Now right off the bat, this story isn't mine.

Shock!

Posting a story that isn't mine, -gasp-, well its not.

But I'm not stealing, I'm giving due credit to its owner: Origamii. She is a writer on a different website.

She was the reason I began writing, this is the story that made me write. She wrote this and never finished it, so I did it.

The first few chapters are hers, the last few are mine.

If your out there I'm sorry I didn't get your consent, but I felt this was very important to me.

Chapter One

"Thank you, Mrs. Firefly!" I gratefully said to my manager: Manager of the Firefly Hotel, that is. She had just given me my monthly paycheck.

"My pleasure, Mina!" She called back as I left her office. "See you soon!"

I waved and eventually left the hotel; indeed named after the Firefly family. I liked my job. Even if it was a pain sometimes, especially when the hard worker in me chose to work overtime. I was a maid here, and did a lot of the dirty work.

But it was okay and worth it, because lucky for me, the Firefly paid a desirable amount. Not many other fifteen-year-old girls were as fortunate as me. The job was easy to get because my parents had a connection with the owners.

"Aw, great," I groaned, walking out the luxurious glass double doors of the hotel. It was pouring outside and I had no umbrella. It was late too. I began to walk home anyway, like I usually would; tucking my paycheck into my bookbag so it wouldn't get soaked. It sucked how I had to wear a skirt for the Firefly uniform.

I tried to pick up my pace so I could get home sooner, but then remembered I had to stop by my uncle's house to run an errand for my mom.

Trying to recall the directions my mom had told me earlier that morning; I crossed some unfamiliar streets and eventually came to a residential area of the town. It was a weird neighborhood where there weren't many houses: I was used to seeing houses. Had I gone in the right direction?

I regret the moment I paid no mind to my mom. I was lost. I ran across the street to stand beneath a tree to avoid the rain.

But of course, the rain continued to fall through. The streetlights started to turn on as the sky grew darker. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my cell phone and decided to call mom. I dialed and waited.

"I'm sorry. The number you have dialed is currently unavailable..."

"Ugh." I closed the phone, annoyed by the automatic voice machine. That number never seemed to work.

Observing my surroundings, I then turned to stare at the puddle around my feet. I could see in my brown hair was a mess from getting so drenched.

Staying out here any longer would surely get me sick. The sun had gone and it was completely dark now. I pushed myself to go further down the somewhat abandoned street; hoping to find my uncle's house fast. Panicked I began to run; No hope.

I couldn't find it anywhere. Instead, I came across a street called Mahogany, where there sat a large gated mansion built of brick and white columns.

In desperate need of finding my uncle and getting dry, my feet lead me to the gate where it easily pushed open. Maybe someone inside could help me get on the right path.

A few steps passed the gate I heard it slam shut.

I jumped a bit and turned to discover that the gate closed shut by itself: like doors would in those creepy but cheesy horror movies. Forget about the gate, it'll easily open again later. Walking the slippery cobblestone path, I passed many trees.

I never thought houses like these existed in town. Sometimes I wonder if there were even people living in them.

I was halfway to the entrance door when I noticed something in the trees. Something large: moving, breathing, and groaning.

Curious, I walked off the path and into the murky trees. Maybe it could be someone who could help me to my destination?

I gasped. What I found was something I've never seen before. It was sitting on a rock, still some what hidden behind bushes and shrubs. But I could see it. I think I may have heard of something similar to it, maybe on TV or in fiction, but never thought something like this really existed in real life.

Scared, but also curious, I began to make an approach. I could see it clearly now. And to my surprise, this thing looked vicious and dark and unpleasant. And miserable.

It almost looked like a giant deformed raccoon with dark tinted ears and eyes that were amber. But behind the amber, it was all pitch black. It was just sitting there with its grotesque head resting in its monstrous hands. Just a few footsteps away.

I screamed and gasped, loudly. Someone had snatched at me from behind,covering my mouth to muffle my shout of panic.

Am I being kidnapped?! The person dragged me out of sight from the beast and pushed me against a tree, his hand still over my mouth. This boy, this person who nearly gave me a heart attack, had his hair up in a single ponytail: it was dark brown and stuck out like a pineapple.

It was the only feature I could pinpoint in the dark. He leant forward and I could see that his eyebrows were furrowed. Was he angry at me? Or was he trying to hurt me?

"Ssh. Calm down," He tried to tell me, and yet I continued to pant and shake from his grasp. It was dark and I didn't want to get kidnapped or raped or anything. I bit his hand. "Agh! Dam-"

His hand flew off of my face as he quickly cutting what he was saying. I had my chance to run away, and so I did. Now I just had to reach the front door of the mansion to beg for help before something worse could happen. But the boy grabbed my wrist before I could get anywhere. Scared and near to tears, I fell to the floor. I just wanted to go home now, forget my uncle.

"Leave me alone!" I hollered and tried to pry off the boy's fingers, not looking at him at all. The boy's eyes darted around in panic, examining the trees.

"Now you've done it. Would you please shut up for a moment and listen. I won't hurt you." He hissed and pulled on my wrist again. But I refused to be helped by him. "Get up. And get out of here. You do not want to anger that thing you saw over there. If he catches you he's gonna-"

"Shikamaru."

I heard a voice. It was different boy who was gripping onto my other hand. This voice sounded ominous and killer. I looked up reluctantly. By the light of the faint moon I saw that it was the beast, this boy was supposedly trying to protect me from. My eyes widened and my body froze on the ground.

"Shikamaru, where are you supposed to be."

"Gaara, I was just helping this girl find her way out. She wandered in." Shikamaru let go of my wrist. Now I was worried for Shikamaru. If I had never acted so stubborn, maybe I could have been at my uncle's by now. And Shikamaru wouldn't be in trouble.

The beast glared at me, and I whimpered quietly.

"Your name?" It asked in a low voice.

"...Minako, Mina."

"Take her in."

"What?" I gasped shocked.

"Gaara, that's not necessary." The boy tried to protest.

"Don't talk back to me."

With that, the beast disappeared into the trees. Probably where it lived. With it gone, I looked sorrowfully at Shikamaru, feeling rueful.

"C'mon. Let's go."

Before Shikamaru could help me up, I rose on my own.

"I can't. I have to go home."

"No one can leave if Gaara says they can't." Shikamaru sighed. "Trust me. It'll be all right. The gates are always locked anyway."

I wanted to contradict that, tell him the gate was fully unlocked when I first came here. But I decided to keep quiet, afraid that the beast was watching. I glanced back to assure myself that the gate was indeed shut. There was no chance of escaping. The gate was completely shut tight and too tall to climb over.

I was hesitant to follow Shikamaru inside the mansion. But soon gave in. I was uncomfortable in my soaking wet clothes and needed some warmth.

"Just promise not to anger Gaara."

I nodded, bobbing my head up and down.

Written by: Origamii

Editted by: Kyky10014

Thank you for your inspiration.