Hunger woke me, but the first thing to capture my attention was the girl. She was no older than ten and had no visible injuries, despite being covered in blood. As she staggered closer, I could see that tears had washed much of the blood from her cheeks. With what looked like Herculean effort, she managed to come before me as her strength failed and she collapsed on top of me. From this position, I could see her mouth moving ever so slightly, so I strained myself to listen.

"I-I'm sorry."

"I never wanted this to..."

"This shouldn't happen; they're just like us."

I could only listen as she spoke, as though to someone she could not see. After a while, I was able to piece together what had happened. Some family had gone hunting in the wrong area and angered the locals. For some reason, the locals went to the girl to resolve the incident. As in any ideal family, the father died defending his mate, who died defending the children, who died screaming, unable to comprehend why any of this had happened. Almost too late, the girl discovered that the family had friends that stood ready to avenge their deaths. And so, the girl created a sea of blood to return, first to her home and then to a place that would praise her for the slaughter.

As she spoke, it became more and more clear that the girl was talking to someone other than me, even though I was the only one there. At some point, she had stood up, growing agitated with the lack of response.

"Why did this have to happen?"

It shouldn't have.

"Why me?"

It shouldn't be.

"Why don't you say anything?"

What would I say?

"Why won't you do anything?'

If only I could.

"You're no god! You don't care about anything! Answer me!"

After a silence that lasted far too long, the girl collapsed on me again, her voice barely a whisper.

"H-have you abandoned me too?"

We stayed that way for some time, as the blood that covered her slowly flowed onto me and dried. Right as I thought she had finally fallen asleep, she spoke once again; her voice soft but with more strength than I had heard before.

"Never again. I don't care if I'm alone. I will change things."

And change they did. The next day, I was given a great feast by many people, but the girl was nowhere to be seen. I began to fear that I would never see her again, but then some sort of change passed over the land and the girl landed in front of me with a satisfied look on her face.

"It's done. I don't care what those idiots think. This is definitely the right thing."

The next day, the hunger returned. I was still fed a bit every day, but it was not enough. She still visited me very day but with complaints that grew alongside the hunger.

"I suppose I should have expected this."

"Don't they know I'm still protecting them?"

"Gaaaah, I guess I can make the rice last another few days."

Still, I always had enough to eat until the red came. It came and went without fanfare. The sky was simply red one day, the girl left, and the red vanished some time later. She returned a little after that, looking only a bit more tired than when she left. I served as a chair for a little while, and she left, happier than I had seen her even on the days I was fed better than usual.

Four days later, I still hadn't been fed. I knew that I could survive for some time without food, but the girl was faring much worse. As the long winter and night came and passed, I was sustained by a black-white girl who only fed me when my girl was gone. Indeed, my only steady companions for that time were the black-white with her food, my girl with her long-suffering complaints, and the hunger, always the hunger.

This barely sustainable status quo continued for some time, until the two days that I nearly died as everything around me collapsed. Suddenly, I was surrounded by people I had only seen a time or three before as they rebuilt my home. At that time, someone must have noticed my hunger, as I gained some new visitors in the maid and the rabbit. More surprising was the return of two who fed me before the red, the butcher now accompanied by three children and a wife instead of a baby, and the beggar, who never brought food, but always a flower.

Yet the arrival of new and the return of old saw the loss of what I had. The black-white never again stopped by on her late night visits with just enough food to survive. I don't know if she thought she wasn't needed anymore, or if her sources had run out, but the end result was no change in the hunger. With the hunger came grumblings at each of my girl's daily visits, but such is the way of things. In her voice, I heard none of the brokenness that was in our first meeting, just a subtle urgency and the worry that comes from having no guarantees for the future.

Today is different. My mind has grown since that night of blood all those years ago. I know what I am, a tsukumogami, and I am capable of understanding the irony of waking up in a shrine. I know that someday soon, I will have the power to assume human form and properly meet my girl for the first time. Today, I simply hear her complaints, as she uses the same words as always. But after hearing those words every day for years, I can hear a change. The edge of desperation is gone, replaced by a softer, almost amused tone. This matches my feelings toward our daily ritual. After all, the hunger has been lessening for the past few years.

AN: Welp. My first official piece of fanfiction is now available for the whole internet to see. This story was first published on THP, a Touhou fanfic site. I'm fully aware that this story has flaws and was told as much when I first posted it. I considered revising the story based on reviews I received there before posting it here but decided against it.

All reviews are appreciated.