Li-Hua the mysterious

Atlus sat up in bed breathing in and out gasping for air. The dream felt too real to be fake to him when he realized he wasn't in his bed at home as he pulled off a damp white washcloth from his forehead scrunching the wet fabric between his fingertips trembling lightly.

"Atlus, you are awake." Li-Hua smiled.

"Awake? What happened?"

"What matters is now you are safe," Li-Hau explained.

"Where is Kuo?" He asked.

"The dumbass is meeting the last Guo and his grandson preparing for tomorrow."

"Guo? Who are they?" Atlus questioned.

"They run some small-town shrine." She giggled.

"I see…"

He gazed at the notebooks spilling out of his bookbag. Atlus got up out of the bed to reach for his sack filled with his work and phone.

"You should really rest more." She scolded.

"What do you mean?" Atlus asked.

"You came off the plane sick."

"I could have sworn…" He whispered.

Li-Hua was checking her mobile not listening to anything else. He thought maybe he was mistaken at the very least about what had happened.

Planes make Atlus feel sick even having the seat window. He thought maybe he hallucinated the man and the car above all since Li-Hua is acting more than normal although her response is the only thing out of place.

He quickly waved it off. The door opened to find Kuo nervously holding papers on top of a large clipboard dropping from his hands. Li-Hua laughed before looking back down at her texts.

She is oddly calm instead of helping her friend. Atlus decided to help Kuo realizing Li-Hua had no intention of assisting him. Only standing there laughing at something on the screen before facing them both.

"It's arranged tomorrow I hope." She giggled.

"Li-Hua you've been acting so weird," Kuo replied.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

Atlus was puzzled over the two as he put the books and papers down on the desk. He didn't even notice it was a hotel till he looked inside the drawers pulling out a small blue leatherback book.

"You are usually more focused?" Kuo stated.

"I am the usual amount of focused." She explained.

She handed him a black card from her pocket. He looked at it curiously to find golden letters raised on the top.

"Briar Black?" Kuo read aloud.

"He said to call him back or something."

He flipped it to the back and then back to the front. Gawking at her with annoyance, he didn't understand there was no number nor indication of how to proceed to contact them.

"There is nothing on this card, Li-Hua…" He mumbled.

"Whatever just do it later." She said.

"There is nothing on the card! Are you even listening?!"He yelled.

Atlus was amazed such a scene was happening in front of him. A mysterious card, Li-Hua surely was wrong about what she was seeing as he swiped the card from Kuo to take a look himself.

"Li-Hua is losing her mind right?" Kuo questioned.

Examining the cardstock he saw white lines bleed into the card itself. "Call my name" Atlus nearly dropped it.

"What the hell is this?" Atlus shouted.

Li-Hua raised her head peeking up at him through her phone. Her eyes concentrated on his face.

"Can you see it?"

"Li-Hua?" Atlus inquired.

"I am going to call a doctor or maybe I should call the manager who put us here!" Kuo panicked.

The door slammed open going backward on its hinges displaying the outside leading to the hallway. Kuo and Atlus became frozen to the spot in fear.

A simple finger pointed to the exit with a smile on her face. Kuo moved robotically forward over to Li-Hua.

"Are you okay?" He said nervously.

Making a fist, the door closed with a hardy slam. Atlus dropped the paper making a mad dash at Li-Hua to be stopped with a single hand motion.

"Atlus, don't be so quick to die yet."

"What do you mean?" Atlus yelled.

"You have some time."

She said glancing at her watch. They both suddenly felt stuck in their very small room giving each other anxiously.

"Li-Hua, you aren't making sense!" Kuo pleaded.

"All you need to know is today you are safe…"

"You aren't making any sense!" Kuo argued.

Getting up she went into the bedroom where Atlus had been earlier. Sitting on the end of the bed the two were almost afraid to check what she was doing. She reclined back focusing her gaze on Atlus and Kuo before the entrance the room crashed into the frame rattling.

"See you in the morning!" She howled.

"It's like ten?" Kuo whispered.

"Is she normally like this?" Atlus asked.

"What if she is possessed by a fox?" Kuo pondered.

"Isn't that mythology?"

"So you can explain how she did that?!" Kuo replied frenzied.

"We got to stay together in case any more odd occurrences…"

A silent snore could be heard taking the edge off of their nerves if only a little. Atlus noticed Li-Hua's phone had been on the floor.

"She didn't take her phone with her?" Kuo thought.

"Maybe we should look through it?" Atlus suggested.

Kuo removed the phone from Atlus's fingers to set it down on the table stand in case she could tell what was happening. He pulled the black beaded bracelet off rubbing them as he squeezed his eyes shut.

Inaudible words could be heard under his breath. He was shaken from the experience alone that he had forgotten the day before.

"I am going to bed." Atlus sighed.

"D-Don't leave me!" Kuo shouted.

"There is only one more room here." Atlus pointed.

Kuo paused thinking. He took an extra blanket they had requested earlier taking it out to the small couch to lay down.

"I will stay out here in case…"

"Maybe you should take the room, Kuo."

"Someone gotta keep watch." He insisted.

"Then let it be me."

Atlus had felt a strange sensation deep inside his soul. A burning he could not explain told him that he needed to look out for Kuo by taking the main room.

"Kuo, you need proper rest."

"You are a liability and I can't risk that."

He held tightly to the jewelry in his hands. You could tell his internal beliefs were being tested in this whole affair.

"I see…" Atlus answered.

"Atlus?"

"Hmmm…?"

"Do you have your cell on you?" Kuo questioned.

He pushed his hand into his pocket before showing it to him. The two only nodded to each other before departing.