A/N: Hey, everyone! First off, I would like to thank Word Spinner and Fallen Akaichou for your wonderful reviews. Thank you so much, you two! And Akaichou-Yep, I am indeed Blinded Demon on the BCL forums. And as for Shina being the floating head…it's so funny that you should mention that….
Shina quietly dusted the long table in the burial room as the guests talked animatedly, admiring the beautiful artifacts in the room. So many people, Shina thought. There would be quite a lot of cleaning to do tomorrow.
Suddenly, the house shook violently, knocking everyone to the ground. The once cheerful conversation became panicked shouting. "What is going on? What happened? What was that?"
Shina had gone very pale. She had overheard enough of the priests' conversations to know what had happened. The ritual had failed. They were all doomed. She scrambled to her feet and shouted, "Get out now! Get to the entrance as fast as you can and get out of this mansion!"
The guests didn't need to be told twice. There was a mad rush to the door and they ran out. Shina ran to the room that led to the Demon Mouth corridor to warn anyone who was in there. She opened the door and gasped.
Rubble was everywhere. The stone walls, ceilings, and wooden beams had collapsed, crushing everyone in the room. Shina clapped a hand to her mouth.
Just then, the doors of the Demon Mouth corridor were flung open and one of the priests came running out, his eyes filled with terror. He stared around, horrified, at the crushed bodies. His gaze came to rest on Shina, the only living person in the room, and stumbled towards her, another tremor shaking the house.
"He went mad!" the priest garbled. "He began to kill everyone in his path!"
"Who did?" Shina asked fearfully.
"Lord Himuro," the priest whispered, and ran out.
Shina stood there numbly for a moment, and then gasped. Hoshi didn't know. She needed to warn her! Hoshi had said something about going outside for fresh air. Shina ran out of the room, through the burial room, and out to the cherry atrium. Shina looked around. She didn't see anyone, but noticed that the door to the moon well was open. Her heart seemed to drop into her stomach. Had Lord Himuro already gotten to her? Without thinking, Shina ran to the staircase room.
"Hoshi?" she called softly. There was no answer. She made her way down the hall to the fish tank room. She carefully made her way across the first plank, approached the second plank-and screamed.
Hoshi was floating facedown. The water was clouded red from her blood. Her beautiful hair, now soaking wet, hung limply in the water. Shina looked frantically around the room. Lord Himuro wasn't in here. At least he hadn't lingered after killing Hoshi. But where had he gone? Probably the backyard, Shina thought. Quite a few people had gathered there, and he might have heard them. Not wanting to be there when he returned, Shina doubled back to the staircase room, casting one more horrified glance at Hoshi's body.
She slowly and quietly made her way up the stairs. This would be the quickest way out; through the anteroom, down through the sunken fireplace room, the rope hallway, to the entrance. If she was lucky, the entrance wouldn't be too blocked by the rubble knocked loose from the tremors. Slightly calmed by the thought that she might still escape, she reached the top of the stairs- and found herself face to face with the Himuro Family Master.
Shina didn't even have time to react. The last thing she saw was the face of a demon, and the last thing she heard was malicious laughter, before Lord Himuro slashed out his sword and Shina's head rolled down the stairs.
A/N: Well, hope you liked it! Coming up-Koji Ogata!
