ᴡʜɪsᴘᴇʀ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀʀᴋ [ sᴛʀᴀʏ ᴄᴀᴛ + ʟᴇᴡᴅ ᴍɪsᴄᴏɴᴅᴜᴄᴛ ]

[Stray Cat]

Whenever she closed her eyes, she momentarily returned home. Her dreams were always the same, she was reunited with her family and her time in this place was nothing but a nightmare. Each time she wanted to believe that her dreams were real, but she never earned her wish. Anna began to stir awake and when her eyes opened she was not safely tucked away in her bed. She wasn’t even at home. Rather she was in the room that he left her in. It was a complicated story that even she didn’t quite understand. Her classmate Kagome seemed to be absent due to illness again and the teacher needed someone to bring her the assignments she missed. Anna was assigned the task which she didn’t mind. It wasn’t the first time and, thankfully Higurashi shrine was on the way home. She looked forward to catching up with her as it had been a while since they last spoke. When she first arrived it was quiet, that shouldn’t have been discomforting. It was possible that the family was not home; however, the longer she remained on the property she swore she sensed something. If only she listened to her instincts and fled while she still had the opportunity.

The feeling did not depart. At one point she questioned if it were all in her head, then she noticed the door to the old shrine was open. She tried to think back to all of the other times she visited and couldn’t remember seeing it open before. It was unclear what compelled her to enter the small building; whether it be curiosity or something else she would come to regret her decision. There was nothing in the shrine except for an old well, however, looks can be deceiving. The well emitted a light that swept her off her feet and thrust her into it. It all happened so quickly that when the light cleared she was confused. She questioned what happened, but had no clear answer. Anna remembered entering the old shrine, where she found that old well but, at the time what happened afterwards didn’t follow. She examined her surroundings and noted that it appeared to be the bottom of the well. Had she fallen? That must have been it, she had taken a fall. It would explain why her head hurt. Truth be told that explanation made more sense than the alternative Her intention was to leave the parcel for Kagome and make her way home.

Home. Where her own family would be waiting for her. She could still remember how she imagined how her mother would fuss knowing that she hit her head falling down that old well. Sometimes, it would still happen in her dreams at least. When she climbed out the well, she was no longer on the Higurashi estate; she wasn’t even sure she was in Tokyo, anymore. There were trees and wildlife as far as Anna could see, she questioned whether she hit her head harder than she thought, but it would appear not. She left the well which at the moment had almost seemed like a safe haven. She wandered around looking for a person or building, anything that looked familiar. This went on for quite some time. In the midst of her search it felt like someone was watching her, and she was not wrong. He called himself Naraku, he was the one that kept her imprisoned in this place. When they first met he acted as if they knew one another. He referred to her as Ai, which puzzled her more than she was now believe it or not.