FicWad

Chapter Twenty-Six: Inner Echoes of Myself:

November 11th, 2009.

Anna sat at her desk and studied chapter two of Daisuke's notes.

"Merging with your kitsune," she read to herself. Perplexing title. She read it over again. /Okay then…/ "The tsukai and kitsune must be bonded as one." Go figure. "If a bond doesn't exist, the kitsune won't obey its master." Hm.

Anna read through the page-long introduction. So much detail simplified sat before her. /I wonder how old Papa was when he had to study these notes/, Anna thought. /I imagine really young. /She shuddered in her seat. /I feel old just thinking about it./ She tried to push it out of her head and keep reading. Section one relit her quest to unlock the kitsune.

"Contacting Your Kitsune." Interesting title. "Communication is key with your kitsune. Establishing contact is critical." Anna sat back and pondered that.

/Okay, but mine is locked inside of me. How do I manage that?/ She froze for a quick second. /Wait! I could at least try to see it./ Anna weighed her options. /Guess it wouldn't hurt./ She turned back to the book for further instructions.

"How to contact your kitsune. Close your eyes and focus in on yourself." /Heh, easy enough./ Anna sat back and closed her eyes/. Focus in on myself. Focus in on myself. Focus in on myself. Focus in on… myself./

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Anna opened her eyes and looked around at the cool sea of white. Is this my soul? /She tried to venture forward. Soft breezes hit her face. The white suddenly began to part around her in tiny splits at first. Then, the rip grew wider. Anna pushed herself to keep going. A thin whistle filled her ears. Her whole heart began to speed up./ Something's here! Anna treaded through the split further. A burst of heat uncoiled before her. Little bits began to run towards the heat.

Turn back! This is not a place for you! Turn back! Turn back! /Anna glanced up at the endless white ceiling./

Aunt Yumiko? Aunt Kirika? /A rough wind burned at her feet./ Ow! Anna looked below her. A massive coil burned her feet below where she floated. She shielded her eyes for a better look. Red and black burned below her. Jets of steams burst up to her.

What is this?/ Her eyes caught some writing in white through the black and red./ What is that? /Anna tried to read the writing before her. She didn't know what it said, but she recognized the style./ That's Papa's writing! /It didn't take her long to figure out just what she was looking at under her feet./ This is Papa's shield! /Anna tried to look further past the heat./

Turn back! Turn back!

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"Yo, Barbie!" someone yelled in reality. Anna quickly jerked her head. Lucy stood in the doorway. The other woman blinked at her.

"Lucy?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Tsuzuki asked me to come over here to check on you," she said.

"Why?" Anna asked. The Goth gave her an indifferent shrug.

"How should I know?" she asked. The other woman shook her head.

"Anyway, what do you want?" she asked.

"Lunch is ready," she said.

"Ah," Anna said. She got up from her desk and headed out the door. However, the woman paused and turned to see Lucy staring intently at her. Anna raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?" she asked. Lucy gave her the Cheshire grin of a cat.

"Come on, show it!" she said. Anna gave her a lost look.

"Show you what?" she asked.

Lucy leaned close to her face. "Show me where your uncle stabbed you!"

"Huh?"

The Goth gave her a shrug. "I don't know. I just have a thing for knife wounds. Except for the ones across the throat. That's just wrong."

"You're weird." Anna walked down the hall to get her lunch. Even that couldn't ruin her curious high to contact her kitsune.