Deciding My Fate

Chapter 21: The Terror of The Noh Mask (1)

Emi's pov

Kagome and I were heading home when I heard something, it made me stop in my tracks as I listened closely to it. An ambulance drives along a road, the two of us walking in the opposite direction, towards home. That's when I noticed three teens who were walking ahead of us. "Hey, the fire's at Higurashi Shrine!" The first teen said, "Let's go!" The teens ran off, and Kagome and I looked at each other in concern. "Fire?" Kagome said, "We gotta go," The two of us took off running towards the shrine, and when we got there my heart dropped into my stomach and my ears flattened. Outside the shrine were two fire engines and two parked police cars, a huge crowd had gathered and policemen had formed a barrier to control the situation. My immediate thoughts went to Grandpa, who is usually home taking care of the shrine while we are at school and Mom is at work. "The fire is under control! Please do not worry!" The first officer called to the crowd, Kagome and I pushed through people trying to get home. "This road is closed! Do not push!" The second officer called to the crowd, I was grateful that they were trying to keep everyone under control. "Excuse me! Please let me through!" Kagome and I crawled under the barrier and ran towards home, but we were stopped by a police officer. "Hey, you two! Stop! You can't go there!" He shouted, but we didn't listen and kept running. "Mom!" Kagome and I shouted, she turned her head and spotted us. "Kagome! Emi." Mom called, I threw myself at her and held her tight. I took in her scent as she hugged Kagome and I, when I pulled back I looked at the shrine.

"Mom, what happened?!"

"The storeroom caught fire. Grandpa was surrounded by the smoke." She explained, "Grandpa!!"

"He's all right. He was slightly injured and then fainted before he could inhale too much smoke. I'm going to the hospital now." She said, "Me, too!" Kagome said, "Sota's not home yet. Please stay home, both of you. I don't want him to worry." I nodded, "All right." We watched Mom leave, the two of us watching the firefighters do their job. When Sota arrived, he was out of breath from running. "Sis!" He came over to us, throwing his arms around my waist. I bent down, pulled him into a hug, and rubbed his back. "It's okay. We're safe. Grandpa had to go to the hospital but Mom is heading there now." Kagome reassured him, and he nodded and just held me. Since he had run all the way here, I decided to carry him on my back. My ears twitched and I flinched slightly when we heard something crash outside of the shrine. "What was that?" Sota stammered, becoming nervous. "I don't know." I shook my head, "Come on," Kagome and I took off towards the shrine's entrance, our eyes widening in disbelief as we watched the scene play out in front of us. The fire engine started to move on its own, running over police cars that were nearby. 

"What the hell?" I muttered.

"Stop!!!!" One of the firemen stood in front of the fire truck, waving his hands in the air. The truck barrels towards the firemen, who ran away from it. The truck then swerves out of the alley onto the main road, which I knew was going to be a bad problem for everyone. "Oh, this is not good," I said, watching two cars pull out and chase after the fire truck while others ran to check on the officers. "No, it is not." Kagome agreed, shaking her head. "Come on, we can't be much of help around here. Let's go check on Grandpa." The three of us headed to the hospital, hoping for Grandpa to be in good health. When we entered the room he was staying in, he was sleeping and hooked up to monitors. "Mom, how's Grandpa?" Kagome asked, I let Sota down from my back as he ran over and hugged her. She hugged and squeezed him tightly, and looked back up at us. "The doctor says he's out of danger but Grandpa is still unconscious." Mom explained, both Kagome and I frowned. I pulled Kagome into a side hug, "I don't think we need to be overly concerned but he is getting up there in age." She added, "Mom, what's all that?" I asked, noticing the charms in her hands. "When they rescued him, he had these plastered all over his face. He had even stuffed some in his mouth." She explained, Kagome and I looked at each other before looking at Grandpa. Something tells me this might have something to do with a demon, from Inuyasha's time, not ours. 

Kagome, Sota, and I had been told to go home, Mom was staying at the hospital with Grandpa. She wanted us to be home since it wasn't comfortable sleeping at the hospital. I sat down on Kagome's bed, reading a book for class while she worked on homework. She could tell that something was bothering me, she turned around in her chair and looked at me with knowing eyes. I had been quiet since we had gotten home, which is not how I usually am. "I know something is bothering you, Em. What's going on in that head of yours?" She asked, "I think whatever caused Grandpa to go overboard with all of the talismans and charms had do to with a demon." I said, putting my book down. I got off of the bed and headed over to the desk, sitting down on top of it. 

"A demon?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah. A demon. One that possibly crossed over from Inuyasha's time." 

"But how would that even be possible?" Kagome asked.

"I don't know. It's just like how Inuyasha could easily cross over between his and our time and like us. Maybe a demon went through the well when we went to school." I said, my ears twitching as Sota came into the room dragging his mattress behind him. "Sis, can I stay in here tonight again?" Sota asked, "What are you saying?! You're a boy, aren't you?" Kagome said, looking at Sota. "But.." Sota trailed off, "You're such a weakling!" She took a book from her desk, "Sleep in your own room tonight! I have another test tomorrow!" She said, "Gramps had talismans in his mouth and even sacred rice all over him. I'll bet something happened in the storeroom!" Sota stated, he had a point. "Kagome, just because he's a boy doesn't mean that he's fearless. He's still a child."  I said, "Sota, you can sleep with me tonight." I smiled, sliding off the desk and pulling him into a hug. Sota seemed to tense up and I sensed something off, I looked at the window which started shaking. The fire truck from earlier crashed through the fence of the shrine, which then came crashing into the house, the fire ladder was extended and crashed through the window of Kagome's room making me flinch at the sound of breaking glass. "Kagome, Sota move!" I threw myself over them and three of us hit the floor while the demon that had been here earlier. The three of us look up to see what exactly it was, "A noh mask? The Flesh-eating mask that Gramps was mumbling about..." Kagome said, the Noh Mask demon reaches for the shards that Kagome had on the desk. It must have been after the Jewel Shards this whole time. I acted quickly and grabbed the container, "Kagome, Sota! Go!!" They started running and I followed closely after them, this was something that we were going to need Inuyasha for. We run into the courtyard, "Kagome, you're bleeding." 

"Don't cry! I just cut myself on the glass." Kagome tried to console Sota, who was freaking out. I didn't blame him, as freaked out as I was at the moment, I needed to be strong for Kagome and Sota. As we got into the courtyard, the Noh Mask demon tried to come after us again, but the three of us dodged it. 

"Give it to me... Give it to me...."

"It's after the shards." I had the shards in my pocket, I looked at Kagome and Sota and got to my feet. "Kagome, Sota. Get to Inuyasha." I said, backing away slowly. "Where are you going?" Kagome asked, "It's after the shards and I have them. You two get to the well, get Inuyasha, and tell him that there are Jewel shards here. He'll come running." I said, backing away faster. "Emi, are you crazy?!" Kagome shouted, "Kagome, just get Inuyasha!" I took off running, the Noh Mask demon chasing me as I ran down the slope. I have to get this thing as far away from home as possible, I will not let it harm Sota and Kagome. Nor is it harming anyone else. Hopefully, Inuyasha will make it here in time.