~Tomoe X Reader: Book One~

You blinked once, twice, before your eyes shot open and you sat up so quickly your back made a light popping sound.

You at first thought you were in your shrine, and that Tomoe had saved you, and that you were safe and out of danger, but then you noticed the differences this shrine had from yours.

It was old, decaying, a spidery crack running along the ceiling and even a few blades of grass poking through a floorboard, and the air had a greenish tint to it and it was cold, so cold, and your breath fogged in the air.

"I see you're awake now," a cheerful voice called behind you, and you spun, shrinking back in horror as you recognized the white-haired boy from yesterday.

He was fast, and you started backing up, trying to get away, but your back soon bumped up against the wall.

A shadow fell over Mizuki's eyes and he chuckled, mouth stretching into a grin that seemed too big.

"Where are you going?" He cooed, taking a step forward, a soft click as his sandal hit the wooden floor.

What is this? Why do I feel so...

Afraid? I can't... Move...

Mizuki glided forward, and the white-haired boy crouched, and then you could see his eyes, so close, so green, and they seemed to glow, and an image pasted itself against your skull, and illusion of a large, menacing snake, green eyes glowing with bloodthirsty contempt, with two razor-sharp fangs shooting acid.

The image was so clear and so terrifying you couldn't suppress a whimper, recoiling as Misuki grazed his fingertips against your jaw.

"I've been waiting so long... So long for you, (Name). All this time, to find someone like you." His voice ended in almost a hiss, and the ceaseless flow of fear that wrapped its icy talons around your heart clenched, until your terror was practically a being, something tangible, a bitter venom that left a bad taste in the back of your throat.

Mizuki's movements were quick and rough, and he grabbed you by your shoulders. You finally managed to choke out a word.
"S-Stop!" Your voice was so weak, so pitiful, but you barely managed to unclench your eyes before you felt lips on yours.
For a second, you were petrified, eyes widened and mouth going slack. Then, almost as if in slow motion, you balled your hands into loose fists, wrenching your right wrist from Mizuki's grip and pushing your shoulders back.
Please, please. I want to be out of here. Anywhere but here.
You pressed your fists firmly against his chest and shoved, arching back, and something... Changed.
The air started to ripple, like it was a hundred degrees, and black-purple sparks of energy, like lightning, enveloped your vision.
The last thing you felt was Mizuki's hand grabbing hold of your wrist.
Then you turned, and there was only black.

The sensation, the blackness, only lasted for less than a second, and your eyes were opening, you sat up, quickly jerking your hand out of Mizuki's grip, he lay next to you, unconscious, it seemed.

How did... Why are we not still in the shrine?

You were sitting on black grass, and you looked around.
You were on the side of a dirt road, but everything was in different shades of black and grey, save for white fog that clung to the ground in whispy, eerie clouds.
The road was lined in trees, tall, dead trees, their peeling branches decaying and absent of leaves or life.

A feeling settled into your stomach, but to call it a knot would be like calling a lion a house cat.
It was more like a weight heavier than the weight of the earth, a feeling of all-consuming dread.

I know this place.

This exact place.

You had forgotten to breathe, and didn't care to try to remember how.

We're in the world over yonder.