Mr. Hotaru grew noticeably busier as the days of November passed. Though he still made time for the children, the strain was clear—he often returned home late, and sometimes he would be gone for an entire week. He never explained the reason. Instead, he compensated with expensive gifts, lavish presents none of them believed he could afford with his modest income as a village healer. They accepted the gifts with quiet thanks, but the underlying worry remained.
"Brother… do you know why Dad has been so busy lately?"
Reika asked softly while Shiharu helped tie her long hair into a ponytail. He wasn't particularly skilled at it, but he tried his best for her sake.
"No idea," he replied curtly, his focus entirely on gathering her silky strands.
"How sad…" Her face drooped with disappointment.
"What if you're just overthinking it?" Shiharu suggested gently. "He must have a reason. He'll tell us when the time is right."
"We used to have all his attention, but now it feels… divided."
She sighed. Shiharu watched her in silence for a moment.
"You called me out here for something, didn't you?" He changed the subject, knowing he was in no position to comfort anyone when he could barely comfort himself. Growing up in a broken family had left him unequipped for moments like this. These delicate feelings seemed better suited to someone like Hoshiyuki.
"Right!" Reika's face brightened instantly. She grabbed his hand and began pulling him toward the nearby convenience store. The roads were dark and eerie, most shops already closed, and hardly any villagers were out—an unmistakable sign that it was late at night.
Before she could drag him any farther, Shiharu stopped her.
"Where are we going? Rei, don't you realize how late it is?"
"I want to buy a pad."
"A...pad? What's a pad?"
"Haru… you need to know these things now that you have a sister"
Hoshiyuki explained, his ghostly form leaning slightly toward Reika's unaware shoulder as if catching her scent.
"She's saying she's on her menstrual period and needs one but how surprising doesn't she feel cramps?"
Shiharu paused, nearly answering out loud before catching himself. He composed his expression and nodded.
"A pad, yeah. If you need one that badly, then there's no reason we can't go get it."
Reika spun around with a satisfied nod, her mood lifting at once.
"I'll buy some snacks too… and a game board! Yes, a game board. We need one. Staying at home doing nothing all day is so boring." She giggled lightly, her steps quickening until she was walking three times faster than Shiharu and the invisible Hoshiyuki trailing behind. "Being out here when almost no one is around is just so peaceful and relaxing."
"Is getting a pad and a few other things really something to get that excited about?" Shiharu asked the unseen ghost beside him.
"Little things like that matter a lot," Hoshiyuki replied. "I think she's mostly happy just to walk around when the streets are empty. She probably finds loud places and crowds exhausting."
"How smart, Hoshi."
They exchanged a quiet glance.
"She really does hate crowds," Shiharu continued, hands clasped behind his head. "Her mood shifts depending on who she's talking to. She can be excited and talkative with me, but cold and passive with strangers. It's like she's deciding whether the person is worth her time or not."
"By the way… it seems you know a lot about the female menstrual cycle," Shiharu added, glancing sideways. "You don't even have sisters."
Hoshiyuki chuckled softly.
"I read a lot when I was human—textbooks, novels, manga, notes… anything readable, really. I'd read just to pass the time. So of course I picked up things like this. I always thought it must be hell for them… being punished with pain simply for not being pregnant. They call it cramps."
You're not trying to tell them to go ahead and get—
"AAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
A piercing scream shattered the night, a familiar voice that froze Shiharu in place.
"Rei… Reika… Where is she?"
He panicked, eyes darting up the long, deserted dark road. She had been right in front of them only moments ago. Where could she have vanished to?
"Snap out of it!" Hoshiyuki urged gently, already scanning their surroundings for the source of the cry.
Only then did they realize the truth: they were no longer near their house or the convenience store. The roads had shifted. There were no houses, no familiar landmarks—just endless pathways branching in every direction, all looping back to the same central point where they now stood.
"How…? I didn't sense anything. My body didn't react at all. What's going on?" Hoshiyuki muttered, visibly unsettled.
"Rei… do you think she's okay?" Shiharu whispered, running a shaky hand through his wolf-cut hair, dread twisting in his gut.
Hoshiyuki studied him for a moment.
"You tied her hair earlier, didn't you?"
Shiharu nodded.
"Did you touch anything else before that?"
He shook his head.
"Good. Now hold out your hands."
Shiharu obeyed. Hoshiyuki closed his eyes, hovering his palms just above Shiharu's. A faint white glow appeared between their hands. Shiharu watched, curious and anxious.
The white energy darkened instantly into inky black. Hoshiyuki recoiled with a violent cough when shiharu tried to touch his form, worry etched on his face. His luminous green eyes flaring unnaturally bright. The black energy rose into the air and drifted purposefully in one direction, as if guiding them toward Reika.
"This… knows where she is. Come on—we have to follow it."
Shiharu broke into a run after the dark trail, but stopped when he realized Hoshiyuki wasn't following.
He turned.
"Hoshi... Are you okay?"
His voice seemed to pull Hoshiyuki back to himself. The ghost covered his eyes, struggling to speak.
"Save… Save her, Haru. Save your sister!!"
Those were the last words he managed before a blinding golden light engulfed him and pulled him away into nothingness.
With no time to process Hoshiyuki's sudden disappearance, Shiharu chased the black energy through the twisted roads. After what felt like an eternity, he skidded to a halt.
Reika was bound mercilessly to a massive tree. She was half-naked, her evening gown ripped to shreds and replaced by a thin white cloth that barely covered her thighs and chest. Her arms were stretched above her head, legs tied wide apart to the trunk, and a cloth gag muffled her screams. A blindfold covered her eyes, but her bruises, desperate cries, and weak struggles made it clear she had been fighting for some time.
Shiharu froze on the spot.
Mind reeling.
Trying to process what just happened for the past minutes.
Hoshiyuki...and now Reika?