[Haunted Dreams]
The long set of shrine steps looked daunting to Kagome's tired eyes. All day at school she had thought of her odd night, wondering if it was a dream. She couldn't focus on taking notes or listening to the teacher when golden eyes and a sad puppy eared boy kept popping into her mind.
With slouched shoulders Kagome reached the top of the stairs. Her grandpa was sweeping the pathway in the courtyard and spotted her right away. She groaned, she really wanted to go her room and go to sleep.
“Young lady! Do you know how worried you had your mother and I last night! Out late at night, you're lucky demons didn't get you!”, she smiled shakily and felt nervous sweat fall down her forehead. Through all the years she thought her grandpa was just crazy but after last night maybe she would rethink her stance on demons.
She walked inside the house, ignoring his ongoing rambles. Her mother wasn't home, probably at the store. Good, she thought. That way she wouldn't have to deal with a talking to from her mother too. She didn't want to explain getting lost in a scary part of town and mysteriously waking up on the bus to school. The fact that her grandpa said she was gone last night made her doubt it was only a dream.
Her backpack was dropped unceremoniously at the door of her room before she sprawled out on her bed. The soft fabric felt so nice, not like the hard concrete and brick from last night or the plastic and metal chairs from school.
The soft material of he fleece throw blanket pillowed her cheek when she scrunched it up and put it under her head like a pillow. She curled up above her blankets and closed her eyes. Her tired mind slowly pulled her into the recesses of sleep, the tiny protest that she had homework and things to do all but forgotten.
Somewhere dark... It was so dark. Were her eyes even open? She thought they were, waving her hand in front of her face didn't help to discern the answer to that question. A sudden hissing noise made her turn and jump.
Slowly a red mist made itself known, like glowing steam. It curled around the space she was in wrapping her ankles in it's essence and crawling up unseen walls. She saw it came from a tiny hole in a long smooth mass protruding from the darkness, leaving its origins unknown. She reached to touch it, unsure of what it was. It reminded her vaguely of a large snake body stretched perfectly up and down. As she drew closer it pulsed and wriggled, like something was underneath it. Then it turned to metal, rusting and aging right before her eyes.
She gasped and stepped back from the strange magic. The mist seemed to thicken now, pressing down on her. She turned to run and had to stop herself from screaming.
Standing before her was the slumped form of the dog-eared boy from the alley. His eyes were open, he stared at her. His gaze was clouded with sadness and remorse. A strangled whimper echoed through the empty space, the hissing of pressured steam being released still echoing in the background.
“Help me...”, he rasped. His voice sounded like a lost child's.
Kagome reached out to touch him, to take his hand, she wanted to help like he asked. He looked relieved for a moment then gasped. His features twisted in pain. The mist pulled tighter around him as if his skin were breathing it in. Eyes tainted red were staring back at her outstretched hand before she could blink. Jagged stripes of cobalt adorned his cheeks and his silver hair spun around him like it was caught in a storm.
He snarled and she leaped back, crying out in fear. She closed her eyes willing the vision away and she felt a cold breeze over her cheek.
Peeking through slitted eyes open her; vision was obscured by a long white kimono sleeve. When it moved from her way she could see the tall white haired man from the night before. The gleaming silver sword was now in the same place as it was in the alley, plunged neatly into the heart of the dog-eared boy.
Cold golden eyes met hers, “Run girl!”, he shouted. His tone sounded urgent but condescending, as if she was stupid for still sitting there.
Jumping up she ran off into the darkness, too scared to be near either of them not to listen. When she peeked back she saw crimson eyes slipping closed and when the tall man let go of his sword it was as if the boy was pinned to an imaginary wall once again.
Kagome awoke with a jump, feeling as though she had just fallen onto her bed and not been lying in it. She was breathing heavy, both out of fright and that it still felt like she had just stopped running after a mile long sprint.
She stumbled in the dark to turn on her desk light, it was night now and she didn't know how long she was asleep for. There was a plate of food there, with a little note from her mom telling her to eat when she woke up from her nap and how glad her mom was that she was home safe.
She sighed and plopped down in her chair, absently eating some of her cold dinner as she turned on her computer. She felt like she needed to help now. She was unwillingly dropped into the lives of those two boys by fate but she still felt like she had to help.
There was something strangely significant about that sword so she decided to start there. The blue glow of the computer screen illuminated her room into the wee hours of the morning.