My Soul to Steal by Ai Roku

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha!

Prompt: Apparition

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As her voice grew hoarse Kagome became increasingly aware of a persistent call of her name, “Miss Higurashi, Miss Higurashi it’s alright, please calm down.”

Snapping her eyes open she jerks her head up encountering the kind visage of the night watchman Gin. “There now Miss Higurashi it was just the lights burning out nothing to be afraid of.”

‘Lights,’ confusion overruled her terror for a moment and she was finally capable of taking in her surroundings.

It was still dark, but this was the commonplace darkness of an unlit room, and not the malevolent creeping blackness she had just come from.

The figures of the examination table and Dr. Takabayashi’s desk were clearly highlighted by the small sliver of light showing through the now open main door, and the exit sign posted above the side door was shining a constant red.

With shock she notes the complete lack of glass shards from the exploded lights, and that the papers she had seen blown and scattered around the room by a phantom wind were once again stacked neatly on the desk.

To her relief there was also no trace of the glowing fox fire and the monstrous apparition contained within either.

Her inspection was disturbed as old Gin began speaking again. “It’s the damndest thing them blowing out all at once like that, not impossible mind you just odd. But I tell you all that screaming you did shaved a few years off my life, missy!”

“Gin, how did you get in, did you have to use the key, and what happened to all the broken glass, and the papers all over the floor?”

Giving her a strange look Gin said, “Why would I need the key, the door was unlocked when I got here, and the room was just as you see it now.”

‘It wasn’t real?’ this question burned clearly in her mind even through the storm of her tumultuous emotions.

Had it truly all just been an illusion, or maybe a dream, or perhaps worst of all a hallucination? 

But why, dear Gods, would she fabricate something so disturbingly morbid?

With a condescending pat of her hand that Kagome was sure he’d meant to be reassuring Gin told her, “Don’t worry, missy; the lights all go’in out all of a sudden like that, and you here all alone late at night…Your imagination was just play’in tricks on you, a good night’s rest will set you to rights you’ll see.

Kagome tried to conjure a bright smile for the kind old man, but she was certain her attempt just looked brittle.

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