Sisters

Prologue

The Yoshioka family was your average family. They were tightly knit, spending a lot of time together. The father made a living by selling wood; while the mother stays at home taking care of her kids. Their two kids, Ryoko and Natsuki, had a strong sibling bond. They never fought, and Natsuki was very protective of her younger sister. When the parents weren't working, they were spending time with each other. Life wasn't a dream, but they were happy.

But not all good things last.

Late one night, after Ryoko and Natsuki had gone to bed, a demon attacked them. Natsuki bolted up when she heard her mother scream while Ryoko clung on behind her. Natsuki grabbed the pocket knife as they quietly crept towards noise and were horrified by what they saw. They saw their mother's dismembered body and blood everywhere. The thing known as a demon turned to look at the two girls, then grinned as he smelled marechi blood in both of them. Their father yelled at them to run, but Natsuki refused; instead, she pulled the pocket knife a drove it into the thing's neck. The demon screamed and tried to retaliate. But to its fury, he was stopped by Natsuki's father. Then the demon yelled out in rage as he struck to kill the father. While still in a fit of fury, it used its blood demon art against Natsuki. The monstrous being known as a demon then opened a portal and flung Natsuki in it. Ryoko could only watch, horrified. The monster then looked at her with a creepy smile plastered on his face. As it crept closer, Ryoko scrabbled to back away, but then she fit the wall. The demon's smile only grew wider. Ryoko jammed her eyes shut, bracing for the pain.

It never came.

Ryoko

As Ryoko slowly opened her eyes, she saw the demon had disappeared. Ryoko looked down and saw a pile of ashes where the creature had been. She looked out the window and saw that it was already dawn. In the span of one night, Ryoko had lost everything. She felt hopeless and lost. Ryoko started crying.

Natsuki

Natsuki fell into the deep snow. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. It was dawn, and she was in a forest. Natsuki tried to get up, only for her to almost immediately fall back down. She looked down at her bloodied and bruised legs. Natsuki signed and tried again a bit slower. Her legs were screaming in pain. She sat back down and starting to think about what she should do. If she stayed like this, she was either going to bleed to death or freeze to death, but if Natsuki moved, well, Natsuki didn't think she could. Natsuki then yawned; she was exhausted and overwhelmed by everything that had happened in the past few hours. Slowly she drifted out of consciousness. But not before hearing another voice.

"Hey, kid! Are you alright!?"