[Atoli01]

It was a drunken kind of youth. Yes, a feeling of floating from merely being alive. Yes, a rapidly beating heart every time our eyes met. Those were the things I had grown dependent on. I was but a baby, created with all varieties of information encoded within what those white-coat donned strangers deemed a soul.

"Miss! You're awake!"

Those were the first words I ever recalled. Those were the words that welcomed me to this world. They were ones filled to the brim with excitement, joy and triumph, tinged with just the slightest bit of panic and fear. How will she react to me? What do I say? What do I do? I know those were the thoughts going through that young woman's head. Before even opening my eyes, before knowing even my own name--much less appearance--I knew more concerning the world around me than a person who had been on Evelon for twenty years already.

Emotions were a thing I had no knowledge of. Those were the things so foreign to me that, at the time, made my head pound with anxiety and apprehension.

[Atoli01]

My thin, brown hair reached just past my shoulders. I had bright, beaming ochre eyes, accompanied by long, perfectly curled eyelashes. The slightest tinge of red adorned my cheeks, just above my pastel-colored pink lips. My skin was, by anyone's definition, superb, flawless, an elegant, pearly white with not a single blemish souring it's appearance. The only garment donned on my fresh skin was a matching set of frilled, delicate ivory lingerie.

That, anyway, was the image that was reflected in that simple, metal hand-mirror that was given to me. The same hands that had placed the object in my own withdrew it, and I watched as the bare, dully colored thing found it's way on my bedside.

"How is it? Did we do a good job?"

"Do you want to pick out a more... modest outfit? I didn't want to dress you, since your personality and preferences are virtually impossible to predict."

"I know things are overwhelming for you at the moment. Can you bare with them for just a while longer?"

[Atoli01]

"Back and forth. Back and forth, that's all my thoughts keep doing."

I was dressed in a yellow kimono, adorned with the faint patterns of flowers on it. My green sash, if I had the right to say such, made the outfit pleasing to the eyes. And, with the eyes, I absorbed every piece, every sliver of information I could gain. My bed, with wires covering much of it's surface, was laying in the corner of the room. The room in general, much like my lingerie, was an off-white color, with only the occasional beam of green, blue, red donated by the surrounding machinery. I was seated in a white, metal chair, face-to-face with the woman whose existence I was unaware of until just moments before.

"Those are called emotions, my dear," the woman chuckled, as if I had told her something silly. "It's called being confused. Remember that word, alright? Remember that feeling."

[Atoli01]

"Your name is... Well... It's quite a funny thing, actually. We don't have one quite yet... Not an official one. 117 is your number."

I was programmed well enough to know that such wasn't proper. People went by names, not numbers. What was I? Some alien experiment? Well... I suppose such wasn't too far off from the truth. Such a status was degrading, I concluded, even if I, at the time, did not understand the full weight of the word or the feelings and implications associated with it.

"So I'll just be referred to as number 117?"

"For the time being, yes. Of course... We'll make sure to find you a name. If you find one that particularly matches your liking, don't be afraid to come find me," she responded, in an almost steely, robotic fashion. Quite ironic that I would be the one to say it. "My name is Miriam."

[Atoli01]

Fast forward two days and I was standing in the middle of a seemingly ancient town. Horse-drawn carriages and elaborately dressed geisha strolled by me, as if nothing were out of the ordinary. Not only was I 'created', but I was thrown out into an entirely different world just shortly thereafter. Thank you, society, for allowing me time to organize my thoughts.

Maybe that was why humans, naturally, weren't born adults. Maybe this is why this cursed ability of time travel wasn't granted to us in the first place.

That's what I had pondered anyway as I stared down at my fresh, bare hands. I knew I fit into society as any of this time would. No one would blink and eye once in my direction, or give me even an extra thought. That was on the outside, though. Everything these people knew, everything they've experienced, are things that they themselves have been through and things that they had learned.

Maybe some would consider it a blessing, but even I, who shouldn't be old enough to even talk, considered it a curse already. If I was programmed without that conscious--or maybe it was a blip in the system--then maybe I could accept it all and try to live my life here as any other.

[Atoli01]

Only mere seconds of carelessness and a small bump to my sides upon that busy street were all it took for my to land flat on my face. My first thoughts had drifted to my pristine, silk kimono. Surely, it must not have been very cheap, would it? A dirtied lady was improper, unsightly to have around. In my panic, I attempted fruitlessly to pull myself from the ground. Rather, the action simply worked against me as I fell pitifully back to the floor. I had no experience wearing traditional kimonos, and I was surely not accustomed to how tightly the fabric was secured to my body.

A chime of laughter filled the air just shortly thereafter, and I had felt tears begin to well in my eyes. Society never changed, no matter what era you were in, did it?

Before I could so much as raise my voice in protest however, my hand was grabbed swiftly by what I could identify immediately as a male. "Girls should be more proper," he said curtly as he pulled me to my feet. It was only by some miracle that I didn't fall once more.

Is that how a turtle felt?

[Atoli01]

The man's gaze seemed to be a tangible thing, thick enough to slice even with a knife. His green eyes surveyed me from head to toe, still grasping firmly onto my hands. His eyes finally met mine, however, and that's when both of our flickering gazes ceased.

It took but a moment for me to look away in what I can now label as embarrassment. My cheeks flushed red, but I could tell that his gaze was still trained on me. "You're not from around here, are you? Any girl from around here has the balance required to navigate the streets, or at least the ability to stand herself up when worst comes to worst."

My nodded bobbed the slightest bit. A nod, yet it was one that simply served to advertise my flustered state. "Your obi is tied incorrectly. I've never once seen a hair clip resembling the one you don, either."

[Atoli01]

"Oh, I... I'm terribly sorry! I'm just... from out of town. I got lost..."

"Your dialect is odd."

"Because I'm from somewhere else."

"What are you doing here, then?"

Are people in this day and age really this absent minded?! In my frustration, I nearly stormed away from the man, with my hands balled into tiny fists. Like hell these could do any damage, even if I wanted them to. That, however, wasn't a thing I would even attempt. The moment I turned my back to him however, the stranger grabbed hold of my wrist.

"Let go!" I screamed at a volume that would catch anyone's attention. He had absolutely no right to be laying his filthy hands upon me.

[Atoli01]

As intended, every person seemingly stopped in their very tracks. With all eyes turned toward us, my cheeks grew crimson once more. Some people scurried away after a mere moment, understandably unwilling to get involved in whatever was to come. I directed my steely, unforgiving gaze straight to his very eyes. It was certainly a thing that was uncommon for a woman to do 'in this day and age', wasn't it?

To my utter shock, however, several of the nearer passersby simply waved their hand in nonchalance. It was if they were the very ones directing the busy causeway's traffic; at the signal, everyone once more resumed their normal activities.

An odd... emotion, as I had recalled it being known as, sparked deep within my chest. How could others simply walk past a girl in danger? Was it my rank in society? Was it my looks? Was it my attitude? Was it simply the fact that they were far too busy to waste their time with silly tasks such as as helping a pitifu--

"You really have no sense of anything, do you? Come on, let's go. I suppose one stray pup won't kill me..."

[Atoli01]

Instead of fearing the man, as many would do, as I had just moments prior, I had suddenly found myself placing full trust in that warm hand that was wrapped so securely around my petite wrist. Was it simply because this was the first, real human I had come in contact with? And I mean real, tangible contact. No, that confused look had not yet flitted from my eyes, though I wasn't concerned about that. The only thing that had found itself planted in my brain was the careful footwork I had to take care of in order to match stride with the stranger.

Was it naivety? It probably was, I concluded as I stared ahead of me, watching as his feathered hair bobbed as he walked. Finally, his stride slowed. Though it felt like no time had passed, I knew it had. It was all in silence, at that.

"What's your name?"

"I... One seve-- I... I don't have one..."

Who carried the name of a number? Such would surely set off a flag.

[Atoli01]

"Oh, what a strange kid I picked up. Come here."

It wasn't until then I had taken note of our surroundings. A quaint little house--presumably made of paper and wood, as all were at the time--perched securely on the top of a quaint little hill. Didn't the poor live in even smaller houses, in even more crowded areas? That's what I thought anyway. There wasn't a person around besides us, despite the fact that I could hear the joyful cheers of nearby children drifting through the cool, spring air.

I had obeyed his command however, as any honorable 'kid' would, and took several steps closer to him. I still stiff as a board as he paced around myself, stopping only to gingerly touched my tied hair. "Would it be a hassle if I... took it down?"

[Atoli01]

I softly shook my head no. It was far too late at that point, however, to mind the fact that I had no idea of how to tie it once more. I would have had to take it down at some point, I concluded with a hidden sigh. He tucked my hair ornament and ribbon securely in his hand and returned to his original spot, facing me once more. He surveyed the surrounding area, seemingly puzzled for a moment, before bending down and plucking a small daisy from it's home.

He gently tucked the flower behind my ear and gave a rather content nod. "Girls look nicer with their hair down," he concluded sharply. Wasn't it quite an odd thought to have at the time? "Junkou. Pure child. I'll give you my surname. Izanami."

"You know most people view daisies as weeds? They're flowers in actuality. I quite like them, though. It will have to make do until the cherry blossoms bloom once more."