<div class="floatright">(http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p121/Mab_faerie/Elliquiy/Fatal%20Frame%20RP/84ff483c-a05f-4f5c-86d1-6e055251a06e_zps5e4795f7.jpg)</div><br/><em>Himuro... Camera Obscura... Shimegorosu saishiki<sup>1</sup>.... Crimson butterflies... Kamikakushi<sup>2</sup>... Manor of Sleep... Kimono...</em><br/><br/>With a start John sat up, and looked frantically around the room. After a few moments of disorientation from the sudden transition from sleep to fully awake, he managed to recall where he was. Safe in his apartment, surrounded by books, definitely not in an old dilapidated manor surrounded by bodies... Suppressing a shiver at the images lingering in his mind, he scratched the back of his head absently and looked down at the book he had fallen asleep on. The handwriting of the notes changed twice before the end, suggesting to him that it had changed hands each time, rather than his original suspicion that it had been a group project.<br/><br/>"If this is all from the same men in that photo, then why would the notes not intersect...? It almost seems like they passed it on with a reason each time... but what?" With a small frown at the lack of available information, John reached for a pen and the new journal to make a note on his suspicions. When he didn't see the book at first, he felt a sudden surge of panic followed by a sigh of relief when his hand came down on the oddly cool binding of the strange journal. Just why he felt reassured at the touch escaped him for the moment, though he was far too distracted with his other thoughts to give it much attention for the moment anyway.<br/><br/>While still sorting through the lingering bits of his dreams, John absently flipped the journal open to the first page, not paying any real attention as he mentally prioritized who and what to research first. "If I start with Takamine-sensei, the information will be older, but more confirmed... Da ga<sup>3</sup>working backwards may provide complete information, at least in synopsis... Haa, yayakoshii wa<sup>4</sup>" Scratching at the back of his head distractedly, John finally turned his attention to the journal and froze. The entire first two pages were completely filled with his habitual amalgamation of English and Japanese notes, jumping from one language to the other with each change of thought.<br/><br/>He hesitated only a moment, eyebrows knitting in mild consternation, before gently turning the page with a fingertip. Seeing that the next two pages were full as well, John sat back slightly, his frown deepening. He knew with complete certainty that he had not written in the book yet, though what he saw pointedly suggested otherwise. Turning the next page, albeit with a bit less caution, revealed only half of the fifth page filled... more of his thoughts seemed to spider down and across as he watched. As he watched in fascination he found himself leaning over the page close enough to smell the ink which rose up through the paper itself.<br/><br/>No matter how close he got, or how he thought about it, there just was no way he could explain this logically. He was certainly familiar with mythology and the concept of the supernatural, but to experience something personally... John glanced over to the older book, wondering for a moment whether sleeping on such a book might have brought on such an unusual circumstance and just as he was turning back he was struck with the sudden sensation of the bottom dropping out of his stomach, and the even more disturbing sensation of someone standing over him. He was sure he could feel hands reaching out for him, if only he could move...<br/><br/>Without warning John jolted upright from where his face was stuck to the cover of the odd journal, inadvertently slamming one of his knees into the underside of his desk with a half shouted curse. Still clutching his bruised knee, he turned at the waist, frantically scanning the room for any sign of an intruder or... Something. Glancing at the clock revealed that he had been asleep for just over ah hour.<em>Yume mou...ka</em><sup>5</sup>... I should learn to get to bed at a reasonable hour..." With a relieved, albeit pained, sigh he shook his head and made a mental note to get to the University library in the morning, pointedly not looking at the journal sitting in the middle of his desk as he scooted out to lay down to sleep properly. Things are always clearer in the morning, after all.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Japanese Translation</div><div class="spoiler_body">1. Strangling Ritual<br/>2. Spirited away<br/>3. And yet...<br/>4. This is troublesome...<br/>5. Another dream?<br/></div></div>