Out of Tune Melody

*-*-*-*-*

"Kaa-san! Kaa-san! I'd like you to come over here! Come on, I'm gonna show you something!" I hollered from my place beside the stream of fresh water, misshapen rice balls, dango, and manjū placed gingerly on a blanket beside me.

All prepared by yours truly.

"Oh I can't wait to see it then!" She said excitedly but once she saw the picnic setup her honey colored eyes started watering and I almost panicked that she didn't liked it.

The confirmation of her joy that I got was none other than Kaa-san's signature move 'Death Hug', a move that can render her opponent immobile and can send them to heaven by either happiness or suffocation, she can only execute this move when she's thoroughly happy or emotional. The happier she is, the deadlier the attack, it's a super effective attack!

(So effective that I might actually die.)

I hurriedly tapped my hands to her shoulders repeatedly, to let her know that I'm only a few seconds to the netherworld if she doesn't let go. Once she noticed the situation another latent ability was activated.

'Puppy Waterfall Eyes' an ability that can render the victim unable to move and be hit right in the feels, also retaliation would be futile at this rate because you would feel too guilty to hit her. Guilt does do wonders on everybody's conscience, and every single person that Kaa-san uses this ability on would be left feeling dirty and incomplete.

Can Kaa-san be any cuter? I could only take so much of it.

Coughing slightly and adjusting my throat, I tried reassuring her with a smile and a dismissal wave of my hand. "It's okay Kaa-san." It's not so surprising that I'm getting used to this right?

It's only a matter of time that I do though, with how Kaa-san uses her attacks blindly at any given 'cute' moment I have.

(Is Kaa-san and Daiki-ojiichan blind or something? Because clearly, I'm not cute at all, my eyebrows and unflattering hairstyle begs to differ.)

Kaa-san daintily dabbed her cheeks with her handkerchief, "Did you prepare this all for Kaa-san?" In reply, I bobbed my head enthusiastically and procured a beaming smile that left my eyes closed in tiny crescents. "Of course I did, because it's Kaa-san's birthday!"

For some reason it only made the young woman cry harder. "M-my little Songbird is so sweet! How c-could a woman like me be so blessed with such an adorable child?!"

I looked down at my hands and closed my eyes, tears gathering in them. I should be the one asking that question my adorable Mother. I wiped the tears with one swipe of my forearm, a blush spreading in my cheeks. But even so, I thank Kami-sama for this wonderful woman.

"Oh Kaa-san?" I said, sniffling slightly. I can't afford to be sneezing right now when I'm not than yet.

Breaking out of her mutterings, the dark haired woman gave me her utmost attention. "Yes, my sweet absolutely adorable cutesy awesome cool beautiful child." Then she smiled that smile that could turn any mortal man into putty, her golden eyes sparkling from the leftover tears.

My blush intensified up to my ears and I felt myself overheating just a tad too much. To be praised by such a sweet absolutely adorable cutesy awesome cool beautiful woman herself...

I am lost for words.

But I still need to do something to make her special day all the more special other than the food I've cooked myself. Something just for her that no one can take.

I inhaled deeply through my nose, fighting down my blush and nervousness with the expertise of an awkward teenager during her debut recital.

"I made a song just for you Kaa-san." Well, I didn't exactly made it per say, just translated it if anything. But since no one has written it, I take full responsibility in being its lyricist and composer and living my life with the reminder of a grave sin I made. If it's for Kaa-san I'll take being a full fledge plagiarizer anytime just to see her smile and make her feel special in anyway I can.

With a gasp and a blush, Kaa-san covered her mouth with a dainty hand, seemingly touched with the notion of her own song.

It's a good thing even though that I was reborn I could still carry a tune and do it well like I used to. Though this one is a bit different, high pitched and obviously young, but that could still change in time. I'm hoping that I could still have my neutral but husky voice, it's versatile and could go from high to low range, even though my specialty was with instruments, specially the piano. God knows, I missed the slender ivory keys and letting my fingers fly across the keyboard, producing elegant notes that was definite bliss for my ears. But anyways, enough wishing for something I couldn't have, here it goes.

"You gave me wings and made me fly

You touched my hand, I could touch the sky

I lost my faith, you gave it back to me~"

After all she's the sole reason why I managed to move on.

"You said no star was out of reach

You stood by me and I stood tall

I had your love, I had it all

I'm grateful for each day you gave me

Maybe I don't know that much

But I know this much is true

I was blessed because I was loved by you"

Seriously, I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful woman love me like this. I know that there's a lot of great mothers out there, but not only having one but two of them to treasure me like this make me feel like I'm floating in clouds and warm all over.

"You were my strength when I was weak

You were my voice when I couldn't speak

You were my eyes when I couldn't see

You saw the best there was in me

Lifted me up when I couldn't reach

You gave me faith 'cause you believed

I'm everything I am

Because you loved me"

The woman watched me as I took out crumpled wild flowers from my kimono sleeves, giving her a warm smile as I did so. Her beautiful amber eyes sparkled with unshed tears as I gave the flowers that I picked for her. Kaa-san held onto it carefully, keeping it close to her chest.

"You were always there for me

The tender wind that carried me

A light in the dark shining your love into my life

You've been my inspiration

Through the lies you were the truth

My world is a better place because of you"

I moved closer towards her, reaching out both of my hands and placing it on both of her tear stained cheeks, wiping away eye water along with it. My eyes were starting to water too, making my voice shaky.

"You were my strength when I was weak

You were my voice when I couldn't speak

You were my eyes when I couldn't see

You saw the best there was in me

Lifted me up when I couldn't reach

You gave me faith 'cause you believed

I'm everything I am

Because you loved me~"

Finishing the song, I gave her a beaming smile then proceeded to hugging her tightly that she didn't fail not to return. "I love you Kaa-san." I muffled through her hair and the arms around my torso tightened comfortably, the warmth it produced is different from what I'm feeling right now.

With a wet kiss on my forehead, the young mother spoke the words that left her lips ever since I was able to hear, from gentle lullabies and warm covers.

"I love you too, my dear Songbird. "

*-*-*-*-*

"Awwww.... That was so sweet I thought I was gonna get a toothache from all the sweetness." The bear like man said teasingly, making me scowl in annoyance.

"And what's it to you Old Man? "

"Oi! I'll have you know that I'm in my 30's and that's pretty young if I say so myself."

I gave him a disbelieving look. "Are you sure about that? I could've sworn that your hairline is receding and the gray hairs starting to grow right here." I pointed at the top of my skull where it was hidden by my bandanna turned beanie.

Of course what I'm spouting right now is nonsense but you get the point.

His meaty hands suddenly reached up to his curly hair "Wait, are you serious?" The look of worry flitted across his caramel eyes, a frown starting to form on his lips.

I watched him as he 'inspected' the pieces of hair he could actually see while gently massaging the part where the hairline has 'receded'.

Oh my God, don't you fuckin' dare laugh Senritsu... just think of the times where you were sad and depressed. I bit the side of my mouth to keep myself from laughing, the subtle look of panic on his grizzly face was hella funny.

Don't laugh or you'll die. It's rude to laugh at someone's face.

...

...

"Hey! You're just making fun of me aren't you?!"

...

"Ahahahahaha... Your face pfft— Ahahahahaha! You look like your— ahahaha... Oh my God, your about to cr— ahahahahaha!"

"Stop laughing!"

BAM!

"Ouch! H-hey put me down!—"

"It's your favorite game Sen, Upsy Daisy!"

"Wait— STOP! NOOO! DON'T!"

"Ahahahaha! Up you go."

"Waitwaitwaitwait! I'm going to die! Putmedow—KYAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"

...

Like I said, if I laughed, I'd die.

*-*-*-*-*

There was the sound of little feet on dirt and children's laughter roaring into my ears.

It was familiar in its own way. Familiar at the fact that I've heard it all over my school life.

("Look at her left hand." "Haha, she only has three fingers on her left hand!" "Her eyes were also squinty, can she even see through those?" "I heard she plays piano." "Psh. No way, can you imagine her doing that with her left hand?" "The teachers are just probably pitying her by letting her play in the club." "Squinty Hibiki! Squinty Hibiki!")

"Senritsu! Senritsu! Shivering Senritsu!"

Goddamnit I'm better than this! Don't cry Senritsu, your eighteen for crying out loud! An adult and not a kid anymore, these kids don't know what they're talking about.

My eyes betrayed me when they started watering again. I'm such a wuss, even though I'm supposed to be an adult now, I'm still a big wuss. What's their problem anyway? They look more terrible than me if anything.

My lower lip started wobbling in place and I bit down on them to keep myself from making a noise.

A finger jabbed right to my forehead "Look, look, she's starting to cry again. Senritsu can't really do anything but cry, really useless. What a crybaby!" With that said, the older kid kicked my right knee making me fall, dirtying my pale yellow furisode.

Keep it together girl, keep it together. It's not like it hurts or anything.

A pig nosed kid, that I didn't bother to remember the name of, kicked me on the side making me gasp. Really though, children can really be cruel sometimes and this is one of the many examples of that.

Endure Sen, endure it. Soon they'll lose interest and go away themselves, just don't give away anything.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't you guys think she looks horrible too?" The brat who I think was the leader of their little band of future hoodlums said, a sneer on his dirty double-chinned face.

If anything, you're the one who looks horrible Chin-kun. Honestly, you're one of the most uncute kid I've ever seen in my life.

The others chorused their agreement for the matter, each one rowdy and ear grating. And goddamn, they all sounded like squeaky hyperactive Chihuahuas on crack. Annoying, aggravating and it makes me want to hit them for it. I don't even know why they're doing this and I don't think that this is just about my looks nor my crybabiness.

Chinny-kun kicked me on my side again when I tried to move from my position, making me curl pitifully on the ground, trying to make my three-year-old body even smaller. Thankfully, his kick was not as hard as Piggy-chan, but I'll end up getting a bruise after this.

"Here that Senritsu, so don't you try befriending Mimi-chan, because she might catch your ugliness." He said, spit flying to my face.

So that's how it started huh. I glared at him through my lashes. I just talked to that little bitch of a girl and you all go hunting and kicking my ass?! That encounter was not even a full conversation! And as if she's not catching enough ugliness from you Takachin.

"As if she's not catching enough ugliness from you Takachin."

Oh God! Did I say that out loud?! I swear to the Music Gods that I didn't say that so please don't hit me—

"What did you say?!"

Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God.

Wait, is Takachin hard of hearing or something?

"So is Takachin hard of hearing or something?"

I swear to the Sound God that it's not me it's not even my voice so please don— wait, it's not my voice so someone else was...

I lifted my head just a little to get a glimpse of the brave backtalker who could read minds. It was a boy in blue, who's probably at same age range as Takachin and co. But unlike Takachin and friends who looks like they could be underage bandits, this boy looks like he's someone who could be from a well off family and that he seems familiar somehow.

Like I've seen his face before.

There was a small frown on his lips, not that it made him any less threatening than a small kitten because of the baby fat still present on his cheeks. His complexion was pale, a great contrast with his black spiky locks that was held on a little pony tail. But the most outstanding of his features were his sharp blue eyes, eyes that looked like the depths of the ocean itself, a vivid shade of blue that could be compared to a sapphire stone. His eyes brought a sense of familiarity to me, like I've seen it before from somebody else's face. And if I listen closely, I could hear the sound of rushing waves from him, a small ripple coming from still water.

The sound of his heart, his relative bone structure and eyes have my brain screaming at me that I've heard and seen it before. Like I've seen and heard it on someone else.

He was a bit angry but still relatively calm, if only I could be as chill as this kid.

"What are you even doing here Giyuu?! You've got nothing to do with my business, bastard! And it's not Takachin, it's Takashi!"

Ahh... the kid's name is Giyuu, but I think I've heard of that name before.... hmmm...

"So your business now is making fun of little girls now? Wow, I thought you couldn't be any more lower than you were already."

"What does that even mean Bastard?! Talking like you know everything, stay away from Mimi-chan for me, I don't want you beating the same air as hers."

"Its 'breathing' not 'beating', that's just stupid."

The Takachin's face started to go red from both embarrassment and anger. "Well, your face is stupid." Nice retort, very original. 10/10 would call you a smooth brain again. "Stay away from Mimi-chan and we wouldn't have any problems." He smirked and deliberately pulled my hat.

"Hey!"

The Giyuu kid's eyes narrowed further, a crease forming on his brow. "Give that back to her."

Mockingly, the little asshole started spinning my most prized possession in the air and with his ear grating voice he taunted, "And what are you gonna do about it?" As if on cue of clichéness, the three other kids started cracking their knuckles, 'menacing' grins on their smug faces.

Giyuu took a stance, though I can hear a level of unsureness from him on taking everyone on. Not that I would let these little brats beat up my savior.

I just have to be sneaky about it.

The trash talking started once again and if I wasn't trying to be as unnoticeable as possible, I would have clapped for Giyuu's Grade A trash talking skills, and goodness, he even performed it all with a bored deadpanned face that didn't cease to rile up Takachin and friends. This kid is the master of the legendary 'no-fucks-given' face, totally someone I aspire to be someday.

When Takachin started moving for a punch, I quickly darted to snatch the beanie from his loose clutch, grabbed Giyuu's hand and started hauling our asses away from kiddy goons.

Of course, they started chasing us when their little brains started working, the head start we have was something I'm fully taking advantage of seeing that I have really short legs compared to all of them. It's a good thing that I have a great balance for a three year old or else I might've fallen face first as soon as a take a sharp turn and for a moment I marveled at how fast I can run in this body despite being young – though compared to my past self this speed was nothing. Surprisingly, Giyuu was being cooperative and didn't seemed to mind getting dragged by a little girl, though I suspect it was because he didn't expect that I would pull him and run.

Once we were in a fair distance with none of the fugly kids on sight and within my hearing range, we drew to a stop near a dango shop, both of us gasping for breath, me more so than him.

(Speaking of running, because I was a certified coward, I was also a certified fast runner, an athlete in the past life in terms of running away and I couldn't help but curse my tiny body for being so weak.)

I am so going to achieve my running skills from back then and incorporate it on this life, I'll make it my goal to surpass Joseph Joestar in the art of running away, God knows if I'll need it at some point.

"Ahmm... are you alright?" The boy suddenly spoke, making me jump out of my skin with an 'eek!'.

Jesus, I should really stay out of my head sometimes.

"Ah! I'm s-sorry for surprising you, are you... okay?" He said awkwardly but apologetically. His hands raised but really unsure on what to do with them.

After making sure that my heart was still in the right place, I nodded. "Y-yeah and it's not your fault that you startled me! I'm just easy to scare is all." I explained with a tired little smile.

He stared at me and blinked twice, a look of understanding in his bright blue eyes. "You really do speak well like the others said." I blushed at the not really complement. Then his eyes suddenly turned darker making me slightly nervous. "Don't mind what they said as you've seen, they're just idiots who have nothing better to do."

He took a step closer towards me and I met his clear blue eyes, the sound of gentle waves caressing the shore echoed through my ears, there was concern present in their depths and I answered before he could ask his earlier question again.

"I-I'm alright. It doesn't hurt that much plus I'm used to— Ow!" I hissed in pain when he suddenly poked the place where Takachin and Piggy-chan kicked me earlier.

"You're clearly not okay." The boy said, unimpressed with my crumpled form and this time, he was the one to grab my hand.

"Ah-ah... Nii-san, please let go."

"No, I'm not letting you go until you're treated and please, call me Giyuu."

I tugged at my hand but his larger hand just clumped tighter, giving me an unimpressed look while I tried to smile that I'm sure that came out as a grimace.

"I-I'm Senritsu. And where are you taking me Giyuu-san?"

"To my house, I'm going to ask Nee-san to tend to your injuries."

"But I..."

"You're coming with me, whether you like it or not. It's stupid to let you go to your house alone, what if the idiots see you again."

Well, he has a point. "Thank you..."

He never bothered to reply, continuing to look ahead and I thought that was the end of that.

"How old are you?" He said, when we were turning on a corner, still no bullies in sight or sound.

I was slightly confused by the sudden question but I still answered immediately. After all he's just a kid just like me, he's just probably curious since I'm really small but if it were an adult who just asked that suddenly I would probably screech like an old car trying to drift.

"I turned three two weeks ago." The gentle but firm grip on my smaller hands tightened slightly, the gentle waves becoming slightly turbulent.

"Those bastards, going after a toddler." He growled out, making me confused why he was angry, though the concept of bullying little toddlers do earn some ire.

But yes, I would be upset if I saw someone bullying a kid lest a toddler because that's just not right is it?

But why would he be concerned to someone like me? A complete stranger to him.

Being defended by others and getting angry for my behalf was a slightly foreign concept to me. No one had ever defended me when I was a kid so I thought someone who clearly doesn't have anything to do with it or had experienced it in the past would ever care to just some kid that was being made fun of.

The number who have done it could only be counted by my one hand and that includes Mama, Tatay Ricky, Granny, Kaa-san and Daiki-ojiichan. And those people I do understand why they did it for me, because they're my family.

"We're here." He said curtly as we stopped in a fairly large traditional Japanese house amongst the other rows of the middle class houses.

The front garden was plentiful of flowers of different kinds and varying colors, most of them red or blue. It's clear that they are well tended to, looking at the flower beds remind me of Mama's garden for a bit but Mama's garden was never this colorful, the flowers only being white. Giyuu led me to the front, removing his sandals as he did so and I followed suit. He slid open the door and beckoned me to enter with him.

"Nee-san! I'm home! And can you help me with this?"

By 'this' he means me. Lovely.

"Welcome home Yuu-chan! And I'm coming just a sec." A very familiar voice answered from what I think is the kitchen, based on the clunking sound of bowls and kitchenware.

I extended my senses and the 'oh' of realization left as I braced myself for the oncoming assault.

And I know that it's an assault because she was… just as enthusiastic as Kaa-san.

Patted tabi clad feet came closer to the receiving room where we were both standing awkwardly. With me being tense and Giyuu being a bit nervous on my side.

"Yuu-chan, what can I— Oh my God it's Osen-chan!"

With that said, I was swept of my feet and was twirled around by a young woman wearing a red kimono.

Ouch, that kinda hurts.

Tomioka Tsutako-nee is a cheerful teen with bright but sharp – sharp in a way that she's very smart and not for how wide and welcoming they appear – blue eyes. She is often called a 'beauty' in our village and I couldn't agree more with that. She works at the same place as Kaa-san in a little tailoring shop where I first met her. Just like Daiki-ojiichan and Kaa-san, she thinks I'm adorable and such, and basing from what she always say tall tales about, she's also completely enamored by her little brother 'Yuu-chan' which I think is Giyuu.

Clear blue eyes peered down at me from between her arms, curiosity resounding with the languid waves of the sea. "Osen-chan, what exactly are you doing here?"

"Ahh..."

"She was being bullied by Takachin and his friends so I brought her here to treat her injuries."

There was stillness for a second but I could feel the pressure pressing down on me, behind me, I could hear Giyuu gulp in fear.

"What." Her dark blue eyes became darker like the deepest depths of the sea. "Did I hear that right, Senritsu?"

Oh crap!

I've never seen Tsutako-nee in a scary light before; I knew she was capable of it, but it was still anew sight for me. And what a scary sight it was.

The kinder they are, the scarier they are when they're angered, because you never know how they would react.

I rapidly bobbed my head in agreement but also in fear, it was a valid way to shake my brain into working order again. "Y-yes!" I squeaked out.

"I see." Then she gave a look to Giyuu that I couldn't quite decipher, letting me down carefully as she did so.

When she looked back at me, a kind smile formed in her pink lips.

"Osen-chan, let's get you treated ne?" The sea was still at the surface but the undercurrent remained turbulent, threatening to drown anyone who dared to soak in it. Tsutako-nee is still clearly angry.

"Un." I turned towards her younger brother who she often bragged about; my precious beanie still clutched in mine. "Thank you, Giyuu-san!" I told him with a sincere smile while I was dragged further inside their home.

But before he was completely out of my sight, I saw his lips lift up in a small answering smile and I couldn't help but agree to what his sister often talked about him.

"Yuu-chan doesn't smile much, but when he does, it's precious and should be protected. He doesn't do it often so it's a treasured sight."

...

"Thank you again Tsutako-nee and I'm sorry for being an inconvenience."

"Awww... aren't you the cutest thing, I wish I could have a cute little sister just like you." There was a tug in her kimono sleeve. "But of course, I wouldn't trade you for the world Yuu-chan! So, don't you pout and give me those puppy eyes."

"Your such an angel Tsutako-chan, thank you for taking care of my little Songbird."

"You don't have to thank me any further than that Suzu-chan. Besides, Osen-chan is a great kid and she wasn't a bother at all. Still, if you're really insistent give me the recipe of your infamous simmered salmon with daikon, Yuu-chan really loved yours and wouldn't stop complaining how my cooking does not compare."

The quiet and embarrassed "Nee-chan!" from Giyuu was a given, and his blush was one of the cutest things I've ever seen.

Kaa-san giggled making Giyuu's blush more widespread and reach his ears. "I'll keep that in mind then and thank you again." And with that, the siblings of sea and ocean started walking away and they both waved at us in goodbye, Tsutako-nee was more energetic compared to Giyuu.

"Bye bye Tsu-nee! Giyuu-san!" I waved back, until both of them disappeared from the distance.

"Come on Sen, let's prepare dinner and tell me what exactly happened to you." Kaa-san said kindly, but there's a stern look in her eyes.

"M'kay Kaa-san."

Since that day, Giyuu would come by some other day to play with me and I felt I wasn't so lonely anymore.

*-*-*-*-*

I gave the small needle my meanest glare for not doing what I want it to do.

"Kaa-san?"

"Yes?"

"Why can't I do it like you do?" I turned around to give her one of my pathetic look, unknowingly giving the puppy dog eyes that was lethal to any living human with a heart.

Kaa-san placed down her work and scooched over. "Hmm... let me see." I gave her what I was making so far and admittedly, it looked like a disfigured flower and a lion at the same time.

"Wow Sen, this is not a bad dog impression, though you could work a little on the ears." She pointed right where the 'petals' of the flower were particularly jumbled with runny stitches.

"But Kaa-san~ That's supposed to be a flower! A flower!" My lips started wobbling as I looked down on my hands riddled with tiny little pricks.

A hand ruffled my hair and I glanced up through my lashes. "Oh Songbird, you're still young. You'll be able to do it no time if you practice again and again. That's how Kaa-san did it so, so can you.

"You really think so?"

"Of course," she smiled that smile again, beautiful as always. "my little Sen is a smart and talented girl after all."

...

"I'll do my best!"

"And I'll be cheering you on."

*-*-*-*-*

I blinked at the sight before me. "Eh? Giyuu-san?"

"Nee-san wants me to play with you." Was the spiky haired boy's reply.

"... Okay?"

Silence.

"Soooo, what are we playing?"

He only blinked at me and I could practically feel the awkwardness coming from him, with the purity of a child that was forced to interact with someone he doesn't particularly like or dislike.

I mentally sighed, I guess I should be the 'adult' here to make it less awkward for us.

"Can you teach me how to climb trees?" I inquired, wait, maybe he doesn't know how to climb either. "I-If you want to but we could do other stuff if you don—"

"I could teach you." He cut me off before I could go on a tangent, the uneasiness gone now that he had something to base on to keep the socializing going.

Damn I feel your pain Giyuu-san.

"Thank you, Giyuu-san."

*-*-*-*-*

"You guys enjoying yourselves up there?" A gruff baritone greeted us from our perch on the tree. Surprisingly, I don't have any issues with the height and I was only a little nervous when I was climbing up. But I got over it because of the soothing sound the plant lives often give off, not to mention my new playmate's calm disposition kept me at ease.

A calm and still ocean indeed.

I waved back to him, a grin on my face. "Look at me Daiki-ojiichan! I made it all the way here without crying!"

"Well, isn't that a good thing, now why don't you both come down and I'll escort you both home, it's getting late."

He wasn't wrong though; the sun was already starting to go down from the sky and I can see the moon breaking through the other side.

"Come on Osen-chan, let's go down." At some point in time the boy started calling me 'Osen-chan' just like his sister and he became just 'Yuu' at some point.

Once we were on safe solid ground the bear of a man gave a look towards Yuu. "Dai-ojiichan this is Yuu, Yuu this is Dai-ojiichan."

Yuu politely bowed his head. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Now that's done, let's go home."

...

"Bye bye Yuu! Let's play again sometime!" I was rewarded with a small nod, a quirk on his lips and a small wave of his hand.

"Don't worry Osen-chan, I'll make sure he comes to play!"

*-*-*-*-*

For some reason I feel antsy, like something's bad is going to happen. My senses are going hyperdrive and it's driving me nuts. I tried to keep my breathing still and my body steady as I walked the usual path home.

I usually go home before the sun has gone down but today, Yuu and I played together (and it was so much fun) that we forgot the time, so I ended up going home late.

Why I insisted to go alone I have no idea, and how the hell I managed to convinced Yuu to do it is something I still can't believe I've done. Daiki-ojiichan was out of the question since I haven't seen the old man since yesterday, probably still on his hunting trip. Yuu was stubborn just like his sister, but he's always well-meaning even though he doesn't have much of a way with words.

Man, he is so not a poet.

The reason why he doesn't have much friends from his age group was his inability to speak with the right words. If anything, he's painfully honest which I find makes him even more purer.

Such a cute kid.

I glared at a shadow of a tree that seemed to move on its own, and I forced myself to hurry. The only other sign of life in the forest were the little animals hiding in their little holes. But from them, I could even detect a hint of anxiety as the lull of the breeze making me even more jittery.

I saw the dim light inside the place where I now call home, but other than that I can't see any signs to cause this wariness. I couldn't hear anything other than my own rapidly beating heart.

Wait.

(Where are the breezy tinkling wind chimes? That's unusual, Kaa-san should be home by now.)

Forgetting my fear, I ran towards the house. Hurriedly removing my sandals, I stumbled on a weird squishy branch along the way in my hurry. But I ignored it in lieu of saying I was home.

"Kaa-san!"

I felt even more uneasy when no one answered or greeted my call.

My little feet thumped loudly against the floorboards as I opened every single sliding door looking for the young woman.

But every time that I can't find her there, the sinking feeling in my stomach doubles.

The kitchen, she's not here either, but there are freshly made meat buns that means she's here in the house.

My breathe is coming off ragged, the pit in my stomach did not go away as I faced the last unopened door. It was our shared room, it was the only one that I haven't checked yet, but for some reason my arms felt like lead and I couldn't seem to move them. I couldn't hear anything from the other side except for the odd sound of running, dripping liquid and the sound of the wind rushing in like there was a big hole on the wall.

Maybe I should wait. She's probably not home. She probably left and looked for me since it was dark but still, it wouldn't hurt to check a little.

Slowly, I slid the door open to our room. "Kaa-san? Are you in..."

No.

NonononononononononoNONONONONONONONONO!!!!!!!

(Why is this happening to me?)

I thought to myself as I blankly stared at the bloodied body of the woman I came to love in just short notice. Her long straight black hair was splayed across the floor in a mess, with some stray chunks of it scattered on the wooden floorboards. Her usually pristine cream colored kimono was stained red and was strewn open with bits and pieces of viscera decorating it in the most gruesome way. She was missing an arm, and my mid reeled back at the strange soft branch that I tripped over on the entrance.

(This is a dream.)

I struggled to breathe through my nose with the heavy scent of iron in the air as I held back the bile that's making its way to my mouth. My eyes won't slam shut, my brain probably malfunctioning and only kept my eye lids wide open as if stuck them to my skin like super glue. I placed my small hands to my mouth in a snap, my eyes watery and blurry. I turned my head to the side of the room to not take in the sight in any longer, only to see one dull golden eyeball staring at me. Judging me.

(A nightmare.)

Minutely, I remembered how much I love her eyes, the eyes of a woman who loved her child with everything she has. The ones I see everytime I woke up in the morning, to greet me with delight and so much adoration. I felt something inside me shatter.

(Now I'm never gonna see it again. She's gone. She's dead. It's my fault. My fault. My fault. My fault. MY FAULT. MY FAULT!)

The bile came rushing back up and I was kneeling, wrenching, heaving all the contents of my stomach, the tears that was threatening to fall earlier was now sliding down each cheek.

There's something pounding in my head, like someone was bashing me to a grand piano multiple times, my ears were ringing with the sound of my pounding heart and everything was far too noisy to make sense of what's going on. Both of my hands were shaking, both covered in blood and vomit.

Why?

"K-Kaa-san... Kaa-san—" My voice came out meek and shaky as I struggled to stand. Once my jelly legs were more stable, I started walking closer to the prone body and at some point, I tripped and fell on the pool of blood that I then just decided to lay on.

I wanted to look away so bad but I can't get my eyes to leave the sight of the lively beautiful young woman that became a major part of this new world.

(She's dead. She was only twenty one.)

I reached out for the woman's pale delicate hand that was surprisingly closer than I thought. It was cold, the only thing warm was the sticky red liquid covering it. Her hands were always warm not cold, it's not right.

(Notrightnotrightnotrightnotrightnotrigh—)

(It was cold because she's dead. It was cold because she's not here anymore.)

Why?

The world seemed to be noisy and quiet at the same time, every sound jumbling up and then ending up as white noise in my head. I can hear everything and nothing.

(The delicate wind chimes are not there anymore, the string that attached it to the window had snapped, it lay in pieces on the floor unable to make a single sound.)

Ah.

It's my fault.

If I just... if I'd just let her come with me she wouldn't have been, she wouldn't have been—

There was a creek at the entryway and the sound of wet breathing, I could hear liquid dropping heavily on the floor and a heavy body sliding on the door frame. "Se-Sen, r-run. Don't stay it might—" a coughing fit drew the speaker to a halt, something squishy fell to the floor with a wet thud.

I turned my head slowly to the source and my eyes welled up with even more tears. Confusion, denial, anger, sadness and grief churned inside of me.

"...D-D-Daiki-ojiichan?"

My breath hitched when I felt his heavy body falling onto me.

"..shush, q-quiet. It might... h-hea—" He coughed out more blood. "Hear... you." One massive bloodied hand covered my mouth with the intention of keeping me away from making a sound.

I was confused beyond belief.

What's happening?! What's goin on?! What is it? Who did this? Who did this to them?!

Then I heard it.

A sound filled with discord, it's not human nor an animal. When I first came hear one of the most difficult challenges I had with adjusting was my ears. My ears that seemed to have been given an exponential upgrade. Everything was far too loud. The world seemed to had been filled with endless noise that kept on hammering its way to my head like a kid having a tantrum on a candy store. Every sound has a meaning and every creature in the living world had their own sound, each unique and easily their own.

But this.

The sound it makes make my ears ring, causing each hair on my body to rise without warning. It was confusing, the sound not quite human, incoherent, animalistic and too feral. It's completely out of tune, no melody, no harmony, no whatsoever. Just a mess of noise combined together to make this thing.

It was filled with discord, despair, anger and an overwhelming amount of hunger.

The crushing sound of a hundred feet thudded against the floorboards and I felt the hand on my mouth tighten. Slowly, the originator of the noise came closer to the room.

Every fiber of my being was screaming at me to run, to hide, but the heavy body of the older man held me down.

Through the curtain of my hair I saw it.

A thing that could've starred any horror monster movie ever.

I forced myself to not make any indication of my presence but the tears in my eyes started falling once again.

The creature had a relatively human face merged into the body of a centipede. The face was that of a mild looking young man with silver eyes with a black sclera, it was almost enclosed by the armored shell that line its entire body. Sharp fangs and mandibles lined the part below the human face, raised in a quasi smile that reeks of death and decay even from the distance that they had with each other. Four gray human arms were growing out below of it, while the others remained the legs of a normal centipede, but each leg on its body was as tall as my small body. I couldn't tell how long it was, but its body goes along the hallway. It has a tough looking armored body, gleaming red from the still lit candle casting shadows on the spikes protruding from its back. But that's not the most horrifying thing about this creature, it's the eyes, hundreds of eyes lined its side, each one dull and unseeing.

"Hmm.... what is this? That guy surely doesn't have any great manners, wasting good food like this." The creature said, raspy and annoyed as it stared at Kaa-san's body.

Slowly, its human arms elongated, lifting the body in the air and much to my wide eyed horror, it held Kaa-san near its fangs and mandibles and with no hesitation, bit off her head.

The blood sprayed all over us.

(I didn't know humans could bleed so much.)

I could feel the body holding me down shudder, but the grip on Daiki-ojiichan's hand was relentless. I could hear the pain in his heart as we watched the most precious woman in this (my) life get eaten by the thing with nothing left behind.

Once finished, it looked around for a moment, its eyes ghosting passed us.

"Ah, there it is. Good thing he at least left one behind."

It took something from the ground, tiny and round from its large hands.

That's... that's her—

The hand suddenly plunged on its human face, there, on its forehead now rest one familiar golden eye.

"Such a pretty eye should be the center piece on my magnificent being. Hmm... and that woman was not bad either, the body of a young healthy beautiful mother does taste the best!" Then it came closer to our spot and I could feel how Daiki-ojiichan freeze in place, pushing me down even harder.

"I have no use of dirty old men, they're way too crunchy for my taste." And with that it left with a crush, leaving a hole were the window used to be, taking the discordant sound with it.

The hand on my mouth fell slack and the body crushed onto me with nothing more to hold it up.

"Daiki-ojiichan?..." The beating drums, where are the beating drums?!

"...sorry." Don't say sorry you old fart get off me so I can help you.

"G-g-get off Daiki-ojiichan. Daiki-ojiichan?"

(Where is it it? The sound of beating loud drums are not there anymore. It's broken beyond repair, it kept the sound until the batter and resonant head was busted through. Now it can't produce its rambunctious sound anymore.)

It's gone.

Everything's gone.

There was someone screaming, full of pain, broken and shrill.

I didn't recognize that it was me, until my throat was sore and I can't produce a sound anymore. By that time, the sun was peaking from the sky, casting everything a glow as if everything was right in this world.

But it wasn't.

Because he's gone she's gone. Everything is GONE.

*-*-*-*-*

The cheerful days are long gone but I wish it could've been longer.

*-*-*-*-*