"(Name)-chan is so down the dumps, huh?" Chiyo said as she reached for the basket of fruits that Yana was handing over to her. Chiyo was inside the caravan, lining up the basket of fruits inside while Yana was the one getting them from the storage house. (Name) was busy piling together wrappers for when they need to package the fruits and give them to buyers. She had some sadness sprits floating around her.
Yana hummed, "Obviously. If you were the one in love with Tsugikuni-san and he doesn't tell you about himself when you thought you know him just by his cover, of course you'd be devastated." She said, taking pity for the girl.
"Are you girls done?" (Name)'s father walked out the house, carrying a bag of necessities and some logs. Yana and Chiyo nodded while (Name) stood up and went to place the things she prepared inside the caravan.
(Name)'s mother who walked out with her husband smiled, "(Name), please don't let your feelings dampen the mood." She said, earning the girl's attention.
"Yes...sorry." She said softly. The father chuckled and rode on to the front where there were two horses strapped to the carriage. Yana nad Chiyo climbed up and pulled (Name) into the back with them. Their mother waved a hand, bidding them good luck on their sales and journey.
"Come back safely." She said.
"We will!" (Name) gave her mother a small smile and they all waved back. (Name)'s father urged the horses to go and they neighed loudly before clopping their hooves to the ground and moving.
The sales were greater while travelling compared to when they're just walking to neighboring town. In their caravan sale, lots of people, travelers, farmers, and normal people would come gather and buy their fruits. Fruits were nearly a luxury especially if they were big and healthy. Throughout the travel, (Name) would forget about Yoriichi and let happiness of seeing people smile as she handed over their products make her happy as well.
Chiyo and Yana gave each other a smile, noticing that the girl's mood was better than before they left. They continued on to their selling and Chiyo would switch wit h(Name)'s father to guide the horses.
When night time came, they stopped by the woods and set camp. The four of them gathered around a flame and ate their dinner, telling each other stories and their thoughts on the sale. After that, Chiyo and Yana were quickly asleep after cleaning up.
(Name) was still siting by the fire, staring at it and she got reminded by its warmth that this flame was similar to Yoriichi. Her father suddenly sat across her, giving her a smile.
"My child, are you thinking about the samurai again?" He asked. She looked at him guilty and nodded. He chuckled, "You're very transparent."
"What do you like about that man, anyway? I let you put down all other marriage offers from fellow farm owners but I never had the opportunity to ask you why you like that man." He asked, "What does he have that others do not?"
"...everything." She said, staring at the fire, "He has everything. Not everyone has everything."
Her father looked at her, waiting for her to explain.
"He has such warm and sad eyes, a beautiful smile, a wonderful body, a kind and strong personality, a patient outlook, and many more." She said then looked up to the sky, staring at the moon that stood out, "He is like the sun. He is like the moon. He is warm and he...is sad. All alone in the sky. Just as he is alone now...I wonder what he is up to."
"You're such a romantic," Her father said, she gave him a slight glare and he laughed, "(Name), he is your first love so cherish that feeling in your heart, alright?"
She nodded and he stood up patting her head, "Good night, father."
"Good night. Sleep early after daydreaming about your man, alright!"
Morning came and they had breakfast together before setting off back home through another path. They sold their fruits again until all the baskets were empty and they had so much coin to take home, they laughed at (Name)'s bulging eyes. She had never seen so much money before.
However, even with the hard work they put through it and all the money they earned, whenever they saw someone in need, they would give some of their money since that was all they could give them and all the fruits had been sold out.
The journey back home took longer because of the rough road they took and they had to consider the horses.
Soon nightfall came. In an hour more, they would arrive back to their hometown. Chiyo, Yana, and (Name) were at the front of the carriage, guiding the horses as they sang. (Name)'s father was at the back cleaning the insides of the baskets.
(Name) looked up to the starry sky and smiled. Isn't the sun a star too? She recalled one of her home studies then she felt the carriage stop. She turned to Chiyo who sat next to her, Yana on Chiyo's other side.
She looked at why they stopped and saw a man and a boy at the side of the road, the man had passed out and the boy was shaking him awake . (Name) blinked.
"(Lastname)-san! There's some guys here!" Chiyo called to the back. Yana got down to help the two. (Name)'s father peered his head out, "A boy and his father."
"I'll go check what's wrong. They might be beggars that need help." Yana said, calmly. Chiyo hummed in agreement.
"They shouldn't be walking out at night," (Name)'s father said then noticed that his daughter hadn't been saying anything the whole time. He blinked and looked at her fear stridden face, her face paler than usual and her body trembled, "Daughter...are you okay?"
(Name) yelled to herself internally. That isn't a boy shaking his father awake, it was a demon eating out a man! How could see know through this dark? She couldn't, she just knows because she had been in a similar situation and there was light smell in the air. It was blood.
She tried to speak, her words stuck in her throat in fear. She watched Yana come close and her body trembled so bad for what's to come next.
"AaaaaGGGHHH!!" Before Yana could even speak, she was quickly cut across her face. Chiyo and (Name)'s father's eyes widen when they heard her scream in the dark. Their only light source was the stars in the sky and the lantern inside the caravan.
"What the hell!" (Name)'s father yelled, grabbing a rake from inside the carriage and jumping out, "Yana! Yana! Are you alright!"
"(Name)-chan, please head to the back." Chiyo was keeping her composure as she forced the girl to stand up and go with her to the back. (Name) was shaking to the core. Her jaw was locked tightly but they all knew what they came across. Tears came ut of her eyes, Chiyo sweat nervously.
(Name)'s father held the rake in his hand tightly then he his something with his foot, something rolled in front of him. He looked down and despite the darkness, he could see Yana's head.
Her body wasn't attached to it. just her head and her face had lines of claw marks so deep, blood oozed out of them. Yana's face was permanently stuck to a terrified look, her mouth open as if she was still screaming and her eyes were rolled to the back of her head.
"I'm so luck, so lucky, so lucky, so lucky, so lucky." He looked up and saw a silhouette of the boy that now grew before him. The smell of blood was thick and he couldn't help but throw up on the side. (Name)'s father shook in fear but he blindly waved his rake around, an attempt to scare the demon off, "That won't do..."
In a split second, he was on the ground, no longer able to feel the rake in his hands because he no longer had his arms. Blood came out from the cut limbs and he screamed in pain. Chiyo and (Name) who were in the carriage, hugged each other tightly and cried so softly.
(Name) cried as she heard her father cry in pai nand agony, there was the sound of bones crunching and a loud pop before the sound of her father's cries were gone. She knows he's dead now. Bile threatened to rise from her mouth but she clamped her mouth shut with her hand.
"Don't worry...the light will protect us, your charm will protect us." Chiyo reassured her, holding her tight. (Name) looked down on the charm around her neck. The wisteria bag.
"Who..said...it will?" The demon shook the carriage and they looked around, frantically looking fro the demon but it wouldn't show itself. The lantern in the caravan fell to the floor and the baskets near it set up in flames.
Chiyo gasped and grabbed (Name) then they jumped out the carriage and ran to the opposite path with their lives on the line. Chiyo ran ahead, dragging (Name) with her who hwas difficulty catching up.
"(Name)....! (Name)...! Please run faster! I know it's hard...! But please!!" Chiyo begged, looking back at the younger girl with tears on her eyes. (Name)'s heart started to palpitate and her lungs couldn't handle the task of running so fast. Her legs were wobbling and she fell to her knees, dragging Chiyo who got up, "(Name)...! Get up!!"
(Name) panted do hard, she was sucking in air and sweat already layered her entire body. She felt like her head was spinning. At that moment, she cursed herself, why was she so damn weak?
"C-Ch-Chiyo-san, please go...! Save yourself...!" (Name) managed to stammer out and she didn't see the look of hesitancy and disbelief that Chiyo gave her. (Name) just felt her hold tighten then she was scooped up to the woman's arms. They could hear the horses crying out and struggling.
She started running with (Name) in her arms but she was heavy even though she was thin and frail, "Are you stupid...?! I would never do that! I owe your family my li--"
(Name) screamed when she heard the sound of skin tearing. Chiyo fell and so did (Name) who was gaping in fear as she stared at the hideous demon that was stepping over Chiyo.
"(Name)...run...please run...!" Chiyo was unmoving, her eyes losing it's shine but she still manage to choke out those words through blood. She received deep cuts on her back. (Name) wailed.
"That was so... touching." The demon said, licking it's hands. There was warm blood on (Name)'s face then she hurriedly gathered herself and ran, the demon did not chase her and she though the wisteria charm worked but when she looked down to look at it and pray, it had turned smaller.
"N-No-no!" She grabbed the charm into her hands while running, the bottom had a hoel and the wisteria in it was spilling on to her hands. The demon lunged, kicking her on the back and she fell on the ground, the wisteria falling.
"Such small amount of wisteria don't scare me you know." The demon said, "It's not even pure wisteria. some are just seeds.."
(Name) screamed when the demon slowly buried it's finger into her shoulder, it bleed out profusely and her sweet blood enticed the demon. Her head was spinning, she couldn't think of anything except for death but the demon was making her suffer.
"AAAAAAGGH!" She cried out, her eyes rolling, tears spilling as the demon laughed loudly at her torment. She grabbed the demon's arm but couldn't budge. The demon pulled out it's finger and stabbed her on the other shoulder. She screamed again and kicked her legs but they had no strength in them.
She caught sight of the moon, it looked like a blur of white in the sky, "Yo...rii...chi..." The demon removed it's finger and held her left ear then in one swift movement, the demon plucked her ear off. (Name) screeched, her hand holding onto her left side of the head. The demon ate her ear.
"No one will help you out here, you know." The demon frowned at her, watching her blood from her ear pool underneath her head. (Name) stopped struggling but just cried. Her body felt so weak and tired.
The demon grabbed her left arm then pulled. (Name) could feel her joints cracking and popping and she screamed so loudly, it echoed into the night.
Before the demon could pop her arm out, it's head fell to the ground and he was unable to react to it. The demon fell to the side and quietly crumbled to dust in shock.
(Name) knew who came to her side and lifted her to sit, she still held on to where her left ear was supposed to be. She looked at Yoriichi with tears in her eyes. He looked at he with the same warm and sad eyes. She forced a smile upon her face and she felt him squeeze her shoulder a bit. She could feel no pain at all.
"Tsugikuni-san...did you come to save me...?" Her voice was very soft, her hand on the side of her head fell but he caught it but she weakly and shakily lifted that hand to reach his face and feel the ominous mark on his forehead, "...I think I realized just now..."
At her near death, it occurred to her some thoughts she had shoved deep into her mind because they were too hard for her to handle. At that realization, she trembled and smiled at Yoriichi. She stroked his face, forgetting that the blood in her hands were staining his cheeks.
"...You aren't like the moon at all...you aren't the blue moon...that I look at all night. You aren't...the blue moon...that comes and goes...once a month....yo must be greater than that...right?" She let out a chortle but she coughed out blood, "I'm so stupid...for not realizing it sooner...you're just the sun..you're just the sun...which is greater than the moon...you're still there even when night takes over..."
Yoriichi gave her a sorrowful look and watched her smile at him despite her suffering.
"And I'm...just one of those people...who bask under your light..." She said, the light in her eyes flickering, tears ran down her cheeks softly, "I...just a stranger...who will not be...able to move the sun...but just witness it...I'm not the one to...move your legacy...I'm just a passer by..."
The light in her eyes went out like a flame and her hand on his cheek fell and he caught her hand. He softly spoke, "(Name)-san...thank you."
She smiled, her eyes half way closing. There was no hope for her to be saved from the start, "...you're...not...a man...of no..worth...remember that."
Then she closed her eyes.
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