Horror of Intentions

Xxx

Takuro raced down the back hallway and passed Takeshi, whom he failed to notice. Takeshi's eyes widened in surprise as Takuro rushed right past him and towards the exit.

"Takuro!" Takeshi exclaimed, stretching an arm after him. Beyond the tips of his fingers, Takuro sped through the door.

"He can't see you," the girl whispered, instantly by his side. "And he won't get far; there is a barrier blocking the stairs that he'll pass through. He'll then reappear in the closet again.

She emanated such a cold degree it made Takeshi jump back away from her. Her dull, red eyes scanned him starting from his feet. When she reached his face she sighed softly, reading the confusion there like an open book.

"W-w-who area y-you, anyway?" Takeshi stuttered.

The girl continued to stare him dead in the eyes for several more seconds until she replied simply, "Eve Fau."

Takeshi shivered and took a step back cautiously. "A-are you a gh-gh-gh-gh-"

"A ghost?" Eve looked downcast and nodded slowly. "Yes, I am."

Takeshi's breath hitched. "D-does that mean I…I'm-"

"You're not, " Eve interrupted, knowing his question. "You're stuck in my dimension, though." Takeshi gaped. "I don't know if there is an escape. I've been wandering around for quite a while…" She sighed ruefully. "If only I hadn't gone into the basement…"

"Wh-what's in the basement?" Takeshi asked. As if on cue, Takuro fell back into the closet. He cussed up a storm and ran out and down the hallway again.

"Oh, I meant when I went," Eve explained. "When I died, it was when my brother had locked himself in the basement. I found the key upstairs in the cupboard, but when I went to find him, he had set fire to the basement…" Eve trailed off, crestfallen. "Well…let's just say it hell was in on it."

Takeshi twinged with empathy. She had burned to death. What a gruesome fate. "I'm sorry, that's horrible."

Eve shrugged. "It doesn't matter now. I have to find a way out." She gazed at him hopefully. "Maybe you can help me."

"H-how?" Takeshi wondered.

Eve took a step forward. "I need to find the Light."

"Okay," Takeshi deadpanned.

"I need to find the Light," Eve persisted. "I have to find it or I'll never escape. And with all the activity…"

"What's the matter?" Takeshi murmured awkwardly, trying to be comforting. He wasn't good with situations like this one.

Takuro appeared again. He busted once more out of the closet and sped back down the hallway a third time.

"I have a feeling the activity is due to someone trying to summon the Shadow again…" Eve pursed her lips. "If you're wondering, the Shadow isn't something you'd want to trifle with-"

"How old are you?" Takeshi abruptly asked. Eve gave him an irritated glare. "W-well, I mean, you're using a lot of big words…"

"I am twenty-two," Eve replied.

Takeshi's eyes widened then narrowed with suspicion. "But you look ten!"

"It's because I've been trapped in this state," she explained casually. "You see, when I was twelve my brother moved back home after being kicked out seven years earlier for drugs. I've been reverted back to my childhood self, when I first met him again and was old enough to have memories."

Apprehensive and more than a little confused, Takeshi settled with a nod. "Oh…Okay…"

Eve started towards the closets, notioning for Takeshi to follow her. He did, reluctantly. "We must find out who's reanimating the Shadow and stop them," she said. "Though it won't be easy; they're probably armed with the Black Velveteen, unless there are still parts missing."

"Excuse me," Takeshi said timidly, "But what is the, uh, Black Velveteen?"

Eve stopped and turned to him, shocked. "You mean, you have no idea…?" Takeshi shook his head slowly. "Oh, no…I suppose you'll have some catching up to do."

"What about my friends?" Takeshi wondered, miserably worried. "Will they be all right?"

"Well, that boy Takuro escaped," Eve pointed out. Again on cue, Takuro plopped back inside the closet where he stayed this time, lying on his back defeated and tearful. Eve rolled her eyes. "Pussy. Anyway, they are in danger, but it's nothing we can't fix. Come, Takeshi-" –she turned away and walked quickly to one of the closets- "-we must find the one causing this! And quickly, before they unleash Umber!"

Takeshi laughed sheepishly, concluding he was either dreaming or very high, and followed her through the closet opposite of Takuro's…

Xxx

After exiting the room Hiroshi finally discovered what Mika had given him: lighter fluid. He checked his pockets. The plate shard was still heavy in his coat and there was the lighter in the opposite.

Perfect, he thought gladly, pulling out the lighter. I'll need this.

As he started off towards the upstairs floor, he filtered the fluid into the lighter. Before he had even reached the first step he bumped into a dizzy Nikoru.

"Nikoru!" He exclaimed, relieved.

She smiled sideways. "Oh, HiroshiPEN! Sorry, I feel a little woozy." She swayed and he caught her shoulders gently. "Whoa, sorry! Dude, I was upstairs and there was-" she swayed against his chest and pushed against him. "-was this door and it had strange swirls and they were all swirling."

Swirls? Hiroshi pushed his glasses up his nose, puzzled. What was she on about? "What swirls, Nikoru? You're confusing me."

"I don't know what they were, either," Nikoru sighed and sniffed. "They were…strange. That's about all I can think off right now. And one of them wasn't moving, so I tried to use my hand to get it to move. Only my hand went right through the door!"

Hiroshi wasn't sure what he was hearing. Did she mean it was some sort of portal? That would make a lot of sense, actually. "What happened to your hand?" He wondered, grabbing both her hands and inspecting them. They seemed fine.

Nikoru flushed. "Uh, nothing. Nothing happened."

He gave her a hard stare. "What do you mean nothing? Something must have happened!"

"I mean what I said," Nikoru told him. "I pulled them out and they were fine." Hiroshi was still suspicious and he checked her hands over again. "So I decided to wing it-" Which actually works, Hiroshi thought. "-and I blew on it and it started moving and I heard something inside the wall."

"Was there someone there?" Hiroshi inquired.

Nikoru shook her head. "Nope, so I left. Oh yeah." She slid her hand out of his and pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to him. It was a doorknob. "I found this. I don't want it."

"Idiot," he huffed, talking it from her. "What will I do with a broken knob?"

"I dunno," she said. "Chuck it at someone you don't like."

Hiroshi gazed at her a moment longer, fighting off a smile. But it got the best of him and he grinned subtly. "All right," he murmured as he pocketed it. "But it better come in handy or you'll have hell to pay."

"Hell, schmell." She shrugged, grinning back at him. "Who cares? We've got people to save."

"Which reminds me," Hiroshi said, pointing to the kid's bedroom. "I found Mika. She's back there."

"Oh, nifty." Nikoru glanced over his shoulder. "Nice to know someone else is safe besides-"

She was cut off by a loud, abrupt knock from inside the wall, as she'd heard upstairs. "That's the knock I-" Nikoru started. Then it sounded as if something was ticking. Nikoru sniffed in anticipation; "That a time bomb?"

Xxx

Back downstairs, Takuro had tried running through the barrier one last time before he gave up for good. He expected to wind up back inside the dark closet, though this time he found himself behind a door. For a moment he was positive it was the closet door but when he emerged from behind it, he found he was in a different area all together.

He was back up on the third floor where he'd first been transported to that dark, cold universe. The door he'd just emerged out from had been where the door to that universe had been. He whipped around and checked to make sure he wasn't dreaming. And he wasn't: the realm there had vanished.

"What the-" He stopped himself short.

A little off to his right, standing in the corner of the room, was the Ao Oni.

Xxx

The sound of running rumbled the ceiling. Nikoru and Hiroshi looked up fearfully. Then, a door was slammed shut.

"Huh," Nikoru said, not noticing the tall, purple figure drifting up the stairs. "Weird. Hey, Hiroshi, I just thought of something!"

Hiroshi glared at her. "Nikoru, this is certainly not the time for jokes."

"Nah, I just wanted to point something out!" She exclaimed defensively. Hiroshi shivered suddenly and was near devastated when he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand. Nikoru didn't notice. "See, the oni is supposed to be ao, blue, right? But it's purple! Those bastards lied!"

"You…just thought of that, did you?" Hiroshi said, his attention shifting to what he could sense was staring at them from the top of the steps across the floor.

"Well, I just rethought it," Nikoru admitted. She scratched her nose and sniffed with a toothy grin. "I knew it before, but I forgot about it. I tell you, it makes no-"

Hiroshi grabbed her arm harshly and dragged her back up the stairs. Nikoru gasped, stunned. "Let's check out what that noise was, shall we?" Was all Hiroshi could think to say.

"Wha-" Nikoru happened to glance over his shoulder again. When her eyes doubled in size she confirmed Hiroshi's fear. "Oh, shi-"

Hiroshi broke out into a full-speed sprint, still effectively ignoring his aching legs as he pulled Nikoru up with him. "Run!"

"I'm goin', I'm goin'!" Nikoru cried, grabbing onto his sleeve as she tried her best to keep pace with him.

They were on the third floor in seconds. The door straight ahead was wide open. Hiroshi started to turn to the door on the left but Nikoru pushed him forward. He glanced at her questioningly. "Trust me on this!" She told him sharply, instantly taking control of the situation.

Hiroshi switched with her; she sped ahead and he grabbed her jacket's sleeve. They skidded right inside the door and Nikoru immediately turned to shut the door. She cringed when she saw the oni hurrying down the hallway after them. It had a horribly unpleasant snarl on its face and it made Nikoru think about Naoki's face when he saw her close to Hiroshi.

It was the kind of look that wanted to do her in.

She slammed the door, refusing to be lost in his dreadful eyes, and pointed to the only piece of furniture in the room: a cabinet in the back corner.

"There!" She exclaimed to Hiroshi, though she soon realized she hadn't needed to tell him; he was already there.

"Brilliant!" He said. "Get it!"

She ran over and climbed inside with him. Part of her was ecstatic they got to press themselves together so closely. Why hadn't she thought of this before?

It was a hard fit at first since the wardrobe was so small but they soon were able to squeeze against each other to make room. Nikoru was sandwiched against the wall and Hiroshi. Hiroshi had both his arms pressed on either side of her shoulder and he crouched so his head wouldn't hit the roof. As a result, his face was heart-throbbingly close to hers'. She now had another reason for her heart to pound, but she kept her sight locked on the door.

Hiroshi himself couldn't keep from admiring the situation. Why hadn't he thought of this earlier? He looked at her face from the corner of his eyes. Though her slender face was slightly blurry he found it made things more enchanting. Of course, no was definitely not the time to be thinking that way but he couldn't help himself. His cold gray eyes gazed adoringly at her darker, greener ones and for a moment he wished he had the courage to kiss her like Takuro did Mika.

But before he could even begin to muster any courage there was a loud crash and he knew the oni had busted through the door. A low grumble rumbled off the walls, giving the duo goosebumps. Their breath hitched and suddenly things became much colder.

Hiroshi could just see it wavering before the door through the crack in the wardrobe's door. It stalked around like it had in the second floor bedroom and flared its nostrils. It disappeared from sight for a moment and Hiroshi knew what it was planning this time. He'd had his own experience earlier when it had hidden within the closet.

He pressed himself unconsciously closer to Nikoru, who in turn blinked, flustered. They waited several more moments in silence until the tension in the air was almost too much to bear.

Then, the oni suddenly appeared right out in front of the wardrobe, its dark, soulless eyes glistening like marbles. Hiroshi quickly looked away and held his breath. Nikoru sensed this and her eyes grew into Frisbees.

It can't have found us! Hiroshi thought desperately. It can't have!

Xxx

Takeshi stepped through the closet hesitantly, folding his arms in close to his chest as he trailed after Eve. They were wandering deeper inside the peeling, condemned basement and it certainly looked as Eve said; the walls were crumbling around them and there were darker patches on the ground. Some charcoal was pilled in one corner and an old, torn rug had been hung on the wall.

"Search every room," Eve instructed sharply as she floated off further down the narrow corridor. "I'll search further off."

Takeshi shivered and slowly shuffled to the first door in his sight. He glanced inside and gasped; there was a rotted skeleton in the far left corner. "Eve," he started, "What is-"

He stopped; Eve was gone. Takeshi was very terrified to find himself alone in such a dismal place. He wanted to run off and find her but didn't want her irritated with him. After all, she was his only hope out of this dimension.

He cringed away from the door and went off to another one, but found the next one locked. It seemed every door after that was locked as well. After several minutes of searching for an unlocked room, he found himself in a small room that appeared to be a parlor. Every wall was black and there were piles of ashes of furniture all around. There were two ways he could go: to the left or right. He carefully walked off to the left and searched there for another door, though it took him all the courage he had to even take a step in.

He walked for several more moments until a faint whisper caught his attention. He froze for a moment, refusing to go any further in case someone found him, like the oni. It took him a full minute just to muster what little courage he could and take a few more steps. Soon he came to an open door.

"Oh, no," he whispered miserably, knowing he was going to have to check it out. "Someone's in there!"

A faint chanting was emanating from inside.

"O-o-okay, okay," Takeshi whimpered. "Just a peek." He inched forward. "Just a little peek! Just a tiny, little, tiny-"

He stopped dead, in his tracks, in his dialogue, even his heart stopped. The walls were lined with eyes and words written in a different language. The ground was covered in chalk and off against the far wall there was a small fire surrounded by spell tags, the sort Takeshi had seen in the old witch's store-home who lived on Watabu Street.

And Takeshi was even more terrified and estranged to find who was inside.

Xxx

Sorry if this chapter seems rushed, as I said I'm incredibly busy and I will be for the next week or two. Sorry for the inconvenience!

***For the time being, this story will also be DISCONTINUED since I have been running slightly out of juice for this series. I WILL RETURN TO IT. I'm currently on fire to start publishing another story: Dear Bastard the Novel. Prologue will be up in a day or so, so watch out for it! It's a Hetalia story. I'm excited to type it up and I'm sorry if it makes you upset that this series is currently stopped for a while. Just remember: I WILL CONTINUE IT! Or every once in a while I'll add a chapter, but it may be every 4-7 days for now.***

Anyway, inspiration goes to Maybe Lucky, some Vocaloid song a friend of mine made me listen to. And I must admit, it's pretty awesome! Credit is shared with Little Cry of the Abyss by and The Grudge as well as Ao Oni the game.

So fav/follow/review and stay tuned for the next chapter! And please tell me you're not getting bored with this XD

Stay awesome, guys! -Cappy