Chapter 3

"Little boy, little boy. Time to wake up…" A young voice sang. As if on cue the young boys' eyelids flickered before slowly opening to reveal dull green orbs. "There you are, I thought you were going to sleep all day" Slowly Shino turned his head to the side in an attempt to locate the feminine voice that had roused him from his pain induced slumber. Blinking a few times the fog clouding his vision began to dissipate and a figure came into view, as the figure became clearer he realised that his companion was a young girl no more than 10, her hair so bright and golden he had to close his eyes momentarily. When he reopened them her face had gained a smile so big she had to close her eyes to accommodate it.

"Who… Who are you? And where am I?" He mumbled, his voice hoarse from lack of use. He wondered how long he had been asleep and where Sosuke was. Suddenly he gasped "Murasame…" realization hitting him like a ton of bricks 'I can't sense him, why? What happened?!' He was pulled from his reverie when a hand moved into his line of sight.

Regaining his focus the girl spoke "Erm… My names Tammy and you're in our cellar. You've been asleep for aaaaaaaaggees" She drug out the last word with a sigh to accentuate her boredom with the wait.

"…What's your name? And who is "Murasame""?" She asked, as though oblivious to his internal struggle moments previous.

He hesitated for a moment before replying "Nice to meet you Tammy, my names Shino" he smiled before a solemn frown settled on his face "Murasame is my pet crow. We go everywhere together, we're never apart. Have you seen him? I'm worried" he decided to leave out the part where said crow was a demon implanted into his body to keep him alive, and now he's gone missing.

A hard look overtook Tammy's face and she grinned ear to ear. Leaning in close she whispered in a sinister voice "hmmmm…. Are you sure that's all he is? I don't think your telling me everything dear Shino." Her features softened and she stood up skipping to the door. As she got there she turned back "Don't worry, I have a game we can play until you want to tell me the truth".

Opening the door she gave a mischievous smile before leaving.

Shino could do nothing but stare after her in horror at what he had just witnessed before feeling the darkness creep into his vision once again. This time he welcomed it, hoping that he would wake to his room with Sosuke and forget this nightmare forever.