[b]Abandoned Building[/b]

Haru wasn't going to lie. This was one of the worse ideas, but it was certainly something else than going back to her aunt's place. Rurika wasn't going to come home that night anyway, she was out on a week-long trip to some other place she never told Haru. The details weren't important anyway. Rurika left enough money to last her the week and then some, just in case there were some complications with her job. She was a really good person, Haru knew that. Rurika reminded her of her mother - maybe it was because they were sisters. Haru never really knew much about her grandmother or her grandfather but maybe they raised both of their children well. That must be nice.

Or maybe she was just rejecting the lessons. They were trying. Haru could clearly see that. She was just too stubborn and too used to her way of life to really live by any of the lessons Rurika was providing her. And maybe that's why Haru was currently sitting down on an open window, one leg hanging outside with a cigarette between her fingers. She hadn't made a habit out of it. She only ever lit a cigarette when she was having certain thoughts of doubt creeping in and sometimes a smoke could help her keep her head straight. 

Clicking. Scratching.

Haru quickly turned to the insides of the building, eyes searching for anything moving. It might have been a rat. She wouldn't be surprised if this building was infested with them. It had been abandoned for quite a while, set to be demolished someday but they kept putting it off. But she should probably leave. She put the cigarette stick inside her mouth and slid off the window and picked up her pack. When she looked up, the empty and decrepit room showed something else. For a moment, she felt like she was inside another place - a dark void filled with things her human mind could not comprehend yet. She pulled back suddenly and the room went back to normal.

Her heart was heavily thumping against her chest and she could feel the chill - all of her alarm bells ringing. She was in [i]danger[/i] but she wasn't sure what she should be looking out for. Because there was nothing in the room aside from herself and the annoying clicking that seemed to keep getting louder and louder and louder as if something was coming closer to her. She tilted her head and closed her eyes, trying to track where this sound was.

[i]Click.[/i]

She turned around quickly, gripping her bag tight as she swung it towards the sound. She had only seen the figure for a second before her own momentum sent her stumbling to the side. Her attack had passed straight through the figure. She took a few deep breaths before raising her head to look at the figure that was now standing before her. Its tail was swinging behind it before suddenly stopping as Haru and... it made eye contact. Or at least, Haru looked upon its blank helmet-like face.

[b]"You will do fine."[/b]

[color=0076a3]"What the f-"[/color]

It didn't allow Haru a chance to ask anything as its tail struck forward. There was no impact but there was a burst of pain that came from the spot where its tail made contact with her skin and it spread quickly. It felt like her entire body was on fire and it did not stop. She collapsed fully on the ground and she felt like her entire body wanted to rip itself apart from the inside out. She wanted to claw at her skin but she couldn't move. Flashes of her mother and her death. Flashes of her father and his addiction. Her mind was filling with memories and pain - amplifying what was already there a hundred times over.

And then suddenly there was nothing. The feeling disappeared completely. She rolled onto her back, taking a couple of deep breaths. Haru slowly sat up and looked around. Everything was normal - no figure looming over her or the clicking that seemed to surround her just a few seconds earlier. Her cigarette had fallen onto the ground, the last of its embers glowing, next to her bag. She stood up, stomped the remaing embers to death. She grabbed her bag again and began to haul back to her house.

Whatever that was, she could think about next time when she wasn't feeling so exhausted.