Normally, when winter sprung around the corner, the northeastern area of Japan always seemed to be the coldest, let alone snowiest. The pieces of snow flew down from the sky, and your little siblings; Chiari and Kajitu had always believed they were small bits of cloud. Though they weren't entirely wrong, you still had to tell them the truth.
Lately, your older sister Meimi, who was 23 at the time, had been out of town, and your aunt wasn't around either. Fortunately, Mei had some free time, so she decided to spend it with you and the rest of the family. Your aunt's place was only a mile or two away, but walking through the thick snow was impossible for you and everyone else living with you. The future was shrouded in mystery, hiding secrets that nobody would have suspected were coming for them, and them only.
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Kajitu approached me quietly, and even without saying a word, I understood his intentions perfectly.
"[y/n], can we please play outsi-" You interrupted him before he could finish speaking.
"Jitu, you know what mom said! No going out there after the sun goes down. Plus, it's snowing like there's no tomorrow," a disappointed look grew on Kajitu's face. "It's almost your bedtime. now go to your room before the monsters get you." Chiari playfully snuck up behind him grabbed his shoulders and yelled at him, trying to give him a scare, which he performed amazingly. Kajitu yelped like a small dog.
"Chiari! Get back here!!" The 8-year-old hurried to catch up with his older brother.
"Hey, you two be careful! And quiet, we don't want momma to wake up, now do we?" You walked over to the two goofballs. "And Kajitu, stop trying to assault your older brother." Chiari was 10 at the time.
"Ngh, fine..." he answered with annoyance lacing his voice. You guided the boys to bed, hoping that they wouldn't make any more noise. Following that, you retired to bed as well.
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Throughout the week, reports of disappearances from neighboring villages continued to emerge. The town's residents were advised to remain indoors until the source of these vanishings were discovered. It was evident that a demon was present in the vicinity, however, You didn't sweat it because you had been reassured that the thing in question didn't exist.
However, you couldn't shake the feeling that you had been lied to... to protect yourself.
Surely not.
In this area, there have never really been any sightings of demons. If such beings exist, they are most likely located in a different region, as you have never observed one in this vicinity.
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Shortly after, there was a gentle knock at the main entrance. As your mother was away running errands, and you were the only one at home, excluding your siblings. You cautiously approached the door and rotated the knob. It turned out to be Meimi! "Hey [y/n]!! It's been a while, how have you been?" Meimi reached her arms out to hug you. You answered with a simple:
"Good, how about you? Living away must be a lot for you to handle," you answered, with a small smile plastered on your face while looking at her.
"I've been great. It's not as hard as you imagine, I just get a little lonely from time to time." you nodded in agreement.
"I can imagine. Momma is out running some errands, so she won't be back for a while. You're free to come inside though! I bet you must be freezing after walking in all that snow." After being informed, Meimi entered the house, where her two younger brothers eagerly approached her, embracing her with gratitude and expressions of thanks.
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Shortly after your mother arrived home, she was relieved to see that Meimi had made it to your house safely, considering the reports of people going missing were causing some concern and the infamous amount of snow they had outside. During the family gathering, Momma made an effort to avoid mentioning the children's father so as not to dampen the mood.
As night peeked around the corner once again, Kajitu once again made the effort he had every night. He seemed to adore the moon. His small room was filled with books about it, almost like a little cave of wonder. It was cute to see a small child fantasize over something so impossible to reach.
"[y/n]... please-"
"No."
"But [y/n], you never let me go outside at this time! It's so pretty out, it's not fair." Kajitu whined.
"Kaji, I don't care. Momma said you're not allowed, and that is all I know. So stop asking me, it gets annoying." You gave him a gentle yet firm retort.
Kajitu let out a small noise before scurrying out of the house, forcing you to go and chase him. "Kajitu!!" you shouted, bringing everyone's attention to you. Soon after he ran out of the house, you had to chase after him. You hadn't thought of you're jika-tabi shoes, since you didn't want the little boy to get any farther, and slipping the shoes on would cost too much time.
You scurried out of the house, frantically chasing after him and calling his name. "Kajitu! Stop, it's dangerous!!"
As you slipped past the trees at a pace one can only imagine, the dark, blurry image of Kajitu suddenly came to a halt. But he didn't look back. He seemed to be staring at something... you had noticed his legs start to shake, and as you did, you, too, had stopped chasing after him...
There it was.
The sight of something gruesome.
Something an 8-year-old should never see.
A large humanoid figure with a blood-stained face, who was previously eating what seemed like another small human was crouched down... however it wasn't devouring the poor human anymore...
