𝗝𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗬 || 𝗞𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗦𝗨 𝗡𝗢 𝗬𝗔𝗜𝗕𝗔

𝟬𝟬𝟭

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗻𝗲

𝗥𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗪𝗼𝗼𝗱

___________________________________________

Clear blue skies stretched out across the horizon, the glowing sun beaming down on the bustling village. The smell of freshly baked bread and meat roasting over crackling fires wafted through the air as the voices of shopowners, families and couples carried through the streets.

Among the many day workers was a well built boy of no more than 16, fair skinned with black outgrown hair. His dark eyes were weighed down with the eye bags showing many sleepless nights.

With a hatchet in hand, he served customer after customer, chopping, shaving off the bark and shaping the planks before handing it off. Then the next, repeating the same cycle. Chopping, shaving and shaping. Again and again until he was finally given his pay when the sun had set.

Exhausted, he dragged his feet home to his family.

"I'm home" he yawned

A girl of similar height came to the door. She had large round eyes with her dark hair in a bun held with a fake peeling golden hairpin.

"Welcome back, Shiro."

She helped Shiro to the living room, where an older man was layed on a futon, his cheeks hollow and his eyes sunken. His creased eyelids lifted.

"My children..." He croaked, breaking into a smile weakly. "Shiro, come. Sit. Come eat Yua's food, your sister has spent all day cooking and cleaning."

Shiro, still aching and tired politely refused his twin sister's since he had to go back out to stock up on wood in an hour.

The sun had begin to set as he brought down tree after tree, his calloused hands burning, sweat pouring down his bare back.

Sticking the axe in the stump of a fallen tree, Shiro plopped himself on the ground and stretched. Stopping mid yawn, he noticed 6 glowing, unblinking eyes, each pupil staring straight at his form.

Without a second thought, Shiro ran home, not looking back.

Bursting into his father's room where his sister was preparing his medicine, he grabbed her shoulders panicking.

"O-out there! A mons-!"

The thing stood there. Dressed in a purple and black kimono, his spiky hair tied back and a mark in the shape of a flame on his forehead and cheek.

The kanji 'Upper One's engraved into his second pair on eyes.

                                                  ❈

Shiro blinked.

He was on the ground, his vision was blurry and smudged. He made out the silhouette of his sister unconscious next to him and his... headless father.

The tall figure of the monster had picked up a kitchen knife from the ground and slashed open his arm, the blood splashing over the two.

_______________________________________

 ╰┈➤Shiro and Yua's father suffers from the effects of overworking himself in his youth.

╰┈➤Yua is the older twin.

╰┈➤Shiro works for the old kind man who owns the timber shop and in paid fairly.