This first story touches on the relationship between Sariatu, or Kubo's Mother and her twin sisters.
To set you up for this first oneshot (and any other possible one shots involving the sisters in the future), me and a few friends of mine decided on some "Fan Names" for the sisters.
Shizu - Shizu is the one who uses the pipe to make the smoke, the one we headcanon as being the "older twin" if you understand what I mean by that.
Suzume - Suzume is the one who uses the chained weapon (that I am having a hard time trying to remember the name of) and the one we headcanon as the "younger twin". Though, for this oneshot, Suzume is using a sword. There's a whole headcanon backstory to this that I won't get into here but you can feel free to PM me and I'll explain it for you!
THIS ONESHOT IS ESPECIALLY SPOILERIFIC SO PLEASE AVOID READING THIS IF SPOILERS BOTHER YOU AND YOU WANT TO SEE THIS MOVIE!
"I've seen things... wonderful things... that go far beyond what this cold world could ever offer to me." Sariatu said, holding her sword out in defense against her two younger sisters.
"That 'wonderful' world holds nothing special, nothing but pain and suffering..." her one sister, Suzume, retorted. She was frustrated with Sariatu, how she let love blind her from the hell that lies below.
"Why would you want to live there? There is nothing there for any of us. Up here we have everything and more, why bother with it?" Sariatu's other sister, Shizu, asked, arms folded under her feathered cape.
Sariatu looked between her two sisters, anger evident on her face.
"You two are as blind as father..." She whispered.
"It is you who is blind, Sister." Suzume lashed out, charging quickly towards Sariatu, their swords clashing together. Shizu, too frustrated to even bother, decided to stay out of the fight. As far as she was concerned, Sariatu's betrayal was enough to concider her dead.
"I trusted you!" Suzume yelled and her and Sariatu fought, swords clashing roughly as each of them dodged and blocked the others attack.
"I looked up to you, you were my mentor and guide with everything I did..." She continued, pushing hard against her older sisters sword.
Sariatu grunted, looking at her sister, looking into the mask that hid her sisters real face, hid the real emotion that she felt.
"You were the best, you were the brightest light that we had..." Suzume whispered... Sariatu swore she could feel her sisters stance weakening, each blow her sister pit against her becoming more and more shaky.
"W-we always fought better together... as a family..." Suzume got quieter with each word. Sariatu stared at her sister, confused.
"We need you, Father needs you... I-I NEED YOU!" Suzume released her sword, letting it fall to the ground with a clank. Sariatu lowered her sword, keeping a somewhat guarded stance.
Suzume shook her head, pulling off her mask while she did it. She continued to stare down at the ground while Sariatu continued to stare at her with a confused but slightly concerned look.
"W-Why must you l-leave your family?" Suzume whispered quietly, slowly lifting her face to look towards Sariatu.
Sariatu stared in shock, looking upon the face of her younger sister. Her sisters rarely removed their masks, preferring to hide themselves behind them. For the first time in a long time, Sariatu came face to face with one of her sisters, face to face with the dark, nighttime blue eyes that the twins shared. But, the thing that surprised Sariatu the most was the build up of tears on her sisters eyelids. Her and her sisters were forbidden to express emotion, or any feelings towards others, so this level of emotion was almost foreign to Sariatu.
"U-up here, we can c-continue to be a f-family..." Suzume whispered, voice cracking from the tears she was holding back. Suzume stepped closer to Sariatu, and Sariatu's stance got more rigid.
"U-up here w-we could..." Suzume was cut short by Sariatu.
"There is NOTHING that I want up here!" Sariatu yelled, lunging forward with her sword out. Suzume was quick to dodge, rolling onto the ground and picking up her own sword with it.
"I am tired of this life, tired of the cold" Sariatu continued, her sword clashing against her Sisters.
"And I'm am tired. Of. Constantly. Killing. EVERYONE!" Each blow Sariatu gave pushed her sister harder and harder until her final blow. Suzume was slow with her block, and Sariatu's sword came down onto her waist, slicing straight through her leather armor and leaving a deep gash on her smooth, blueish-grey skin.
Suzume yelped out in pain, her hand coming down to press against the wound on her side. She fell to her knees in pain, trying to stop the blood that has already began to form around her fingers.
Sariatu stepped back in shock, but watched on. Shizu, who had been quietly watching her sisters fight, finally stepped in, pulling out her sword and swinging it in front of Suzume to block any possible attacks on Sariatu's end.
"You have done enough. First you betray your own family, now you hurt us." Shizu yelled out. Sariatu continued to look at Suzume, hunched over in pain. Sariatu swore she heard a sob escape her younger sisters lips.
"You want out so badly? Then GO! Leave this place! But be warned... this won't be the end..." Shizu growled, bringing her sword out in front of her in a fighting stance.
Sariatu continued to stare for a few moments, looking at her sisters. Shizu was still as a statue, allowing for her seriousness to be visible even without having to get a look at her face. Suzume has since raised her head, and Sariatu could see a few light tear tracks glowing on her cheeks from the light of the moon.
With one final glance, Sariatu ran. She ran as fast as she could, leaving behind the last thing from her old life. Despite what she may show, she really did care about her sisters. She didn't want to leave them behind, she wanted them to come with her, to find a new life... But... Sometimes... people won't change... and there's nothing that can be done about that...