Chapter 2. Paper Moon


Fear. Death. Insanity. These are things people can't ultimately explain. You may try to know what they are, and you may watch another go through these things, but unless you face them yourself than it is pointless to understand any of it. But there must also be a fine line between the fear in your veins, the life stolen, and the shattering of your reality. If not, then you may lose yourself in a way you don't want to.

Maybe that is how I'm surviving here. By taking it one step at a time or perhaps I'm simply pretending it isn't there in the first place. Like this is some sick and twisted dream.

Sadly, my attempts at pretending are fading and I feel as if I'm falling apart. My emotions have brought me down to sobbing to myself, trying to make sense of my new reality.

What would you do if you realized that everything you knew has been stolen from you?

I've pretended to feel nothing since the moment of awareness in this new world. But it is hard to when you go about your day, glancing out of the shadows towards the old little towns that held nothing of the life you remember. It's painfully obvious to you that whatever you knew of life before has been completely changed.

Though, it isn't like I still can't go on with my life, I just have to make some adjustments and adapt. I think of it as a game. Complete one thing and do another until you level up and keep on surviving. Yes, let's just think of it all like a game. Living in a game is a better way of thinking than the helpless fact of my reality.

A game of attacking any passer-by – mostly gangs – with goods I can take and use to keep myself alive. Traveling through the forests, memorizing a rough map of the area, coming up to roads that lead to far across lands during the day, while keeping myself in a half state of sleep during the night.

It's all a game. It's a game where my character has somehow turned back through time and has landed in another country with a new culture and era. A wonderful time era of purity without human pollution of the world I recall. The beauty of lands vast and wide, curling and uncurling as far as the eye could see. The clear skies and the air fresh to the point you hack just a tad bit from the pure oxygen entering the lungs. Green made up most of the mountain sides, blue ribbons dipping in and under through the hills that eventually emptied into larger pools of clean crystal blue waters. This is an era still run by the laws of nature, but slowly and steadily being populated by little villages of humans.

But what do 'fear', 'death', and 'insanity' have to do with a place of peace and purity such as this?

I'm in a world different from my own. It is like I've stepped into one of the stories young authors write on fanfiction sites. I always used to make fun of some since they were too cliché with bad Mary-sues and unrealistic American mikos'. Others though, I will admit, some luckily stayed true to the reality and were well written.

Anyways, my theory is that I have somehow been dragged into an anime! It's the only thing that makes sense! Unless, I've gone crazy at some point – which I hoped to be the case – and I dreamt up this whole thing. I hoped that with a simple pinch to my arm and I'd wake up to find myself passed out on my comfy and familiar bed.

Sadly, life is an unusual bitch that adores messing with your head- or is that fate? Whatever it is, I'm still in a fraggin' anime and I have no clue how to escape it! I need to escape it! I have a life back home, with friends and family. But that's not the only reason. This place makes my blood run cold in fear and suspicion.

It was all because of that damn lizard demoncreature that attacked me about a week ago.


I woke up to the caress of the morning light and the sounds of birds chirping. My eyes then fluttered open, gazing up to the vision of trees surrounding me. With a groan, I unsteadily sat up, blinking out the daze from my eyes. I turned my head this way and that in curiosity to my new surroundings.

I was in a forest. My brows furrowed in confusion as to why I couldn't seem to recall how it was that I even ended up here.

All I could remember was being at that anime convention, losing sight of my friends who all ran after a cosplayer Sebastian, and then being in that garden.

But what happened after that...?

I couldn't recall anything else, and that irked me to no belief. How could I not remember how I made it here?

It just made no sense and on top of that, my clothes were drenched and clinging to my skin. I shivered uncontrollably when a fluttering breeze passed through the area and brushed against my soaked body.

I glanced down at myself, eyeing the shoulder cut-off grey colored shirt printed with jet black stripes. The cloth was tight to my torso, clinging uncomfortably to my skin. I then scrutinized my thigh high jeans that clung much like my top and the mid-thigh stalking's I was currently wearing. They itched and rubbed in a I was sure that if I didn't find a place to dry them soon, I would end up with some kind of rash by the end of the day.

But at least my knee high boots, though drenched as well, had no troubles and were luckily not squeaky.

Flicking my emerald orbs warily around, I wondered if I should stay where I was or look for civilization. I shook my head. Of course I should look for civilization! I couldn't just sit here waiting for a chafed ass and a possible fever by the end of it.

So I began to walk in the forest of maze, bored to see tree after tree in silence. Even the birds that had chirped me awake had gone quiet, and I didn't like it. It sent this ominous feeling stirring within me.

The atmosphere of the forest was creepy enough already, but when I heard a 'snap' just around the corner from where I was, the feelings in my gut tripled, if possible. Jumping with fear, I hid behind a thick tree and peeked out my head, spotting the strangest most unbelievable thing my humans eyes could ever see.

There was a lizard of some sort, a few heads taller than me that stood on its haunches a couple feet from my hiding spot. Its skin was covered in scales, a moss green color with patches of oil black running under its belly and down its long thin tail that swiped the air.

Its arms were thin and long, bent so it kept its gleaming claws close to itself. The claws on its hind legs were almost like a raptor's, the thumb claw curved so it could pierce fragile flesh without trouble. It just seemed like an abnormally large reptile, except it stood like a human.

Is that a dinosaur? I gaped. So shocked that I hadn't even realized I had gasped until the beast spun its gleaming eyes on me.

Its yellow eyes were scrutinizing me in an almost feline-like manner. And suddenly, it screeched, making my body jolt from the loud piercing sound that made my ears thrum before my brain told my legs to move.

I turned and bolted away in bone chilling fear. I could hear it, the strange raptor-like creature jumping easily around so it could hunt me down, rustling the leaves of the forest and breaking the tranquil silence.

My heart hammered noisily in my chest, making me wonder if the raptor could hear it. But that thought only passed my mind for a moment because my survival instincts started to kick in. I forced my legs to pump me faster on the adrenaline I suddenly felt streaming through my body.

I pushed all thoughts from my head at that moment, but I could still imagine it, the lizard slamming me down and digging its claws into my fragile flesh, making me scream so loudly that I would wonder how my lungs hadn't burst yet. My yells would burn my throat raw while the thing ripped my body apart. That uncontrolled images sent a cold and hollow feeling throughout my body, making my eyes dilate wide and pant heavier as I threw myself faster.

But before I could banish that blood drenched though, I suddenly found my world spinning around, tumbling to the earthy ground helplessly as my fear then became a reality.

The lizard had caught me, slamming into my body with its massive weight. I winced when its knife-like claws dug into my flesh and pinned me under its body. The thing curled back its lips to reveal saliva drenched fangs. The thing then screeched in my face.

My eyes squinted and I shrunk back from the booming sound. Unable to use my hands since the raptor-like beast had pierced its claws into my palms, drawing out warm blood while it eagerly ripped through muscle and skin.

I tried not whimper at the hot searing pain that flashed through my tense body though. I just had this need to not give this…this monster above me the satisfaction it apparently wanted from inflicting pain upon me.

I was shocked though, to hear the lizard chuckle dark with this sudden voice filled with vile intent that reached so clearly and unnaturally to my ears. "Ah, human, you smell so delectable. It's been a while since I found such an innocent smelling meal." It sneered down at me. It's hot breath smoldering my face in its disgusting scent that spilled from its jaws.

I bit my lip that began to tremble and flinching into myself when the creature slid its pink, snake-like, tongue over my cheek, trailing saliva over my pale skin.

Oh snap that is frickin' gross! I scowled. And I didn't doubt that my eyes were surely wide as well.

"W-what are you..?" I uttered quietly, failing to keep my voice steady.

This thing…just wasn't natural! How could I even understand this things own words? Had I gone insane? Had I died and have to now face torment for never going to church, or was I simply sleeping-

The raptor-like creature chuckled darkly in amusement. The piercing and gleaming eyes staring me down while it dug its claws deeper, drawing out petals of blood from my veins and a pained yelp from my lips.

Okay ya- not a dream! I hissed out in my mind, now filled pain.

"I'm a demon, have you never meet one before?" It inquired, sneering down at me with eagerness at my pain while I struggled to not gasp and scream. "Maybe that would explain your delectable smell."

"De-demon?" I bit out, "The-there's no su-such thing..."

The 'demon' laughed hysterically into the tense air, slicing through the silence with its dark laugher that sent a shiver down my spine. "Ah, such an innocent thing to not even know demons exist! It truly will be a pity to have such a delicious human leave this world, but don't worry." It grinned, licking it's fangs with vigor as it reeled back its head. "I will savor you...to the very core!"


I shook my head to get rid of the horrid memory. My fingers unconsciously brushed past my side just above my hips. I still winced from time to time when I added too much pressure but at least it was healing. That god damn lizard bit me. The thing tore into me in a crazy frenzy, after that though most of the day was a blur. I don't understand or even remember what happened.

I remember though, waking up with pain erupting and blooming like fire on my bottom side. There was so much blood too. Little flecks like melting rose petals that spread around me on the forest floor.

The lizard-bastard was nowhere to be found though. That's what confused me the most because from the look in the things eyes it wanted to devour me. It wanted to cause me pain until it was time for me to open death's doors.

But I am still here. I am still breathing, and I am still surviving in this place I want no part of.

I feel like this place is an exact replica to that story of demons and a jewel. InuYasha. But I still haven't run into any half dog demons or teenage mikos wearing a school uniform.

I've tried to go home. But it seems as if the controller of my life here just wants me to suffer. As if for a laugh or there's even the possibility that I'm somehow a part of a bigger picture. At least, that's what I like to believe.

Maybe that's how I'm keeping my sanity intact by those little threads of mine. I'm trying to make myself believe that this is for something more, a meaning I have yet to understand.

A purpose or a meaning because everything has some form of a reason to live. Even the shortest of seconds with a person has meaning or the tiniest acts. After all, the world couldn't be made of just short coincidences. If that were true than the lives we lived and the people we meet would mean nothing.

No matter the accomplishments and feelings, it wouldn't matter in the end if it was just coincidence. So I have to remember what I heard once long ago.

"There were no such things as coincidence in this world, only the inevitable".

But one still can't help to wonder is falling into an anime also inevitable?