So, my first manga to read, fall in love with, purchase, and re-read (again, and again, and again), is From Far Away by Kyoko Hikawa. I'm reading it again to give me creative drive to keep writing The Lost Princess, and I've thought of a fun way to re-write it as a Fan-Fic. I'm going to try a reader's perspective. Please forgive me.

You don't have to like it, but if you want, please read and enjoy with me. I've got some very funny parts to it and I've taken creative license to change the story up. It isn't mine, though, the story. It's Kyoko-san's. Go read it. I love it.

Chapter 1 I Find Myself in a Book

"Mmmn..." My mouth is sticky, but the surface I'm sleeping on is soft. I sit up and sleepily rub my eyes. Blinking I look around, then freeze inside. I'm looking at trees...no...looking up I realize I'm looking at massive tree roots. The openings between them are the size of coliseum arches. Directly over head is the largest tree trunk I've ever seen in my life.

I cower slightly, thinking of how much size and weight is hanging over me and I pray briefly those tree roots continue to hold it up. Putting my hand down for balance, I touch the softness of the surface I'm kneeling on and look down at it.

Gold, frondy. Rubbing my hand in it and looking closer, I see it is moss, or at least looks like moss. I look around again, and suddenly feel like the Fairy Queen having just woken up in my personal, very fancy bed and bedroom. Only my school uniform and satchel don't fit.

I pinch the back of my hand. Feels real. My eyes still don't agree, so I pinch my cheek. Yup. Still feels real. I sit frozen, even my mind, for who knows how long. Then I'm running my hands over my face, through my hair, over the rest of my body, just a bit frantically. Nope. Still a real body that is fully awake. ...Still a brain and vision that can't agree.

"Wulp," I heave myself to my feet. The sound is swallowed up in the massive "room"...but I did hear it, and felt the vibrations leave my chest and throat. The moss is hard to walk in, like walking on the bed would be. I keep sinking into it, my feet at funny angles. That's reality, too.

My eyebrows knit and some kind of emotion is building in my heart. I try to ignore it for now. The trunk...I mean root...I rest my hand on is smooth, from being exposed to whatever elements happen in this fairy-tale place. Resting my forehead on it, it is also cool, compared to the rising heat of my...fear.

Where was I before this? I close my eyes and take a deep breath. My girlfriends and I were walking home from school. They were teasing me again. I'd had that dream, the one with the beautiful meadow, animals not seen on Earth, and a beautiful bird - again not one seen on Earth - flying past in the deep blue sky. A deeper, richer blue than I'd ever seen on Earth as well. A blue that called to me.

My dad's a science fiction writer and I love to read. I'd wondered aloud to my friends if I was having dreams about an alternate universe and they'd been teasing me about some "door" was going to open and I was going to end up there...stuck as an ordinary high school senior in a fanciful world with a super race. I can feel my face going pink again. The problem is...in my hidden secrets I'd love to have that happen ...I think. Now I'm not so sure.

I take another deep breath and roll my head on the tree root. Yup, it's still there. Sigh. What happened next? Some kid lost a ball and I went to fetch it. It hit a rock just before I got to it and bounced off again. I'd just picked it up when there was a loud explosion and I was...floating? Like, in space.

I did see my girlfriends again, I think, talking to someone, but they couldn't hear me when I called them. Then there was this warm softness, like what I have just woken up to. ...And visions of some people, I think. Some of them kind of scary. Oh, yeah. I was thinking I was dreaming a cool sci-fi dream. ...It's not so cool any more.

"Hiromi! Masako! Rie?" Again my words get swallowed up, although I called for my friends louder than the last time I made a sound. The strange sounds in these woods (none of the rest of the trees are as big as this one, although they are all close together, except for a corridor around this bedroom tree) pause a moment when my voice interrupts, but not for long.

I carefully step down off the golden mossy bed, feeling like it's a bad idea. Maybe if I stay the hole will open up again and suck me back home. I look back to see. Nope. No wavy lines or open holes to home. Nothing.

I can feel the tremors starting. How long can I keep the fear at bay? No sight of people, and no sound of them either, and I'm starting to feel a bit creeped out. How will I eat? Where will I go? "MOM!" It rings. Nothing. "DAD! DAVID!" The fear in my voice echoes back to me and now the woods are silent.

Crap. I hope I didn't just ring the dinner bell. I close my eyes willing nothing to see me...here in the open corridor of this woods that doesn't belong where I belong. I need to hide, but I'm suddenly realizing I can't move, and don't know where I would move to anyway. The tremors of fear are increasing.

Thump. Ta-tump. My eyes fly open. Strange woodland creatures I've never seen with my own eyes, in a book, on TV, or the internet are fleeing past me...fleeing...something. Double-crap. I did just ring the dinner bell and everyone doesn't want to be on the menu...including me...and I can't move. I don't think I've ever been so terrified and alone in my life.

I watch, completely unable to close my eyes now, as one of the last small creatures to leap from the trees above has a massive...worm? slug?... as large as the tree trunk supports of my fairy bedroom with slimy floppy spikes all over it, slips down from the trees above to capture it in it's mouth. A round mouth surrounded by more of the spikes - only they don't look so floppy.

Saliva drips down as it lifts it's head (no eyes, I notice) and turns to face me. Can it smell me, or my fear? It's irrelevant. I'm the next course on the meal and I still can't move. A wail of fear is rising, though.

Wham! Ugh! Bam! I'm feeling woozy. That was not what I was expecting at all. Blinking, I try to see through the haze in my eyes. I've just been picked up and slammed against one of the tree roots of my first bed in this place. Trying to catch my breath, I can see that there's some...one standing between me and the massive monster that was just about to eat me, but ate dirt instead and is hunting for me again.

Tall, thin, long black hair...and a sword in hand. I blink. Thank God for fairy-tale knights. Maybe I am still dreaming. I'll take it. The wind in my lungs still hasn't come back and the tree trunk behind me tells me I'm lying to myself again, but I work hard to ignore that for now. My legs are trembling again and the monster is attacking.

Gasp. My intake of breath was a bad idea. The smell of the monster cut open is nasty. "Aaugh!" Having the head fly past me to land just to my left is worse, though, and I'm lost to the fear. All I know is that there's a guy with a sword who just killed the monster in front of me, and I'm holding tightly to something, shivering, trying to get my screeches of fear to quit hurting my ears.

Once those are under control, my brain function comes back somewhat - just enough to hear my heart panicking. I hate this. I wanna go home. Why am I here? Am I gonna die? God, please help me. I can't breathe, so I turn my focus to getting my breath under control. Hyperventilating. Not good.

There. Now that I can breathe more deeply, I'm not quite so lost to the terror and it's working back down to simple, pure fear. Right. Just breathe some more.

Ba-dump Ba-dump Ba-dump ... Mmm...warm. H-heart-beat? And that's...breathing, lifting my head and lowering it gently. I lift my head and look up into the most gorgeous male face I've ever seen, green-brown eyes slightly slanted, narrow features, shorter black bangs than the rest of the hair held back by a bandanna...and an irritated expression. He's awfully patient to wait that long for me to come to my senses. Ah! Gods, what am I doing?

I jump back slightly, letting go of the warmth - I don't want to! cries my frightened heart - and stammer out an apology. I'm thinking fairy-tale again, the way he moves and looks, a long coat over loose pants and tall-to-just-below-the-knee thin buckskin boots, and with the sword and knife on his belt and all.

He uses a strong swing of the sword to clean the muck off it for now and jams it back in its sheath, then heads to where he left me and picks up a rucksack, flinging it over his back. He picks up my satchel, I must have automatically brought it with me from the center of the moss, and shoves it at me.

[Words I don't understand.] Well, yeah, figures. But it sounds like he said he was irritated he came along at the wrong time. "I'm sorry. I don't know how I got here and where I am. I appreciate you saving me. I-if you could help me get out of the forest and to some...place," I pause to swallow down the tears, "I'll not bother you again." I hope he can understand from at least my expression, repentant pose, and tone of voice. That's all I've got at the moment. I look at the bed of moss one more time, hoping for the dimensional hole, but that hope is crushed pretty quickly.

[More words I don't understand] drag my attention back to him. He's looking at me, but the words were a little calmer. Maybe he understood me...and maybe not. I've no way to tell what he said either. Snap-Snap! I jump in fear again. Is it more of the monsters? There are faint sounds above us, but I can't make them out. All I know is that I don't want to see any more of the spiky worm monsters - still living that is. I'm doing my best to not look at the one. My fear is still present, just slightly boxed.

[Intense whispered words!] and he's grabbed my arm and is pulling me along. Damn. It is more of them. God I don't want to see them. Please, don't let them come! Now there's rustling in the tree tops...and it's coming from everywhere. Oh, God, no. My heart drops to my feet, my "knight" says one word, and we're moving fast. Yeah, "Run". I get that one.

I try my best to keep up with him, letting his pull overwhelm my fear's desire to freeze me to the spot again. Aaand, here they come. Lots of them. I can't help but stare at them in terrored fascination, wondering which one will be the one to finally get the meal I represent. I was the biggest creature to go running past...other than this man who for some reason is keeping me alive, when his own life is at stake now. This is more than even he can handle.

Whoosh. I instinctively duck as his sword swings out to hack at one of the worms that jumps out as we pass it. I'm glad I did. A large piece of it goes flying over my head. I glance back and at least three other worms have decided that's just as good a meal. Have at it. At least that's three not trying to eat us.

I look ahead again to find myself being flung into his chest again, only this time by a heave of his own hand that has been pulling on me, and his sword swings again. I hold very still, not wanting to get in the way of that sword. Killing monsters - good. Killing girls who get in the way accidentally - not so good. I hold on, trying to stay as close to him as his knapsack without being flung off as he zips around to get another one coming up behind him.

I'm feeling a bit dizzy with how fast he's moved, when I'm being pushed back. I let go quickly, then find myself suddenly grabbed around the bottom of my school uniform skirt and he's hoisting me up over his shoulder.

"Gah!" My stomach hit his bony shoulder hard, but before I can settle at all, he's running then leaping. I mean, like Superman. We are literally flying through the air - oh, but not a Superman pose. Just as if sailing through the leap.

Now I'm thinking manga. Yup, I nod to myself. Now I'm in a manga. Great. A sci-fi/fantasy/manga - all my favorite midnight pleasures rolled up into one (except I hate horror - don't need that...really don't need that). I am so going to wake up having realized that the explosion just put me out for a week and I've been fed too-spicy-food while I was out. It has to be that.

"Ugh!" That was a harsh landing, even though he tried to take most of the force himself. I can feel his shoulder collapse a little under the force of my landing on it. Can't fall that far and not have the equal-and-opposite forces apply (thank you very much Ms. Physics Teacher). The breath was knocked out of me for a bit, too, as it was too close to the solar plexus.

I look up. He just lept over four tangled worms! And they're receding into the distance quickly now as he runs...faster than normal humans. Yeah, that's Superman, too. I let my head drop. My fairy knight is Superman (I don't even like American comics, although I've dabbled, and his character is at least decent) and he's irritated he has to save me.

My girlfriends were right. I've been schlooped into an alternate reality - universe - whatever - and I'm a simple high school senior from Japan stuck in a world I can't understand full of a super race (I assume, based on a sample of one).

It might help those who haven't read From Far Away to know - it's old enough, and Kyoko-san's old school enough - that he really does have the "Wham! Bam!" style of fighting in the manga, though not as bad as the old American comics did. I've kept them in so that the flavor still exists that is in the manga. Plus - it helps with feeling the action in text, right? ;-)