[UPDATE IN PROGRESS] Onmyou-Pocketville: Fallen Dusk

Chapter 11: A Night to Remember

It was dark in the street Emi found herself in. Only the little amber flames of candlelight illuminated the area. The Tenneko took glances at her surroundings, in both wonder and confusion.

What is this place?

She then felt something pressing against her chest. Something that was cold to the touch, and was slightly heavy. She turned her head slightly downwards to see that she wasn't wearing her golden collar that bore the Wise Heart. She was wearing a violet collar studded with spikes, along with a half of a ruby red jewel, the Shinnui Heart, wrapped in a string that encircled her neck.

"No...no! This cannot be! What in Yomi is going on?!"

Emi heard the sound of a stampede in the distance. It was faint at first, but it became louder and louder until she caught sight of numerous dark, four-legged figures. When some of them got close to the lampposts, they were revealed to be different kinds of Onmyoujin. They had looks of pure rage as they stared right at Emi.

"Look over there! It's that traitor of a cat!" shouted one of them. It wasn't clear who in the mob uttered those two exclamations.

"I am not a traitor!" yelled Emi. "I never was! The 'traitor' you're talking about was an impostor!"

Could it be true that Emi wasn't herself when she attempted to usurp the throne nearly thirty years ago? That an impostor spirit took over her body during that time?

"Oh, what a likely story!" exclaimed another member of the mob. "Now hand over the Shinnui Heart or else!"

This caused the tenneko to try and take off the gem that was tied to her. She unsheathed a claw and ran it across the white string. With a tight snap, both the string and the jewel attached to it fell on the pavement. "Go on, take it. It's yours."

After she let go of the Shinnui Heart, or perhaps an astral copy of it, Eva ran as fast as she could, away from the furious swarm of the Onmyou-Kyou residents. As she pressed on, it seemed like the street she stepped upon was endless. She was instantly gasping for breath as she got her legs moving, but she knew she had to get away from those...imbeciles.

"Go! Follow her!"

The leader of the mob, which appeared to be a stocky and dark nekomata, who appeared to have already obtained the half of the Emi already let go of, hissed, "You can't get away from society that easily, Emi! Sooner or later you'll wind up imprisoned, and our monarch would request to give you the maximum punishment. She'll get the guards to chop your head clean off. You know she will."

Emi felt fear and anxiety strike through the length of her body. The thought of being decapitated made her quiver uncontrollably, which thankfully did not hinder her run. Those words the feline yelled would also make Ami seem like a tyrannical, malevolent ruler of a monarchy, rather than the caring and friendly queen everyone knew her as in real life.

"No! No!" Emi nearly choked in her speech. She was already losing speed in her sprint, which she could tell as the angry mob rushed in faster. She tripped over and fell down, which made the group catch up to her. Thanks to the firelight of the posts, Emi could see what she tripped over. A rock? No. A banana peel? Definitely not. It wasn't even a solid item at all.

It was some sort of black slime. An unusual sludge that made Emi slide over. The icky substance's level rose like a flood, covering the tenneko's entire set of four legs, and up to her chest. It then rose to where it would cover her neck, and touch her chin. Eva tried to swim up, but something was pulling her limbs down like shackles. Eventually she was completely submerged in the sludge, choking and gagging because she wasn't able to hold her breath.