She lived in a little town, far away from the rest of the world, separate from time and covered in mist. It came with its own history and secrets, raveled tight around the hearts and minds of the others that wandered the streets.
She was never one for the stories, but she still took caution when the hours came close to night. After all, something strange was always happening in her small, little town.
"Haru?"
She blinked, and glanced over at the young woman standing beside her. Despite being a teenager, Yuki still had yet to reach Haru's height, though she knew one day she'd be taller than her. She smiled at her ward, reaching out to her hair and running her fingers through the platinum locks.
"Sorry, Yuki, I was spacing out again. What did you say?"
Yuki smiled, though she rolled her eyes at the usual antics of her guardian. Something always seemed to preoccupy the woman's mind, setting about a glare that was enhanced with the heavy bags beneath her eyes.
"I was just saying that Lune wanted to see me tomorrow. Is that okay?"
Haru went to answer, but she felt herself jolt, a shoulder ramming against hers as she was passed on the street. Her face fell into a scowl, turning on her heel to stalk after the one who shoved against her.
"Hey, you insufferable as-!"
"Haru, please!"
Yuki's hand found hers and the anger leaked out of her body. She felt drained, using up what little sleep she got that night. She turned to Yuki and gave a watery smile. She lost her temper again. Well, had been close to doing so.
"Sorry Yuki."
The younger girl shrugged, though worry still radiated off her being.
"It's alright. But you really should learn to calm down a bit more, Haru."
She sighed out an "I know", before continuing down the street. The pair walked in comfortable silence, though Yuki would occasionally hum as they made their way about. They passed by stores, glancing through windows to see if there was anything they needed.
Though Yuki saw many things that she wanted, she knew Haru wouldn't buy her anything she didn't need. Though, maybe…
"Haru?"
There was a hum in response, eyes examining a swatch of fabric sitting in the window's display.
"Can we go to the bakery?"
She waited nervously for a response, bouncing on her toes. Haru took a moment to consider, rubbing at her eyes before glancing upwards at the sky to see where the sun was. Eventually, a tired smile slid across her lips, which told Yuki she had won.
"I don't see why not."
She cheered, grabbed Haru's hand, and pulled her down the street towards her favorite bakery. They laughed, people and colors streaking past at the corners of their vision. Yuki only had the bakery in her sights, but Haru saw her young ward.
Saw her hair turn golden in the sunlight. Saw the sunspots and freckles that dotted her skin. Saw the twinkle of cheer and mischief in the bluebell eyes. Her heart warmed as she looked over the beautiful young girl she had helped raise.
"Haru! You're spacing out again!"
She shook the thoughts away, but her smile refused to disappear.
"You're right, I'm sorry. C'mon, let's get some sweets."
The baker was familiar with the pair. He was a large man with light brown hair, a joyous smile, and a booming voice. He talked animatedly with Yuki as she asked after every little detail of his life, wanting to know everything she could. Haru merely watched on, counting the money she had on hand to see if she'd have enough. Looks like only Yuki would be getting a sweet.
"Damn…"
"Is everything alright, Haru?"
She looked up to see the baker and Yuki staring at her, having heard her swearing at the meagre amount of change.
"Oh, um, yeah… Listen, I won't be getting anything today, Yuki, so pick out whatever you want."
The baker frowned in worry, cocking his head to look over at her. Haru felt a warm rush down her spine, her cheeks flaring up in embarrassment. It was well known in the village that Haru's family wasn't well off. Even then, she hated when they gave her that look of pity. She made damn sure everyone could fend enough for themselves, and she worked her ass off. She didn't need pity.
"You're free to whatever you want, both of you. You're such loyal customers, I can spare a pastry or two, on the house."
Haru grit her teeth. She was getting worked up over nothing. The minute that thought entered her head, the fire in her went out. Still, she gave another paper thin smile to the baker.
"Thanks, Mr. Moon, but we're okay. Yuki can have what she wants for this much."
She handed the change, and watched Yuki pick out her sweets. Mr. Moon still gave her a look, but he knew her well at this point. Haru didn't like hand-outs if she could prevent them.
"Thanks Mr. Moon!"
"See you later, girls!"
Haru waved goodbye, stepping to go through the door, though she ran straight into… Someone. The chain didn't stop, and they jerked backwards into Yuki, pushing her forward and into the cobblestone. Haru felt panic light in her chest, shoving aside whoever she had bumped into to check on Yuki.
"Yuki! Shit, sweetie, are you okay?!"
Yuki only gave a whimper, rolling onto her back. Pastry was ruined and blood dripped down her chin. Further examination revealed the scrape to not be deep, but enough to leave a scar. Red colored Haru's vision. She was on her feet, grabbing the front of whoever's shirt.
"Watch what the hell you're doing!"
"I-I'm so sorry!"
"Sorry isn't going…! To… Cut it…"
Her words trailed off as she caught sight of who she was holding onto. A pair of emerald eyes stared down at her, startling her enough that she let go of the person and took a step back. Something in her felt drowsy, like working through fog and wool, but was having trouble navigating to the surface. Yuki had stood, hand finding Haru's. She caught the blue eyes staring at her and felt grounded. Felt more like herself.
"I am well and truly sorry! Please, let me make it up to you."
"Haru? Haru are you there?"
She rubbed her eyes, pressing the butt of her hands deep against them. She counted backwards from five before risking looking back at the stranger. Green eyes. Ginger hair. Speckled skin.
"Yeah, sorry, um…"
"Please, Miss… Let me make it up to you."
"Yeah… Yeah, sure, lead the way."
The newly formed trio came back into the bakery, the stranger rushing forth to the counter. He spoke with Mr. Moon while Yuki tended to her guardian.
"Haru? Are you sure you're okay?"
At this point, she had gathered herself, blinking away whatever had taken over her senses earlier. She lost all her anger, instead feeling… Something. She watched the stranger with interest, head cocked to the side as he ordered new pastries. When he glanced at her, he smiled.
"I'm fine, I think. Who knows, maybe I'm just not getting enough sleep."
"You never do Haru."
"Well yeah, but still."
They exchanged smiles, though they fell away when the stranger came forward.
"I, ah, got you something as well, Miss."
He held out a delicate looking pastry, something flakey and likely filled with chocolate. Her mouth watered against her will, but she looked skeptical.
"I had nothing on me. You only had to replace Yuki's."
"Ah, well, um… I figured I'd do you right, as well. After all, I ran into you."
Haru rolled her eyes, though with a slow smile. She took the treat in her hands, eyeing the stranger up and down.
"You don't look familiar. Who are you? I know everyone in this town."
"I'm Humbert. I've just arrived for a visit during my travels. I came to speak to Mr. Moon, as his family and mine go back."
Haru looked over at Mr. Moon, raising an eyebrow. The baker was making a point to not look their way, stiff in his movements and mannerisms. The cheerful man was replaced with a mechanical version that kneaded away at the dough. She wrote it off as shyness, or simply fear of Haru losing her temper.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Humbert. I'm Haru, and this is my ward, Yuki. Thank you for these pastries, but I'm afraid we simply must get going. It's late."
"Right, right, my apologies. I hope I can see you again, Miss Haru. Miss Yuki."
Yuki waved, smiling brightly, while Haru simply nodded. She had trouble looking him in the eye, and it ticked her off more than it should. Still something about the gentleman left Haru feeling calm, and she couldn't seem to summon the earlier anger. As the pair left, she felt Yuki's eyes on her back. When they were a good distance away, she finally snapped.
"What are you staring at Yuki?"
She turned to ask, and caught sight the starstruck look the blonde had.
"What even is that look?"
"You liked him."
She almost tripped.
"What gave you that idea?!"
Yuki simply shrugged, giggling behind the treat she had in her hands.
"You were almost civil to him Haru!"
"So? I'm polite to a lot of people."
"There's your brand of polite Haru, which is not beating them up, and then there's actually polite, Haru."
"I didn't know there was a difference."
Yuki gave a smug grin, the teenager bouncing ahead.
"You li-i-i-i-i-ike him~!"
Haru scoffed, feeling like a teenager yet again. Which was unfair, she thought. After all, she was the adult. She was the one who raised Yuki, after all.
"I will not fall victim to your little flights of fancy, Yuki. Now let's get home."
The pair didn't say anything else, though Haru did give her warning glares when her humming of the wedding march got a bit too much.
Home came into sight as the sun began to set. Haru's nerves that had started to come alight began to calm. With Yuki safe at home, she had nothing to fear of the night. Said teenager entered the home first, calling out cheerfully for Aunt Hiromi and Grandma Naoko.
Naoko was an older woman, with red hair streaked grey from time. She came from the kitchen, looking tired but not without her spirited ways. Hiromi, the brownish-blonde, sat knitting in the dining room, her gaze switching between the work in her hands and the pattern on paper. She looked up to smile at Haru, waving her over excitedly. Yuki sped past to the kitchen to help make dinner.
"Haru, Haru look! I'm actually getting it right!"
Haru glanced between the work and the pattern, smiling warmly.
"Yeah, you're pretty close. Looks like you need to swap colors soon."
"Wait, what?! Oh, darn it, I don't have the next color!"
Haru felt something skitter down her spine. Her fears were only confirmed as Hiromi gave her the usual puppy dog eyes.
"I am not going out there."
"Please Haru! You said you don't believe the legends."
"Doesn't mean I'm stupid. I know better than to go out at night alone."
"Then take Yuki with you!"
Haru growled out "Hiromi" in a warning tone, knowing her friend had gone a bit too far. The other woman was used to it though, unperturbed by anything Haru could have said.
"Come on, Haru! Yuki's old enough to be courted, I think she'd be safe to go with you."
Haru saw Yuki start heading out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dishcloth. Panic surged in Haru. She knew Yuki would insist on going with her. She lowered her voice to a harsh whisper, standing close to Hiromi in the hopes Yuki wouldn't notice.
"It's still too dangerous to take her out there! Why can't you wait until tomorrow?"
"Because I'm gonna work through the night to finish it. If I get it done, I'll sell it to Machida and we'll get some extra money."
Haru stiffened a little at the mention of Machida's name, but took a calming breath. The tension leaked out of her. She hated mention of the landlord's son. He wasn't a bad man, but there was history there she didn't want to speak of.
"We're doing just fine, Hiromi."
"That's what you say. But just… we could do better, Haru."
Haru didn't respond immediately. She could have said so many different things in the moment. About how things had changed. She saw the way Hiromi lowered her eyes, kept her gaze settled down on the work between her fingers. She was trying so hard to repay a debt she didn't even owe to Haru.
She sighed, pushing back her bangs with the butt of her palm.
"Alright."
Hiromi jolted up to look at Haru, hope bleeding into her eyes.
"Alright?"
"Alright. You win. Yuki?"
She poked her head out, looking at Haru curiously.
"Get your coat on. We're heading out for a bit."
Yuki didn't question her, instead racing to the coat hooks. She had an odd smile on her face, something that was terrified yet excited of what was about to come. Haru herself only felt chills down her spine, the raking of nails against a chalkboard type of sensation. Something was wrong with this. She did her best to stifle the feeling.
She failed.
She sped through the streets, keeping a tight grip on Yuki's arm. She didn't stop to speak with anyone she passed, to look through the windows of shops like she had earlier that day. She could only think of her destination through the waves of panic and fear.
'You're being silly' she tried to tell herself. Yet she still felt her legs and arms shaking.
The storefront came into sight, but the lights were off, and the door proved to be locked when she pulled at it.
She swore.
She was starting to get frantic. The panic clung tight to her and she was shivering, shaking, god she was having trouble thinking straight. She turned to face Yuki and turned and turned and turned.
"Yuki?!"
She called out, she blinked and looked around wildly. There was a whimper, and cry, and she knew, she knew what happened and where she had gone.
She took slow steps. Careful against the cobblestone underneath her feet. She walked and walked, eyes trained on the alley between the buildings before her. Something began roaring in her ears, to run, to hide and get away fast. More steps, slow and steady, and at the rate of eternity.
Another whimper, another cry.
She looked around the corner.
Yuki was pale. Gleaming white against the dim light of the moon. Dumped between the filth and grime of the street, sprawled across the trash. Something leaned over her, uneven breathing and lanky limbs. It turned to look at Haru, eyes of electric green twinkling against the light.
A serpent's tongue swiped over sharpened teeth covered in blood.
Everything in her roared to life.
She charged.