A Fox's Whisper

38: Ҝ卂乙ㄩ卄卂

Drifting. Weightless. Quiet.

I drowned in a muffled sea of darkness that I could not navigate, nor did I try to. Whether I dreamed or not, I don't know. I felt no pain, saw no light. There was not a breath of wind to stir me. It was simply the absence of anything. Not an entirely unpleasant feeling, but a rather disorienting one.

I was falling, or maybe floating, deep into the jaws of nothingness. Something told me that wherever I was going would be peaceful...quiet...calm. I could sleep undisturbed. I would find rest. I couldn't seem to remember if rest was what I'd wanted in the first place. What had I been doing again...?

For a long time, I didn't hear anything. But the longer I drifted, muffled, distorted noises pounded against the gelatinous darkness. Who was talking to me?

I sank into the feathery embrace of the darkness, wishing that whoever was talking would quiet down a little. I felt very tired...to sleep would be wonderful.

"--choices you won't live to regret--"

"...scorch the world."

"Kazuha!"

"Fox Girl--"

"--Haru shut your mouth before I--"

"You."

"--brave the lightning's glow--"

"Kazuha..."

"--owe so much to you--"

"Brave the lightning's glow."

Swirling voices...so many of them. I knew them all. Who were they? Where had I heard them? They were so far away. They were on the surface and I was falling away down here, wherever here was.

Kazuha.

Kazuha.

"I miss you, Kazuha."

A girl's voice, sad, plaintive, and sweet. I knew that voice. I knew that girl. Who was she...? A green streak split the darkness; fondness, remembrance. My emotions, the gentility of the wind.

Suddenly I was fighting back against the darkness, struggling to surface again. Back to...back to what?

Tomo.

Inari.

Tomo?

"--get out of here, Kazuha--"

His words urged me on. I had to get back. I had to return to Inari. She needed me. Inari...that was the girl. The one I loved. What was I doing?

The darkness was all-consuming, struggling to keep me back. But I refused to stay with it any longer.

I'm coming back, Inari.

Inari.

Inari...

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

I sat bolt upright, my eyes flying open. My heart raced desperately. I instantly regretted moving so suddenly. Spasms of pain shot from my chest down to my legs. I grimaced, pressing my hand to the floor to keep my balance. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting of wherever I was. I lay on a futon in...one of the bedrooms in the Narukami Shrine? When had I gotten here?

The last thing I remembered was...Dorobo, Inari, Sora...
Flashes of memories, phantom dregs of pain, and words spoken to me all flashed through my mind. So much had happened and I...