It all happened overnight; snow covered the grounds around Yuko-san's shop and buried almost everything in massive mounds of white.
The temperature had also been altered. When it was seventy degrees in town, the much smaller lot was near freezing and the sudden chill had been grating on Kimihiro Watanuki's nerves. Just what was Yuko-san thinking? Snow before fall? It was unethical and he knew that there had to be some reason as to why she would alter time and space just to see snow, and when it clicked, he hated it even more.
"It's an early snow." Yuko-san said, grinning impishly from her couch in the living room.
The smoke was thick and turning their breathing air white. Another aspect of the setting that was pissing Watanuki off as well.
"Yuko-san!" He began, barely able to keep from shaking as he peeked in from the front porch, "Are you INSANE?" He exclaimed, clenching the broomstick so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"No, nothing wrong with an early snow." She answered, unfazed by Watanuki's outburst. His retorts were far too common nowadays and their conversations always ended the same way.
Watanuki growled, the wood splintering before he slammed the broom onto the hardwood floors, "Nothing wrong? Then why am I sweeping foot after foot of snow off the front porch? It's never-ending, and pointless." He added, quivering in anger.
Everything Yuko-san did lately racked his nerves and if he knew her well enough her answer would naturally moot his point, thus making him look like an idiot.
"Simple." She said, smoke escaping her lips and transfiguring into tiny dancing faeries, "The snow will keep building up, but if we're trapped here in the shop how on earth will we have Sukiyaki for dinner?" She consummated with a triumphant grin, waiting for his answer and laying back: red eyes tinged with a clouded boredom.
Watanuki shook for a few minutes before calming his nerves and sighing, "Very well, I'll go fetch the ingredients, after all, the porch is clean enough." He announced, sighing heavily in defeat and nearly fell back on his ass when Makona tackled him out of nowhere.
"Sake, don't forget the sake!" Makona reminded, dancing on the fallen Watanuki's chest and giggling.
"Alright, alright, I won't forget the Sake either, but for making me do something useless I'm halving your dosage Yuko-san." He threatened, grinning when her bottom lip started to tremble.
"You wouldn't!" She gasped, surprised that he would be so daring, but then again this wasn't the only time he had threatened to halve her alcohol intake for an evening, "So cruel… taking a woman's only means of salvation away from her." She pouted, sighing as she flopped back dramatically onto the couch.
"That won't work either!" He said, rolling his bi-colored eyes as he made a mental shopping list and turned to leave.
"Sake—"She demanded in a half-whine, reaching up to tap ashes into a hanging ashtray.
"HALVED!" He called out before storming off, Yuko-san's whines seeming to follow him even as he left the shop.
An hour later, Watanuki had finished collecting the main ingredients that he would need to make Sukiyaki and made sure he had everything before paying for the groceries and heading out of the store.
"Such a beautiful day." He said, breathing in the fresh warm air of the city. At least he could get warm by running errands, especially his hands which were still frozen from being exposed to under twenty-degree weather.
"Yuko-san and her crazy ideas. I swear I'll never understand that woman." He grumbled, making sure the grocery bags were secure in both hands before turning to head down the sidewalk.
The last thing on his list was Sake and after obtaining what Yuko-san saw as being the most precious item, he could head back to the shop and start making dinner.
So he thought…
He had began to pick up his pace when he paused near an empty, ramshackle home nestled in between two tall buildings. In general, it reminded him of Yuko-san's shop, but was in terrible shape.
The windows were cracked, and broken. Paint chips fluttered in the breeze like snow as they were torn away from the foundation by a kiss of wind.
In it's prime, it may have been a gorgeous home, but now death clawed at it's door; barely hanging on by a hinge, and creaking faintly as the wind pressed against it.
"Creepy." Watanuki muttered, covering his mouth so as not to inhale the scent of decay lingering in the atmosphere.
As terrible as it looked he had to move on, continuing on his way before catching a glimpse of a silhouetted figure out the corner of his eye.
Being that it was overshadowed by darkness, he could barely make out the gender of the person. Curious, he set the groceries down onto the slushy ground, grimacing before taking another step forward and pausing again at the flight of disheveled steps.
"Hello?" He greeted, blanching at the sight of uprooted hardwood stairs and the insects that made the darkened holes their home scurried about with each cautious step he made.
"Is anyone home?" He asked, setting foot into the foyer.
No answer.
He frowned at the lack of response as he took baby steps to the center of the room. Indeed, it was a creepy place, looking worse inside than it did out. The lighting was terrible, and illuminated only portions of the room to reveal old furniture covered by torn white sheets fluttering in the breeze, and a few paintings that were hung crookedly and covered with cobwebs.
"Guess not." He said, turning bi-colored eyes to the stairs and froze when jeweled eyes stared back.
"Hey!" He called out, curious now as whatever it was took off.
Perhaps it was the thing he had seen in the window and with that in mind, he gave chase. Booking it upstairs, he yelped in surprise when he nearly fell through a couple that were brittle before getting to his feet and resumed his chase again.
Whatever it was- it was fast, dashing back and forth like a caged animal as he followed it down the hallway.
"Wait!" He urged, then rounded a corner that appeared to be a dead end.
"Damn, where did it go?" He asked, furrowing his brow as he scanned the length of the hallway. There wasn't anywhere for the creature to hide and no means of escape save for a broken window.
Then again, things weren't always what they seemed was one motto he had learned to embrace during his time with Yuko-san.
So maybe the thing was there and he just couldn't see it.
"I know you're here." He said, drawing in a deep breath to calm his nerves, "You can't hide." He said, pausing when he heard the scraping of claws.
"Are you trapped somewhere?" He asked, approaching the wall and brushing a hand across it, testing it as he felt around for trap doors and knocked for hollow places.
He was paranoid now as the air thickened with spiritual presences that were making him uneasy.
Perhaps the thing had been a spirit all along. He thought, pausing when something cold and slimy threaded smoky fingers around his wrists.
"What? HEY!" He gasped, writhing as the wall melted into a thick, bluish-black goop swarming with spiritual energy.
"Shit." He cursed, panicking now as he tried to pull away. Fists pounding against the atrocious mass as it reached, groped, and tried viciously to pull him towards the wall.
"Let go DAMN YOU!" He demanded, grunting as he eventually wormed his way free and dashed towards the stairs, eyes widening as the mass extended: thrusting itself forward at full speed and made chase, blackening the hallway in its wake.
"Stay away!" He shouted, flailing, nearly falling flat on his face as his foot caught on a loose board and after regaining his footing took off again.
Determined still the mass expanded, clawed hands reaching out for him and intended to dive bomb him the moment Watanuki thought he was safe at the foot of the stairs.
"Persistent bastard aren't you?" He panted, having taken a small break to regain his breath, suddenly frozen: unbalanced as the mass rammed into his back at full speed.
The stairs crumbled under his feet from the pressure, unable to cry out as darkness enveloped him and all he could do was fall.
Not feeling anything at all as the whining howl of spirits followed him, unhappy at the dive its prey had taken.
Was he dead? He wasn't sure, but he could've sworn he heard voices, familiar voices that barely breached the darkness that had swallowed him up. Who was there? Wasn't he the only one who entered that decrepit home? If not, then who?
He groaned, cracking his eyes open faintly: two faces were hovering over him, very worried ones.
"Watanuki-kun?" A sweet, concerned voice questioned.
Watanuki didn't respond, falling further and further into the darkness, the last thing he could hear was,"Ambulance, get an ambulance!" Before passing out completely.