The medicine seller awoke to the strangest noise. It was still dark and the bells ringing in the nearby temple marked it as 4am. He fumbled for the lantern set on the table next to the futons, finding a match in the dark and lighting it.

Kayo stirred, burying herself further underneath the blankets. "Is it morning already?" She peered out, bleary-eyed as she squinted at the lantern light. "Are you eating snacks?"

"I am not." Picking up the lantern, he held it out in the room as he summoned ofuda in his other hand. The strange sound was definitely nearby, and it did sound like someone eating snacks. No one else was in the room but the two of them and their medicine chests, but something was definitely making the sound.

He felt Kayo grab the back of his kimono as he lifted the lantern. He stared up at the top of the wall, waiting, listening. The scratching and chewing sound continued until a hole began to form at the top and a small golden brown creature emerged. It wiggled its way out, clinging to the wall and chewing at the wall to exit. "Miss Kayo. It's a caterpillar."

Kayo peered around his shoulder, following his finger to the wall. She squinted at the creature as it attempted to chew itself out of the room. "That's bizarre."

"It is," he agreed, wedging his kimono free of Kayo's grasp. "Let's investigate."

Kayo didn't question following him. It was best to stay with him instead of trying to sleep surrounded by wood-eating caterpillars.

He held up the lantern, finding more of the caterpillars in the hallways. They were creating more and more holes in strange patterns that felt less and less irregular the longer he looked at them. Bugs weren't that particular. They ate whatever they could. But everything about this felt off, ever since he first stared up at the holes in the wall.

The biggest concentration of them was in the kitchen, just down the hall. Sliding open the door, the crunching sound became deafening against the quiet of night. Dozens and dozens of caterpillars were chewing through the walls. Even if there had been a nest chased indoors by the storm, this amount was just well beyond ridiculous. This was an infestation. That bucket of orange water wouldn't be enough if they were ordinary caterpillars.

A cracking noise grated at his ears followed by the sound of scraping pottery. The shelf cracked and collapsed under the lack of a wall behind it. The medicine seller outstretched his hand, stopping the dishes from crashing into the ground.

Kayo felt her heart skip a beat. Dishes were important in noble households and breaking them could result in high fees or even death. She wanted to live through the night and not be eternally indebted to an inn. She had enough of working for nobles and inns. Carefully, she plucked the bowls from the air and stacked them in her arms.

"What was all that noise?" Kura stumbled into the kitchen half awake.

"Almost a disaster," Kayo replied, setting the bowls on the counter.

The medicine seller held the lantern up near the wall. The shelf was dangling from the wall, partially chewed up with holes along the edges.

"Oh no," Kura stared. "This is worse than before. I… I need to save the bowls and cups! I can't let them break!"

"I'll help!" Kayo quickly scurried off to gather everything off the shelves.

The medicine seller continued to observe the caterpillars' destruction. These holes were definitely not random. Carefully he wedged the remains of the shelf off the wall.

"What are you doing?" Kayo hissed at him.

He turned, placing a finger on his lips. It was too early for shouting. Turning back to the wall, he held the lantern up as he stepped back. That was definitely a kanji written in holes. "'Five'."

"Five?" Kura questioned.

The medicine seller pointed at the wall, the holes writing out the kanji for five: 五.

Kura and Kayo stared at the writing on the wall.

"That really does say five," Kayo agreed. "Bugs don't usually write kanji."

"They do not." The medicine seller surveyed the room now that the dishes had been removed from the shelves. The caterpillars continued to chew on the walls, creating holes that were definitely not random. He pointed to the right of the five. "'Four.'"

Moving to the right, Kayo pulled some trays off the counter. "'Three.'"

Kura peered at the next wall past the corner where there were fewer holes. "'Two' and 'one.'"

The medicine seller looked over the numbers as the door to the kitchen slid open.

"What is going on at this hour?" Heya demanded. She spotted the massive number of caterpillars on the walls, shrieking and leaping backwards into the man behind her.

"It seems your caterpillar problem has learned to write kanji," the medicine seller replied. A slight smirk crossed his lips or perhaps that was the makeup.

Heya frowned in confusion, following the medicine seller's finger. She dragged the man with her into the kitchen to get a better look from where the rest of them stood. Just past the wiggling golden brown creatures was definitely the kanji for five.

The medicine seller glanced over his shoulder as Kura stepped behind him and away from the man with Heya. Looking back to the walls, he pointed at each number. "One, two, three, four, and five." pointed to the opposite side of the kitchen door. "Six, seven, eight, nine." He returned his hand to his side. "I do wonder what it might be counting."

"This is ridiculous!" the man exclaimed. He turned, jabbing a finger at the medicine seller. "Pests do not write kanji, and apparently pest merchants can't get rid of these pests either!"

"Oh I can get rid of them," the merchant seller peered at him calmly. "Though the originally proposed method will not work."

Kayo puffed up behind the medicine seller. Whoever this man was, he was really irritating her. He was talking down to them, but the medicine seller didn't seem fazed by it one bit.

"Let's not be so hasty, Ieshige," Heya pulled on his sleeve.

Ieshige pried his sleeve from her grip, huffing derisively. "They want nothing more than to get a free room but they should be charged double for staying at a place like this!" He turned sharply, heading for the door. "I'm going back to bed." He stopped several steps away as he felt a thousand eyes suddenly upon him.

The caterpillars stopped chewing on the wood, standing on their hind legs and curving their bodies to stare at him.

The medicine seller slipped the taima sword from his sleeve, gripping ofuda in the other. But before he had a chance to fling the spell papers, the caterpillars all rushed forward as if yanked by thread out into the hallway. The noise was deafening as the caterpillars congregated into a brown and gold mass that filled the entire doorway.

"One

Two….

...three

Four….

…..

….. SIX

...seven…..

Eight….

NINE?!"

The numbers echoed down the hallway in a booming voice that threatened to rattle all the bowls off the counter. Kura leapt at the closest ones, grasping them in her arms to protect them.

The golden mass in the hallway slid down the hallway as the room began to tip just slightly. Kura grasped at the dishes, attempting to catch them all. The medicine seller quickly turned, plastering the remaining dishes with ofuda to hold them in place. He turned back to the door as a massive face with two piercing brown eyes and a haunting jagged smile.

"Why are there only nine?!"

The voice shook the room as it began to tilt some more. The medicine seller leapt forward, slamming the door shut with the brush of his hand and plastering it with ofuda. He plastered the walls over the numbered holes and broken shelving. The ofuda flared up a bright red before finally quieting down.

"W-w-w-w-what was that thing?!" Heya stammered, crumpled up on the floor and leaning against the counter.

"Your caterpillar problem isn't ordinary," the medicine seller replied. "It is the work of a mononoke."

Kayo clung to the tilted cabinet. "Why can't it just be normal caterpillars for once?!"