"How long has it been, since the last time I get to go back home before the sun sets?" A middle aged man asks to himself on a warm day of summer. It's past 3pm and Yamada has finished early his turn in the company where he works at, he folds his jacket under his arm to hide the sweat stenches from such a hot day; his phone rings with the image of his wife on the screen, but with a complex look on his face, the man lets the phone ring until the woman goes inside the voice messages, giving a deep breath, Yamada walks into the streets, losing himself in the multitude of people who adds to him.
Yamada eyes take a little detour from his usual travel to the train station when he notices a group of women and high school student girls queuing outside a desserts' shop, making a light bulb flash inside his mind. The man remembers the repeatedly pleadings of his daughter of taking her to the most popular shop of the town, in the boulevard near the shore, for the best selling strawberry shortcakes; making a familiar face expression, he takes a deep breath and renews his direction on the street.
From electro domestics to fried food stands the boulevard was a point for everything and everyone to reunite and spend some time either for lunch, have a coffee, or walk on the beach. Yamada hasn't touch the boulevard in probably more than a year, his job at the company of supplies was consuming and exhausting, but it was what he needed to pay the bills and keep her daughter in school, even though most of faces hadn't changed in the year he spent ignoring this street, stepping from the plaza, past the fountain and inside the boulevard felt all new to him; but something would stop him on the tracks, just past the other side of the fountain, something, rather, someone, would stop him from accomplishing his sudden, instant desire to visit a familiar place.
There was a girl kneeling in the ground, a small, young kid with brown hair and eyes, wearing a white shirt and black skirt with suspenders that made her look like a living black and white photography from the old times, and in such a lively, loud and crowded place, it made her stand out. He took a couple of steps towards the girl without noticing, there was something about her that was calling out to him. Under the bright rays of the sun, the calm and fresh expression of the girl was unexpected, even disturbing, but what she was doing near the fountain was even more mesmerizing.
Slowly piercing with a stick, you could almost hear her humming, the little girl was poking a dead frog, with delicacy, with curiosity, meticulously smearing the guts of the animal on the floor; but there was no smile of pleasure on her face, nor tears of sadness running from her eyes, it was almost as if the girl's heart wouldn't be moved by anything, and the stick on her hand was trying to find out whether or not this was true through the insides of the frog.
"ᴬʳᵉ ʸᵒᵘ ᶦⁿᵗᵉʳᵉˢᵗᵉᵈ ᶦⁿ ᵗʰᶦˢ ᶠʳᵒᵍ ᵗᵒᵒ, ᴹᶦˢᵗᵉʳˀ"
Yamada reserved to ask what the girl just said, she was looking at her, and he did read her lips, the soft, inaudible tone of hers was enough to see the girl as delicate. "No, I was just wondering why you were doing that," He explains, his legs continue to move towards the girl without noticing.
"ᴵ ʷᵃˢ ʲᵘˢᵗ ʷᵒⁿᵈᵉʳᶦⁿᵍ ᶦᶠ ᶠʳᵒᵍˢ ʷᵉʳᵉ ˡᶦᵏᵉ ᵘˢ ᶦⁿˢᶦᵈᵉ."
She continued, in the scandal of the multitude, he moved further to the girl, to be unable to hear the girls' speech made him anxious. From here and there, eyes would pose in the middle aged man approaching to the girl, but Yamada was too distracted to notice, he took a moment of silence to understand what was the girl saying instead of asking what she said, curiosity and anxiety clouded his judgment, "And… what did you find?" He asked, with a mocking voice as if he was talking to a baby.
"ᵀʰᵉʸ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ˡᵒᵒᵏ ˡᶦᵏᵉ ᵘˢ ᶦⁿˢᶦᵈᵉ."
Expressionless, the mystery of the girl in front of him was enough for Yamada to detach from his usual behavior, "Did you kill the frog to find it out?" He asked again, fearing the reply, the girl looked up to him.
"ᶠʳᵒᵍˢ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ˡᵒᵒᵏ ˡᶦᵏᵉ ᵘˢ ᶦⁿˢᶦᵈᵉ, ᵇᵘᵗ ᵗʰᵉᶦʳ ᵇˡᵒᵒᵈ ᶜᵒˡᵒʳ ᶦˢ ˡᶦᵏᵉ ᵘˢ, ʷʰʸ ᶦˢ ᵗʰᵃᵗˀ"
She ignored his question, she stands up while looking at him, wiping the dust off her skirt, her beret would slightly drop to a side of her head and her hair would react to it; the mole under her left eye would only be opaque by the charming of her long eyelashes. "That's because of the blood cells… haven't you seen that in school?" Yamada continues his questionnaire; sweat drops falling from his face, ignoring the heat of the evening, even the drops of water splashed by the fountains would instantly evaporate once touching the floor.
"ˢᶜʰᵒᵒˡ…ˀ"
Yamada was perplexed; just why would a girl like her won't go to school? But that question was easily overwritten as she stepped towards the man, her small, black shoe stamping over the dead frog, spreading its guts even wider on the floor, once again, she did it without any expression on her face, her arms hiding on her back, her head tilting, while looking up him, her eyes locked on his face since the moment Yamada started talking to him.
"ᴹᶦˢᵗᵉʳ, ʷʰᵃᵗ ᶦˢ ʸᵒᵘʳ ⁿᵃᵐᵉˀ"
Her small voice make gave him goosebumps, he swallowed saliva and wiping the sweat of his forehead he answered, "Yamada Takeuchi… and what is your name little miss?" He pondered with a smile while kneeling in front of her, but before she could even answer, a woman with a megaphone stands up in front of the line of people, "WE ONLY HAVE ENOUGH STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKES FOR THE NEXT 75 PEOPLE, PLEASE BE PATIENT AND STAY ON THE LINE!"
Almost instantly, Yamada stood up and turned his face to the desserts' shop, gestures to the girl in an apology, "Next time, OK?" and runs to queue with the rest of the women waiting to buy a piece of cake.
An hour passes by just as fast before he can get in the shop, just to be instantly let down by the employee in front of the cashier machine. "You sold out?!" He shout, the young woman bowed in apology, reaffirming they sold all units for the day but there would be more tomorrow. "No, well," He stuttered, looking at the shelves full of other types of cakes, tarts, pies and desserts, "I guess I can't just go back empty handed," Yamada scratches the back of his head, the woman then gestures him to take his time and choose some other type of sweet to take home, he nods and explores from the wide selection while wondering as of why does the most sold product is something as simple as a strawberry shortcake while having all these different options in the same place, "Guess everyone chooses from fashion rather from tastes nowadays," He mumbles to himself while peeking at the frozen glass keeping the shape of the sugary made snacks. "AAAHHH!" The employee suddenly screams from the reception while looking at the entrance of the shop, startling Yamada, which when turning back, finds a familiar, small figure going inside the shop.
"O-oh my, but if isn't little Hatoba, w-what brings you here today?" Yamada turns to the employee, confused of her forced smile and sudden fear as the girl continues to walk inside the establishment without answering her. Just like the man, she gives a peek to the sweets on the stands when one of them calls out her interest.
"ᴱ…éᶜˡᵃᶦʳˀ"
At the speed of light, the employee ran to the stand and with a fixed expression, "W-would you like to try some? They're like cupcakes filled with cream," She explains, Hatoba lets out a strange, small laugh that makes the woman gulp saliva.
"ᵀʰᵉⁿ, ᴵ'ˡˡ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ˢᵒᵐᵉ, ᵖˡᵉᵃˢᵉ."
"Are those good? I think I'll take some of those too," Yamada says, walking to the woman and the girl, and then looking down to Hatoba with a kind smile."Hey, we meet again, so your name is Hatoba?" He asks, the woman looks at him perplexed and surprised, getting the sweets in different boxes, hurrying to check them on the cashier and instantly handing the small box to the girl, who slowly stretches her arms to take it, "H-have a nice day dear… off you go now, bye bye!" She nervously insisted with her hand, Hatoba turned to Yamada, looking at him in the eye for a few seconds, then walking away from the shop.
"Did she pay for the éclair? I never saw her handing you money though," Yamada wonders while while paying the employee with cash, she takes a deep breath of relief and shakes her head. "She's… a special costumer of us… we, don't really ask her for money," she explains, with leftovers of anxiety as her hands trembles while exchanging the bill. "Mister, is hard to explain… but you should stay away from that girl…" She finishes this by giving the man a bigger cardboard box filled with sweets. The man is anything but puzzled as of why would a small girl turn an adult woman into a handful of nerves, but it doesn't look like he would get any other answer from her, he just gives and nod and steps out of the place.
A refreshing wind on his face shocks the man, looking up to the sky, in the few minutes he spend inside the shop, clouds blinded the sun, and the crunch of thunders would warn of a coming storm; nevertheless the fast change of the weather was the last thing to be surprised of. What a few minutes ago was a lively and crowded place was now an empty plaza and boulevard, most stores were already closing and only a few remained open, as he continued on his steps, the employee from the dessert shop aggressively shut down the fence, closing the place and startling the man, which when unfolding his jacket and wearing it once again, found his eyes locked in Hatoba, who was eating the éclair cake from the shop with her bare hands.
Whatever the reason made an adult woman be scared of a child, the sense of warning in Yamada wasn't working properly, and the signal and advice given to him bounced off his mind. The young girl was sitting on a bench near to a fish pet shop, with the box opened over her legs, she was holding the éclair with her small hands naked, cream running through her fingers and the palm of her hands, chocolate being smeared over her cheeks; she would just suck on her fingers, lick her hands and continue eating, getting dirty and repeating the process once again, it was a spectacle worth of both gross and endearment, and Yamada, was at loss, fascinated of such a faultless looking girl eating in such a way.
"ᵀʰᶦˢ ᶦˢ ᵐʸ éᶜˡᵃᶦʳ, ᴵ'ᵐ ⁿᵒᵗ ᵍᶦᵛᶦⁿᵍ ʸᵒᵘ ᵃⁿʸ."
She said with her usual expressionless face, the man felt embarrassed when noticing he had walked straight to the bench and had his eyes locked on the girl for a long while. With an awkward stutter, he sits on the bench near her, while Hatoba stares at him in silence, he gestures with his hand the box of snacks that was given to him. "I got my own, don't you worry, go on, continue," He gestured with a smile, the girl didn't gave him a reply, she just slowly turned back to her cake and continued eating.
The man continued staring at her in silence; they were just two lonely souls on an empty street. Tiny, sporadic drops of water falling from the sky, giving the final warning for the storm, but Yamada would once again ignore it, instead, he dug in the insides of his jacket and brought a handkerchief. "Excuse me… Hatoba, can I?" His voice trembled with a mix of strange excitement and anticipation; the girl would once again look up to his, then down to his hand, and for the first time, she would smile to him with a nod of her head, her white teeth and her small, pink lips was an overwhelming mix of tenderness that would soothe anyone's heart, the man almost chuckled because of it, and, with his left hand holding on the back of the girls head, he used his right to hold on the handkerchief and wipe Hatoba's face clean.
The young kid would give a menacing look to the hand holding on the back of her head, and the man would miss this expression as she closed her eyes when having her cheeks being clean. "You kind of remind me of my daughter," He mumbled with a small laughter, before he realized, the man was slowly rubbing the girls' lips through the handkerchief, and startling himself when noticing it, he quickly changed to her hands, this time, he took no space to be loss on his in thoughts and cleaned them instantly.
"ᴹᶦˢᵗᵉʳ, ʸᵒᵘ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ᵃ ᵈᵃᵘᵍʰᵗᵉʳˀ"
She asked, the man gave her a smile and sighed. "Yes, she's an all grown up teenager now, but you remind me a lot of when she was younger," he replied.
"ᵀʰᵉⁿ, ᵃʳᵉ ᵗʰᵒˢᵉ ˢʷᵉᵉᵗˢ ᶠᵒʳ ʰᵉʳˀ"
Hatoba asked again, this time she stood up from the bench, the box from the cake falling and rolling on the floor, but she just wouldn't care. "Yes, they're for her and my wife." The girl didn't say anything, she just continued walking away, making the man stand up and slowly follow her along. Her eyes would pose on the fish pet shop, and while shouting the same strange laughter she did in the cake shop which echoed in the empty place, she ran to the glass front, where fish tanks were stacked one over the other. "Do you like fishes, Hatoba?"
"ᴵ ʷᵒⁿᵈᵉʳ ᶦᶠ ᶠᶦˢʰᵉˢ ᵃʳᵉ ˡᶦᵏᵉ ᵘˢ ᵒⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ᶦⁿˢᶦᵈᵉ."
She pondered; Yamada was creep at the question when remembering the splattered frog near the fountain, but he decides to ignore her question. "Say, Hatoba… is getting late… don't you think is tie to go home?" He asks, but doesn't get a reply. The child would pose her hand on the glass, and slowly, all the fishes from the tanks, even the ones inside the shop, would turn to her, trying to swim to her hand, the scene would shock the old Yamada and make him stare at the girl in silence.
"ᴼʳ ᵐᵃʸᵇᵉ ʷᵉ ˡᵒᵒᵏ ˡᶦᵏᵉ ᶠᶦˢʰᵉˢ ᵒⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ᶦⁿˢᶦᵈᵉ."
The girl continued philosophizing, and her question would finally shake awake the sense of awareness on the man, but it was already too late, water started falling from the sky. Just like an opera, the drops of rain would increase its size and speed, the refreshing feeling of the cold water wearing off the sweat of Yamada's hot day easily reached the point where the rain was just a sharp needles of cold water trying to infect him with a cold. He quickly wore his jacket off and put it over his head, then walked behind the girl and tried to cover her with it. "Hey, Hatoba, is pouring down hard, you need to go home!"
"ᴰᵒ ʸᵒᵘʳ ʷᶦᶠᵉ ᵃⁿᵈ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᵈᵃᵘᵍʰᵗᵉʳ ˡᵒᵒᵏ ˡᶦᵏᵉ ᶠᶦˢʰᵉˢ ᶦⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ᶦⁿˢᶦᵈᵉˀ"
She asked once again, ignoring the shouting of the man, he would stand still in front of the glass, paralyzed, a chilling, overwhelming current of electricity going through his back when looking at his wife and daughter inside of the shop, both of them with sadness on their eyes, the sudden, unexpected scene was interrupted from a sparkling, flashing red light, just there, for a second, Yamada could swear, Hatoba eyes turned bright red over the glass.
"ˢᵃʸ ᴹᶦˢᵗᵉʳ, why are you still here?"
Hatoba wonders, turning her eyes to the end of the boulevard, where the street and a small, rocky harbor combined.
"Weren't those sweets for your dear wife and daughter?"
She continues, walking past him, the water falling over her with no mercy, but she wouldn't care. For a second there, Yamada stood speechless, as Hatoba lifted up her head, a small glimpse of light poured on her along with the rain, with eyes closed, the water ran over her head, soaking her face and clothes, but every dingle thread of water just made her shine, "An Angel…" He whispered, charmed by how nature seemed to find her dear, even though it would fall on both of the with the same aggression. Yamada was trying to process all the situation, the fishes, the images he saw, the sharp tongue of the small girl that keep making him fall from his usual self. Hatoba continued walking down the street, jumping on the small puddles of rain. "Y-yes… they're for them…" He finally answered; the girl stops inside a puddle and crosses her wrists behind her back.
"Then why are you still here?"
She asked, and the man, would once again notice, in the reflection of the puddle where stood, the strange, red bright on her eyes. "I... I just want to see you go back home safely!" He shout, his jaw trembling due to the cold getting on him.
"̷I̵s̵ ̶i̵t̵ ̵r̵e̴a̴l̵l̷y̸ ̴j̶u̸s̴t̸ ̸t̶h̷a̶t̶?̷"̴
Hatoba asked with a sarcastic tone, then starting running off through the street, Yamada instantly decides to follow her, but when stepping on the same puddle where she was, something paralyzed the man once again – AHHHHH – a heartrending, female voice pierced his ears, the water he could see, his wife falling on the floor with a swollen bump on her face.
"̴S̵a̸y̷ ̴M̸i̶s̸t̴e̷r̶,̸ ̵d̶o̷ ̷y̸o̷u̶ ̸l̸o̴v̸e̸ ̵y̸o̴u̴r̵ ̵w̵i̶f̶e̸?̸"̸
The young girl asked, her voice growing from her usual silent tone, to a more, least to say shocking, corrupted tone, as if her voice was being filtered from the static of a microphone. "What kind of question of that, of course I love her!" He shouts angered, and as if Hatoba were walking over a trapezium, she stretched her arms, and turning her face to him with a mocking smile, she laughed in this, disarming, creeping tone of voice.
"̵̘̗̾́̍T̸̼̮́̀͜h̶̜̣̾͌ẹ̸̡́n̶̻̠̉͜,̸̛̱͊ͅ ̶̩͆d̵̲̣̈́͝͝o̶̜̩͈̓ ̵̖͗͘y̸̬̍͜ͅo̵̖̎͋̆u̸͇̙̇̌ ̶̢̻̑ĺ̸̯͝ȯ̷͎̲̍̏v̸͎͠e̷̟͑͌̚ ̷̼̻̯͐y̵̗̪̋̕͠o̷͉̞͊͊͝u̶̘͙͚͗r̸̳̹͔͝ ̴̧͍̤͛̓ḍ̵̪̝̈́͒͂a̶̘̳̮̾u̵͓̞͆g̷̲̹̚h̶̗̺͛t̷͇̘͚͊͋ė̵̖͎̻͂r̶̤̯̟̊ ̶̇̀ͅt̸̹͌ͅọ̵̑̍̚ȏ̶̱͙̚?̴̬̙́͑̀"̴̗̜̆̒̒
"Of course I do!" Yamada replied almost instantly, following the girl to the ends of the street, he tried to take Hatoba from her shoulder, but she swiftly evaded his hand and turned to him, with her eyes bright red, she walked backward to a bigger puddle of water – NO… NO, PLEASE, NO – the screaming's of a young girl having her back being smitten by the merciless lashings of a belt make the man's anger grow bigger. "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAD!" He shouts.
"̵̧͖̄̚Ą̸̗̤͂̅̌r̷̺̪̆e̸̺͌ ̶͕̹̐͑̇ţ̷̗͙́̚͠h̷͈̉̇́õ̴̹͇s̶͇͈̓͘͝e̴͙͛̔ ̶̛̳͒ṡ̶̭̼̝̉ẁ̷̮̺͈͗͠ę̵̳̄͌͒ͅę̷̨͇̎̃͝t̸̲͕͉͌̐͌s̶̯̓̍͂ ̷̭̃̽ā̷͓̏n̴̘͊ ̷̘̆ä̷̠̈́̄p̶̘͕͙͗͗͆ő̷͕̩̿̽l̵͖̥̻̋̈́ǫ̴̣̟̓̈́g̵͖͂ỳ̵̹?̷̨̛̃̋"̵̬̈́̆̆
"I'M TRYING TO APOLOGIZE; I'M TRYING TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT!" He swung his arms in frustration, his glasses falling on the floor along with his jacket, the box of cakes falling on the floor and the éclair spreading and disintegrating in the water.
The water progressively grows louder, the streets were sudden covered in water to the point where it was impossible to hide, wherever you stepped, water would be splashed. Hatoba gives the man a toothless, wide smile, with her red shiny eyes, mocking him of his sudden anger. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO JUDGE ME?!" His exasperated yelling fighting against the loud rain, which was washing away his clothes and the cake, wasn't enough to move the girls' heart, wasn't enough to remove the smile of satisfaction on her face.
She ran, Hatoba turned away and ran, as far as she could, and the man, driven by his anger took the decision to follow her. Hatoba turned to the left in the crossing of the street and her figure went lost in the corner of a shop, he followed, he didn't understand yet Yamada followed her, angered, frustrated, scared, he didn't know what he would do once getting a hold of her, but he knew he would be able to pin her down in the harbor… Or at least, that's what he thought, as he comes from the same turn to find himself in the plaza, the fountain stopped working, and the stores were all closed.
"Just what in the world…?" He mumbled confused, the rain continued, he passes through the fountain and watches a frog happily swim in the fountain, he continues until the closed desserts shop.
"̶̰͎̄̉W̷̡̬̝͂͘h̵̡̜̦̝̎͒̔y̸͓̌̂͝ ̴̜͍̞͈͗̈́w̵̼̘͓̍̇ŏ̴̮̟͈͚̩̆̍̿u̷̧̼̱̓̏͘ļ̷̻̉̔̚̕d̶͚͇͇́̀̔͠ ̵͓̮̜̌͋͌̐͌y̸̡̺̯͖̮̒̒̆̆o̶̖̠͛̈́u̶̮̯͋̔̊͘ͅr̵͚͍̀ ̵̣̝͈͋̈́̅̚͠w̷͕̱̖̩̝̓̾ị̴̖͚͉̯͋͠͝f̴̨̛̰̲̥e̶̘̖̰̓̐͊ ̶̛͓̻͚͋͜a̸̪͛̿͆̈͝ṉ̸̡̨̐̚ͅd̷̬̫̺̻̍͜ ̵̣͊́̇̚y̴̲̪͐̀͐̎͜o̶̲͚̼͚̿͐ȕ̴̫̅̍̈́r̴̫̤̮̣̉̓ ̸̟́͌͠d̷͈̩̘̏̃̉̊͝a̶̮̬͇̓̕͠ͅu̵͎̳͝ͅg̵͕̦͆h̶̢̦͇̺̼̐̾͗͗ṫ̴̬̪̥̎́e̶̛̳̱̻̝̣ŕ̷̨ ̶̰͔́͂̿f̴̹͕̫͈́o̶̧̊̍r̷̩̭̻̩͛̾g̵̣̒͂͝į̴̫͇̀͂́͝v̷̡̱̹̳̥̌̌͘ë̶̤̜̙͓̫̓̍ ̶͓͎̬̟̖́͑̓̈́y̷̨̥͍̳̭͊͆͌ȍ̵̪̥̹u̶̖̰̪̽?̵̬̱̪̣͉̊̚"̴͍̿͂͊̆
The familiar voice awoke the anger on him once again; he turned to see the red bright eyes of the girl locked up on him. "BECAUSE I'M HIS HUSBAND, BECAUSE I'M HIS FATHER, I'M THE ONLY THING THEY HAVE THAT STOPS THEM FROM LIVING ON THE STREETS." He shouts with all the air of his lungs, saliva falling from his mouth, just like a dog with rabies, Hatoba stops smiling and takes a step back, the man replies gesturing with his hands and a malicious expression when taking a step forward; the girl runs once away down the street of the boulevard, Yamada pursues her without thinking twice.
He ran, and ran, and ran splashing on the puddles that know has begin to reach his ankles – NO, MOM, STOP DADDY, PLEASE – He continued running – PLEASE, DON'T DO THIS TO HER, SHE'S STILL A KID – He screamed in anger trying to get a hold of Hatoba as she reached the end of the screen once again, puddle after puddle memories would reflect on the water and female screams of despair would pierce into his ears, shaking the man, which anger has now turned into wrath.
"̸W̵h̵y̷ ̵w̷o̴u̷l̸d̴ ̶t̵h̷e̸y̸ ̴f̸o̵r̸g̴i̷v̷e̷ ̵y̷o̴u̶?̴"̸
The man reached the end of the street and crossed it, just to, once again find himself on the plaza, the fountain torn up, the stores windows and doors were smashed and crushed, Be he could instantly spot Hatoba's back, sitting in the small remains of the fountain, using it as bench. "They have to… first then anything they have to!" The man, soaked in water with socks drenched screamed in despair, putting a hand on his chest."
"Every single day I wear myself off for them, I have to go day by day through this miserable job to make them happy!" He gestures stretching his arms, explaining himself while approaching the girl, who wouldn't turn back to him. "And what do you think I get?!" He swung his arm in sarcasm, "That stupid woman never has dinner ready, she never manages to clean, and that even stupider daughter of mine going to cram school because she keeps falling on her tests!"
He panted, in and out, he breath loudly, with tears falling from his face. "That's how it is, again and again I get my body and my soul kicked by my bosses and my family never seems to recognize it, they never give me what I deserve… I'm her father… I'm her husband, god dammit!" he cries, his arms waving like crazy, nevertheless, the small kid doesn't seem to care about the man's rambles.
Yamada gulps down saliva and angrily wipes his face, slowly, in silence, he approaches to the girl, he hears strange, slurping noises combined with cracking sounds, and the image he comes to see shakes scared and makes him fall on the puddle of running water the street has turned into. Just like with the éclair, Hatoba was devouring the frog, expressionless, as is was as sweet as a cake, cracking bones with her teeth, slurping the guts sliding on her fingers, the legs and the arms of the animal would still move, her cheeks covered in red and green.
"Who are you… JUST WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU?" He asked, almost crying, crawling backwards the girl, the water had managed to reach his waist, almost touching his elbows. Hatoba would continue ignoring the man until she finished eating the frog, and then stand up from the fountain; she would toss the leftovers on her hands in the water, and Yamada would see amazed small bubbles of water coming from under her legs as he noticed a ticklish feeling on his right hand, the fish from the shop were all swimming in the running water, and most of them, were following Hatoba from below and eating the animal pieces being throw by her.
"̶̧͖̞͛͠Ỳ̸͉͖̈̓ö̴̝͕́̈́ǜ̵̼ ̷̩̏̚d̶̠̻̙͆̉o̵̒́́ͅň̶̙̞̭̇̒'̸̥͗̅ṭ̵̘̙̀̎ ̴̥͌̄̃d̵̪̒̑͝ę̵̙̃s̴̥͈̝̄é̶͈r̵̛͇͖͖̈́v̷̰͎̉̅ē̵̫̪ ̴̗̼̇͝a̴̳̬̓͝ ̸̛̜̣͕̆͠ḩ̶͔̈́͐a̵̘͋̓p̶̣͇̊̈́p̴̛͚̱ý̵̞̤̾͒ ̷̺̬̽͂͜l̶̨̮̰̈͑̆i̷̧̹̍̓̌v̷̜̣͂e̵̡̒͗͠;̵̬͠ ̶̺̿̍͊y̵͕͚͊͗o̴̯̦͍͛ụ̸͕̝̔ ̸͇̏̿d̶̟̭̘͒͌o̶͍̟͕͋̈͘n̷̮̽'̷͖̓ṱ̸̱̩̽ ̸̝̉̐̍ḑ̴̫͇̚͠e̶̫̫̐̌͘s̷̪͔͕͛̇̎e̷͇̥̩̒͂̄r̸͔̣̘̒̅̇v̷̪̱̑̚é̷̥̣ ̴̢̎̅a̵̦̜͠ ̷̟̈͜h̶̙͛͒a̸̩̯̪̒͋̑p̶̒̈́͠ͅp̸̪̬̩̎y̶̜͖̋ ̶̨̟̬͂̕ẻ̸̘̓̅͜ñ̶̤͇̿d̵̼̪͐͛̕ḭ̶̧̀̌̌n̵̼̝̊g̸̤͉̳͗"̷̖̍
Her words were accompanied of a growing, crowd of female voice that came from the water, echoing inside the street, multiple images of a middle aged man abusing of a woman and teenager girl reflecting on the water. Yamada screamed in despair, looking for his own voice to replace the screaming of the two, soaked in water he prostrates in agony. "A demon… A DEMON, YOU'RE A DEMON" He screams over and over, in agony, in torment, but he wouldn't give up.
Yamada managed to stand once again, water dripping from his clothes, Hatoba understood this and ran away down the street as far as she could, he went on the chase, struggling to go as fast as possible with the water that was reaching on his knees, the fishes followed the two until the turn, he jumped in despair, he wouldn't allow her to get away once again, but the girl always managed to run faster than him, the desperate man screams and she takes the turn before him. He crosses to realize he's back again in the plaza, but the scene horrifies him.
As the storm continues to hit, Hatoba stands in front of the street, looking up to him with her red eyes, from left to right, black haired women of all shapes and ages were silently staring from the outside of the demolished stores, with water soaking them, they all wavered like zombies looking down on the water, but this time, Yamada was settled on getting to her. He wouldn't let the scene shock him for too long, he rocketed to the place the girl was, Hatoba surprised, tries to run and shake him off, but the man finally manages to pin her down, throwing her against the bench in the pet shop, Yamada pants, with a fixated, maliciously daughter from the loss of breath. "I win…" He laughed, approaching Hatoba, but for his surprise, the girl didn't tried to run this time, instead, she lied on the bench, with the water splashing on her body, she stretched her arms on relief and looked at the man with tender on her eyes.
"̶A̴r̴e̷ ̶y̸o̶u̵ ̸g̵o̶i̶n̸g̵ ̷t̶o̷ ̵p̸u̴n̴i̵s̸h̷ ̸m̸e̶ ̶n̷o̶w̷?̸ ̴L̵i̷k̶e̸ ̷h̸o̷w̷ ̵y̵o̷u̶ ̶d̸i̷d̵ ̸t̷o̶ ̴y̷o̶u̸r̶ ̴d̶a̵u̵g̶h̸t̶e̴r̷?̴"̵
The man gulped down, Yamada chuckles to himself, feeling the provocation, his eyes posing on the white shirt of the girl which, soaked in the water, was almost transparent. "Yes…" He whispered, while walking closer, "Yes I'm going to show you what I did to my daughter… I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU HOW SCARY ADULTS CAN BE" He screams and laughs, claiming victory when a sudden noise interrupts him – HONK HOOOONK – flashing bright lights blinded him, he tried to walk away but with the water slowing him down it was too late, he decides to jump, and avoids the car from running over him, but not without a wave of splashing water falling over him. "I'm going to get you, you just wait!" He screamed, but the current made from the wave of the car keep driving him away, for what's more, the taste of the water had suddenly changed, it was rather salty, and before he could realize what was happening, another wave of water, this time bigger, smote him with the sharpness of an angry ocean in a storm could give. The man looks horrified how the current of the water grows aggressive, he was being washed away from the street into the beach, and Hatoba was looking down to him from the rocky shore, with her red eyes and her indifferent smile.
He tried his best to scream, to ask for help, stretching his arm begging for the girl to help him, the salty water getting into his mouth the more he tried to scream, and we he decided to start swimming another wave shakes him into the deeps of the water.
"So this is how it ends…" He thinks to himself, his arms and legs slowly stopping to struggle, letting his body by guided by the water. "At least, I know I died trying my best…" the rotten man smiles, bubbles coming from his mouth, but.
"̷I̶ ̵d̸i̵d̷ t̵̩̘̘̄͗̈e̵̮̼̺̟̙̓̈͛͂̅ļ̷̮͓͇͊͜l̴̢̫̃̔̐͠ ̵͕̲͍͚̜͛̐̆͘ỳ̷̖̈̓ō̷̙̠͘u̶̮̬̪̓…̵̨̰̫̓"̵̮͓̣̈́̓̈
The malefic, girly voice echoed inside the water, scaring the man to death.
"̷̢̪̀̔͝Ŷ̸̨͖̭͍̻̔̍̑͆o̷̹͖͎̖̠̍͂͌͘ư̴͎̫̩ ̵͕̾̾͊̿d̵̨̟̠̂̅̊̀̉o̵̙͈̍͑̈́͋̄͜ņ̴̻͍̭͉͐̿̈́͊̾'̸̢̾t̸͈̋͒̑́͊ ̷̧̮̰̰̊̓̈́̓d̷͔̰̼̉ͅe̵̤͓͛̇̈͂s̸̹̫̩̓͠ḛ̵̟̞͆͋ŕ̸̥͓̯v̷̝͇̋͆͠ẻ̵̯̠̽́͘͠ ̸̮̲͌̃ǎ̶͕̭̝̲ ̶͖̀̄́̈́͝h̶̜̔́͝a̴̡͖̰̠̘͆́͋͘͠ṕ̶̥̝͈͖̲͘p̴͔̺̳̏̔̄͘y̸͕͖̭͕͕͂͐̓ ̸̢̦͈̝̪̐̋̂l̷͕̬̇͑ȋ̶̦̙v̷̛̫̪͎̩̑̔͝e̵̡̼̼̩̋͐͐̎̀;̴̛͍͔̎̅ ̶̠̟͛ͅy̴̩̪͕͂͆̿̓̓o̵̜̥̼͍͌͜u̸̱͕͎͇̺̔͌͒̉̚ ̸̗̪̀ͅd̵̰̘̗͖̙̑͗̔̉͝o̵̜̱͎̣͎̿n̴̳̻͕͕̭̑͑̍̉͘'̴̥͖̎̾̓͝t̴̠̀͐͠ ̷͎͕͊̒͘ḍ̶̓́̕é̸͖͑s̵̛͕̭͎͋͐̚͜e̵̳͌̕͠r̸̙͗v̵̡̧̠̆͛̑ȅ̷͇͓̂̊̄͠ͅ ̸̛̜͎̜̳̆̽͠ā̴̧͔͖͓̬̿́͒̎ ̸͔͔̟̿͘ẖ̵̟͈̫̄̐̇a̵͉͚̦̓p̸̦͍̲͛̋ṗ̸̛̰̠y̶͈̪̩͋̉̐̊͜ͅ ̷͚̇̂e̸͓̣̽͛̒́͊ṋ̸̩̏͊͐d̶̙̖̪̞̞̔̆͠i̸̡̤͍̱̒̀͊̍ͅn̶͎͕̣͔͛̒̈̕ͅg̸͎̼͙̅͌̽̇.̶̦̿̑͜͝"̷̡͕̭̄̒
In the blink of an eye, the man had lost his nose to a colored fish that bite off swiftly before he could even react, the pink finger on his left arm was next, pain growing on his body, his screaming being drowned in the water as fish after fish swam to him and took a part of his body, in a matter of seconds, a shoal of fishes would surround the man, as Hatoba looks from up the shore, observing the water quickly go from brown and dark to red and back to brown, then smile and turn away.
"Guess you didn't look like a fish on the inside."