grass, angrily swatting at the blades when they got in his way. This was not how he wanted to spend his night... Oh no! But that damn whore had to come up to him and that damn cat...! 'Gods above and below, if I ever see that cat again I'm going to spank him till the cows come home!' Grinding his teeth, he continued on.

It had been like this most of the morning. Occasional shouting and swearing, silence from him as he attempted to accept what fate thrust upon him. Just like with Drakonius, it was hard and he was voicing his dislike very loudly. At least with Drakonius he was in his own damn world! At least he wasn't the size of a damn mouse!

"Damn it all to hell and back!" He yelled to the air, punching a stone next to him. Well, a pebble, really. A large stone to his size. "This sucks, this sucks!" Thrown in, told to fight. Like he was some petty mercenary. No! He was a samurai! Of the Master Class, no less! Trained since he could walk in the way of the sword. And...

Alice. Now Aru truly realized where his rage came from. This little... detour... took him away from what he really needed to do. Kill that damn God. Get his wife back. And there it was again. Her radiant face, perfect green eyes set right above her tiny nose. That golden hair waving in the wind of his mind. He sighed, ghost of a smile appearing on his face. His beautiful wife. The whole reason he was who he was. Since childhood he had known her. And he would get her back. Whatever it took. Being here did nothing to help. What to do... find that cat and have him take the samurai back to his own world. Yes. Perfect. And so he continued on.

Little did he know, however, that there was a quiet schoolgirl hiding farther on, cowering in the grass and the dirt, fear for her life. What was she to do? Pushed from the boat on the class fishing trip, so tiny, with only a grappling hook for a weapon. Her stomach rumbled. 'So hungry...' She had to go find some food. Had to get something to eat. And would have too... If a yell didn't pierce the air.

"AARGH! DAMN IT ALL! DAMN THIS WORLD! DAMN THIS SIZE!" Aru had his sword out now, and was waving it haphazardly in the air. Some kind of.... toast with wings! Buzzing around his head and pulling at his ponytail. "OFF!" He yelled, attempting to scare it off with the sword. "GET THE HELL OFFA ME!" With a wave of his empty hand, he batted the thing away and fled before it could get back up.

Panting and angrier than hell, he took several breaths. Calm.... Calm... Good thing he had his cigarret- "Who's there?!" The samurai demanded, spinning around. He felt someone here, a presence. Was it Drakonius? No... Drakonius felt differently. "I know you're out there!" He yelled again, turning slowly. Erika peeked out of her hiding spot, hands over her head, squinting against the sunlight that peeped through the grass. There- there was a person. She crawled forward a bit more. Aru turned slowly, looking carefully around. "Hm?" What was that? Gasp stifled, Erika hurriedly crawled back. He had a sword! A weapon! Would he hurt her?! Hey... she had one too! She shouldn't shrink away! Maybe she should intimidate him. Then he'd go away! For sure!

Aru saw it. A glint of metal that vanished. Someone was really there. Good. He didn't look like a fool. And... The man sighed. "I'm not going to-." He started when a person emerged from some small strands of grass. Pink hair... long white sleeves. How the hell did he miss that?! And... there was that weapon she held.

"Who the hell are you?" She demanded, holding the grappling hook in front of her. Aru looked the child over. Noting the amateur way she held the hook, the way she slunk back into the grasses. An inexperienced fighter... A girl child. One he would not fight. Slowly, deliberately, he folded up his sword, slipping it into his inner jacket pockets.

"Aru Shinomura." He said calmly, empty hands by his sides. "And you?"

"Erika." She spat. He... he put his weapon away. Good. She straightened up just a little, held hers more confidently. "What do you want?"

Aru shrugged. "I'm looking for civilization... You are welcome to come with me, if you would like."

Erika laughed. Like she would go with a complete stranger. But... would it be better than just staying alone? And... people. "Why would I go with you?"

The samurai grinned sharply. "Because you're a scared, lost little girl who  doesn't know how to fight, stuck in a dangerous place."

Cringing at that, she was even more adamant to stay away. Scared?! Little?! "I'll have you know I'm perfectly legal!"

Realizing his mistake, Aru rubbed his eyes and held up a hand. "All right, all right. Geez. I'm sorry." A 'hmph!' from Erika had him continuing. "Look. And I don't mean this in any insulting way.  You seem a bit lost. I don't want you to get hurt-"

Hurt? Why would he worry about what happened to her? Erika shifted her weight from one foot to the other, deciding to hear him out.

"-and it would make me feel better if you came with me."

Erika scoffed. "And if I don't?"

Aru sighed once more, hand coming away from his face. "Then I won't be able to protect you. And you will have your own trouble to worry about."

Protect her? Erika was not impressed. Why would this complete stranger want to protect her? She was silent and didn't move. Aru took that as a 'No. Leave me alone.' So he left.

And she followed. It was an amateur attempt at being stealthy, but the samurai gave her credit for it. Stay  away from potential enemies while staying close enough to figure out if they truly are the enemy. The samurai didn't think much on it. Until he heard a scream.

He turned on his heel, darting off to where it came from. It was Erika, all right. He leapt through some grass barriers and... there! G... Giant flowers. Grotesque, standing on bloated legs while twig like arms reached for the pink haired child. The schoolgirl was cringing in the center of them, hook held awkwardly in front of her. In one smooth motion, Aru had his Switch Sword out and two of the flowers fell. "I'm clearing a path!" He yelled to her. She looked up. There he was - hadn't moved an inch. His hand was above his head, the chain reflecting the light of the sun while the sword swung at the end, dragged along the graceful arc as it embedded itself into another. "Hurry!"

Erika gulped back her fear, holding her hook more confidently. Where... there! Aware of the approaching vegetables, she swung her hook around in a circle. Once... twice. Closer they came. Three times.... The hook came free from her hands and flew gracefully through the air, latching onto a thick twig suspending a spider's nest.

And it reached her! Letting out a scream, she scrambled up the rope. It was only grabbed by the flower. "Off!" She yelled at it. "Get off!" She landed on top of the thing, kicking and yelling at it until it let go of the rope. Quickly, now! She jumped, sailing through the air... right into-

"L-Look oooouuut!" The well meant warning came a little too late as she collided with the man.

Both on the ground, dazed. Aru recovered quickly. And soon noticed the flowers following. "Shit!" Grabbing the girl around her waist, he picked her up, tossed her over his shoulder and did the manliest thing out there... flee.

"Put me down!" Erika yelled at him. "You pervert! Are you enjoying grabbing my ass?!"

Aru ran on, huffing out, "Shall I leave you to the flowers?"

Silence. Then, "keep running." And so he did. There were no more complaints from Erika.

Some time later, the samurai decided they had gone far enough. Slightly out of breath, he dropped the complaining Erika on the ground roughly. "Oh!" She yelped, rubbing her butt. "Did you have to be so rough."

The samurai let out a sigh. She didn't seem to change. "You're away from those flowers, now. Go do whatever you want." And he left.

But Erika followed again, coming up to his side. He was right. She was away from those demented creatures. And he didn't have to come back and get her.

"...Thank you." She mumbled out.

Aru shrugged, folding up his sword and putting it away once again. "Don't mention it."

They walked in relative silence, small talk happening here and there. About how they got here. What happened so far. The weather. Then came night. Erika was beat. She had never spent so much time walking before. Her pace was sluggish and she trailed behind Aru. How... how did he do it? Still walking briskly and quickly. She opened her mouth to say something, but breathing took up all of her time.

Aru paused, looking back. That's right... she was just a child. "We'll stop here for tonight." The samurai said. This was as good an area as any other, so why not?

"Hh... ha." Erika gasped, doubling over, looking through her bangs at the samurai. "I... I could go on... all night."

'So could I...' Aru thought, knowing full well he would have if she wasn't with him. "I'm getting tired." He said, circling the campsite. "Let's just get some wood for a fire and call it a day." Erika collapsed to the ground. Finally! A break!

She watched Aru as he patrolled the area. He vanished for a while and she was fretful until he came back, grunting, hauling a rather large twig behind him. Then he stripped off the bark, tossed it in a piled and threw some some grass strands as well. Soon after the sound of a matching lighting, a fire was roaring. The girl stared lazily at it as Aru rummaged through his coat for provisions.

"I have some salted meat, stale bread, and dried fruit and vegetables." He said, startling the girl awake. He held up his hands, meat and bread in one, a small bag in the other.

"Oh, I don't want to take your food."

"Don't think of it." The samurai insisted, not backing down in the argument for her to eat. She was probably starving, walking all day long.

"The fruits, please. I don't eat meat."

Aru tossed her the bag and the sounds of eating joined the crackling fire and filled the air. After just a couple of bites, Erika couldn't eat anymore. So she set it aside and leaned up against a sturdy blade of grass, eyes half closed.

"Here." Aru said. He was suddenly in front of him, jacket in his hand. "Take this. It'll get cold tonight."

"O-oh!" Erika stuttered. "N-no! I couldn't. You keep it."

"Nonsense." Aru said, thrusting it on her. "Get some sleep. You've been walking all day. I'll take watch."

"I should take first watch." The girl protested. "You've already done a lot for me..."

Holding up a hand, the samurai stopped her arguments. "Get some sleep. It's all right."  Mumbling to herself, Erika curled up in his jacket and with a small, "Thank you," was asleep.

~*~

Morning again. Erika woke slowly, panicking slightly when she didn't know where she was and why she wasn't in her bed. Then it hit her again. She was here. In this other world. Not at home. And this Aru... he was going to protect her? Hardly... He was just one man. Could barely fight back those flowers the other day. She couldn't wait around for him to do whatever he did. And besides... he was already gone. The campsite was empty. Only thing that was left from him was his jacket. Well. She didn't need him. She could get along just fine by herself.

When Aru came back to the campsite, breakfast in hand, she was gone.