Orange rays of light that heralded the setting of the sun pierced the dim area, small floating particles illuminated in their path. The openings through which these rays poured forth from were obscured by the hazy brown atmosphere, as was anything else near the boundaries of the area. Her heart pounded noisily, the steady beating in her chest the only sign that time existed in this static dimension. Noise was oddly muted, nearly all sounds being swallowed by the innumerable amount of pillars that stretched to the sky around her. Incapable of scaling them, she was forced to walk a haphazard path among the valley of pillars.

Here and there she spotted signs of other beings, natives whose eyes she could feel trained on her person. The presence of dust, multiple creatures, and mold together created a palpable smell to the air, one that tainted her mouth and nostrils mercilessly. Some had made their homes inside the tall obstructions, ducking out of sight whenever she roamed too close to their territory. Every step further into the heart of the area she took increased the feeling of being an intruder.

It was here that she stalked her prey, swiftly, but oh so quietly gliding across the floor in her hunt. The path she took was clearly visible, her clean footprints against the dust layered floor shouting her existence to any native who bothered to notice. Most didn't. It didn't matter. She had no interest in them. Not now. No, she was here for one small group in particular. This group had only recently taken up residence here, but had grown too bold, too troublesome to allow to remain.

She took a step, deliberately ignoring the small movement in the corner of her vision. A squeak sounded and a flash of white disappeared. The creature was far too tiny to be mistaken for her prey, therefore not worth more than half a moment's consideration. Twice, she had spotted her target, twice, she had given chase, and twice, she had been defeated. All she need focus on now was her prey . All else was of no importance.

Sweaty hands flexed, tension running through her veins. Breathing in deeply through her mouth, she resolutely ignored the irritation building as she calmed her mind. Her instincts were her most reliable sense in this dull realm, and she could ill afford to panic.

A pillar teetered suddenly in the distance. Her gaze shot to it in an instant, catching a shape bolt away. The flash of gray assured her that it was one of her culprits. In its wake, a trail of swaying columns was left, beckoning her onward.

She obeyed, forsaking stealth for speed while she tracked the target. If she were lucky, it would lead her to its nest. What, precisely, she would do when she found it, she didn't know. She had yet to plan that far ahead. It didn't matter. Things would figure themselves out eventually.

Maybe.

She paused at the last column she had spotted the creature, the pillar still lightly swaying. Dust floated lazily away, along with stray tufts of fur. Signs of shedding, perhaps? Or had there been fighting amongst the group? She preferred the first. If the second, it would mean that her targets would be split up.

Her sharp eyes took in her surroundings, searching for any sign of movement. A fresh cloud of dust, created from the swaying of another nearby pillar, made its way towards her. She blinked to clear the grit in her eyes, fought a cough, and waited. The only sound in the area was her own breathing, but if any of the targets had taken to the floor she would be able to hear their claws scratching as they walked.

A shuffle sounded to her left, followed by a clatter as precariously placed items gave in to gravity. A smaller thump, then some scrabbling. One had slipped and fallen. She stilled the urge to run after it, waiting until it chose a direction. If she startled it now, she would be unable to predict its movements. The awaited scrabbling came, the sounds growing louder as it headed away from her direction. She darted around the pillar in hot pursuit. She caught sight of it within seconds, climbing once again to safety.

It spotted her an instant later and jumped, obeying the flight half of its instincts. It tried to lose her amongst the pillars, darting among them, atop them, and through them. She didn't let it. She would not lose this time. She was growing tired of this wretched place and its pervading mustiness. It was time to end this.

Stealth no longer a concern, she noisily tailed after the jumping creature from the ground. It took all she had just to keep up. A chatter of noise rose up, and suddenly there were more of them, climbing forth from their holes to join their distressed ally. Her main foe took a sharp turn that, in her effort to follow, resulted in a collapsed pillar as her sliding foot used it to redirect her momentum. She avoided injury, save for a single hit to the head from stray rubble.

Putting on a burst of speed, she came within arms reach of her opponent. Waiting for the right moment, she followed it's movements as it readied itself for another jump, and took off in front of her.

That was it! With a leap, she intercepted the creature midair, grabbing hold of it firmly. She let out a shout of victory that was abruptly cut off when she realized that she had forgotten to plan her trajectory with anything resembling forethought, or really, any thought at all. In a textbook example of a reason to look before leaping, she crashed headlong into the pillar that just so happened to be in her way.

It did not end there. The pillar was hardly thick enough to act as a decent blockade against her momentum, so with another crash she went on through it to hit the one behind it. Debris and rubble rained on top of her, rendering her dizzy from pain as yet another unidentified heavy object made contact with her head. She was buried within seconds.

Brown invaded her vision, as plumes of dust erupted from the crash site. She had no choice but to breathe in the foul air, hacking as her throat became gritty with residual particles. Her eyes watered viciously in defense, and she sneezed several times in succession, with enough force to startle her captive out of its shock. Her prisoner went wild, scratching anything within reach of its tiny claws. Her hands and arms twinged as small cuts slowly appeared as a result of the struggle.

The chattering around her increased, muffled though it was by the mountain of debris she was now buried under. Tiny feet running in circles with increasing speed and frequency could be heard in between the angry communication. A trickle of blood flowed down her neck while she attempted to get her bearings straight. She would have to be able to think on her feet to continue the fight. Rushing ahead without a plan was too risky, as she had just demonstrated.

Once she could breath without trouble she started to make her way out. It was difficult with her hands occupied, but she had been called stubborn by the best of them. Finally she broke through, allowing slightly less dusty air to flow into her relieved lungs.

She had time for one good breath before the creatures around her, now allowed to respond to their friend's distress call, attacked. She lunged away in panic, sharp claws catching on her shirt. She heard the fabric resist, then give in as the creatures fought to hold on to her. The part of her mind that wasn't focused on the battle winced. She had liked that shirt.

Her heart pounded and adrenaline rushed through her body as she jumped into another pillar, rubble tumbling around her. The thing stayed up for all of ten seconds before it gave in and fell over with her and her pursuers on top of it. Pain flared as something cut through her jeans to reach the skin underneath. She would deal with it later. Quickly she examined the area in search of a way out.

The nearest opening through which sunlight shined caught her attention, her body racing towards it before her mind could even finish processing its existence. Angry snarling and the tapping of claws followed at her heels, egged on by the screeching captive. Reaching the small opening, she risked freeing one hand from its bruising hold to force it to open more, doing an odd dodging dance to avoid the leaping animals while also preventing them from climbing up her legs. Her attempts to gain a handhold resulted in the drops of blood on her hand smearing to form fire red streaks across her palm and fingers.

After several hair raising seconds of struggling, she managed to enlarge the hole. Without a second's hesitation she gripped her captive tighter and shoved it out of the opening. There was no second guessing her course of action, no time to consider the humanity of her choice. A screech of anger and denial slowly faded away as the creature fell to the outside world.

No time to celebrate.

With that done, she rolled away to shake off the others. She stared down the horde of angry, beady-eyed monsters. Their bushy tails were erect with tension as they bared their fangs at her, their fur sticking up as they snarled. They circled her from the floor and the pillars, getting ready to maul her in near blind fury. Had she been anyone else, she would have been intimidated.

Narrowing her eyes, she leaped into the fray, grabbing at the nearest enemy. One paw caught her hand, cutting deeply. Hissing, she pushed aside the pain and grabbed at it again, this time succeeding. That one followed its ally out the hole. It merely served to anger the remaining creatures, and they doubled the force of their attacks. Dodging one particularly vicious leap aimed at her face, she grabbed another. Three down, three to go.

The next one was smarter. As soon as her hand was within reach, it snapped and bit her. Yelping, she jumped back shaking her hand. The cut was deeper than the previous ones, and blood leaked out heavily. One tried to take advantage of her distraction and took another leap. She wasn't having any of it. Coldly, she snatched it from midair and proceeded to force it after its brethren. The final two circled her warily.

One grew desperate and charged. It ran through her legs, then doubled back, winding around her foot to climb onto her back. Trying to shake it off, she reached for her back to grab it, earning herself even more scratches. Blood dribbled down her arm.

The last one saw an opportunity and jumped at her throat from a nearby column. It landed long enough to get a grip before she ripped it off and shoved it out of the hole. The one on her back made its final mistake when it tried to crawl on her head. She caught it by the tail, gaining cuts near her hairline and on her face as it tried to hold on, and threw it out after the rest.

Silence was abruptly restored as she leaned against the opening, head resting on its edge. She tried to get her heartbeat and limbs under control, both suffering from the aftereffects of adrenaline. Her arms and hands were now decorated with numerous morbidly artistic looking red welts and blood streaks. She would have to seriously disinfect them, lest she contract a disease of some sort.

The dust settled, and all was well again in the room, as if she hadn't just spent a half hour chasing down the pack of monsters. Pillars, once standing, were toppled over, but otherwise no discernible change affected the room. Tired, sore, bleeding and irritated, she made her way to the exit in search of well deserved rest, food, and bandages.

~After~

"Shizuku, forgive me if I am wrong but...it is April, yes?"

"...Huh? Oh uh, yes Hitsugi-san."

"As I thought. You are aware, then, that it is not October."

"That...would be the implication, yes."

"Having established that, you must surely understand why I am presently at a loss regarding your current, ah, condition."

-sigh- "It may be because I'm tired, which, considering past experience, I doubt, but...I'm not following. What does October have to do with me reading?"

"Understand that I speak out of concern for your state of mind."

"...Of course. However could I think otherwise?"

"Also for the fact that you have me thoroughly baffled."

"Is that so? And how have I managed to achieve that?"

"You see, all explanations that come to mind for your condition, barring severe head trauma, are far too out of character for you. Though I personally agree that spontaneity is a wonderful frame of mind to have, that does not mean that I wish for you to unnecessarily stress yourself in an effort to amuse me."

"Amu- what? I'm not! I assure you, you don't have to be concerned about anything like that."

"In that case, I am at a loss. I simply cannot fathom why you would decide to costume yourself as a mummy at this time of year."

"...Yes. I can see why you wouldn't be able to discern my reasoning behind that completely wrong assumption."

"Nor can I understand why you did not complete the costume. It seems that you have been content to merely cover your arms and neck. You do remember that mummies cover their whole body with bandages? I must say Shizuku, it is quite unlike you to be so lax in your efforts."

"There was no effort to begin with, other than the effort to stem the flow of blood."

"Neither does a mummy have any need for band-aids on its face."

"People, however, do. When they're bleeding."

"While I admit that concealing your face would be quite a shameful waste, one must put forth their best efforts towards every aspect of such undertakings."

"...You're not listening, are you?"

"As for the remainder of your costume, you appear to have decided to aim for the zombie effect halfway through. Such indecisiveness is even further indication of your troubled state of mind."

"You're not. And why are you circling me like that?"

"The no doubt great effort you put forth into fashioning your shirt and pants into such a tattered state has, most unfortunately, been for naught. I regret to inform you that mummies wear neither, and so, in the name of authenticity, you would, of course, have to take them off and replace them with bandages."

"...I'm going to sleep now, Hitsugi-san. Can you please tell Ichihara-san that the squirrels in the attic have been taken care of."

"You need not feel embar-"

"Goodnight, Hitsugi-san."

~End~

So this one was technically finished a while ago. The inspiration for this was...odd. To say the least. Anyway feel free to point out any errors that I'm sure I made, or toss ideas at me, or whatever you want. It'd be nice, at least, to know that the fandom is somewhat alive.