Chapter Text
when they say “life flashes before your eyes”, it tends to flash within a milisecond. you’ll blink and things could change in an instant. this was especially true in hoshii’s story on paper. he believed that his life was perfect the way it is, and vowed to keep this life as perfect as he claimed.
but, we can’t have everything. as he learnt that the hard way, whether he wanted to or not.
after saving up some pocket money from working as an errand boy in his town, a smile was the only thing on his face. he worked until he was satisfied with the amount of cash he collected. stuffing the cash into his haori, hoshii made his way to the town.
lively, despite the town having a small population. there was a shop that sold decorative pins and jewelry, ever since he can remember, whenever his family would walk by, his sister would always take a moment to admire the pins. He would catch her gazing at them, in a dream-like state.
hoshii imagined his sister dowsing in precious delicate gems.
they could only dream. up until now, the opportunity to purchase anything was nowhere in his reach. hoshii bought a pendant necklace, no gemstone was on it, but it was made out of gold. “one of a kind”, some might say. just one look at the necklace spoke to him in volumes. it almost felt like it was made for her.
hoshii instantly bolted, running in such a hurry, he almost bumped into a father and his daughter. he turned to face them and spewed one hundred sorry’s to the pair before turning around to get back on pace. “be careful next time young man!” shouted the elder man. hoshii swore his face was getting red from the sheer embarrassment on his face, thanking the fact that he was far away from them by now.
he clutched the opening of his haori tightly with one hand as he paced towards his home. the smile he wore since he was handed the necklace never left his face. in just a few seconds, he would arrive back home - to his parents, his sister, a fire swallowing his house whole.
a burst of shock tightens his muscles, stoppinf him in his tracks. he let out a gasp that he quickly cut off by slapping his hands onto his opened mouth. his pupils dilated with the colors red, orange, and yellow reflecting from his dark maroon eyes.
was his vision becoming blurry? everything was starting to mix within one another and his face became cold. perhaps it was the chilling tears gliding down his, now pale, face.
hoshii’s foot stepped back. he needed to get help, hoshii yelled to himself. suddenly, a raspy voice coughed harshly. he felt his chest hurt from the familiarity of the voice that he heard calling from the burning house.
“negai!… oshii!……”
hoshii rushed into his home, the smell of burning wood filled his senses and the color of fire burned lighter then ever before. “shiroi! your big brother’s here! where are you!” he shouted, being extra careful not to make any contact with the pit of fire. no response was brought back.
he huffed. man, this was a horrible plan. but he died doing it, he tried his best.
hoshii followed an empty pathway while using his haori to give some form of cover. the smoke fogged up the entirety of every room he came across. “negai! i- i’m right here!” shiroi, his precious sister called out to him.
he rushed towards the direction of his sister’s voice, a sense of desperation holding onto every bit of energy he had to get his sister safe. spotting his sister’s head peeking out of his parents limp bodies, he carefully powered his way through the smoke.
even under all the fog, the smell of freshly devoured corpses covered in blood hit hoshii like a truck strucking him, practically drowning in a horrible scent that almost made him gag. “brother! help me please!” she yelled once again. “it’s going to be alright shiroi. stay still so i can help you” he reassures his sister calmly.
he can vaguely hear shiroi’s breathing starting to stagger, wheezing through her covered mouth as she tries to stay calm. however, the situation makes it harder for the shock and panic to escape her head. hoshii stands before his sister and parents, as she’s covered in both their parents bodies along with their blood; in a hurry, he hurriedly but carefully pulls shiroi from beneath their parents.
blood drips from what it seems to be shiroi’s injured leg. without a second thought, his back faces his sister as she looks up at him with a confused expression. “get on my back, we need to leave now” hoshii spoke with demand. the confusion on her face melts away to then leave her scrunching her eyebrows to hop firmly onto hoshii’s back.
they leave the house to crumble in the fire with the last remaining tears hoshii can caugh up as he runs to the town. mid-way, he can feel his sister’s head slump against his shoulder while her arms relax then dangle with no energy left in her.
hoshii does the only he can do at this very moment—throw himself in a panic state as he tries to keep his legs running without stopping, not even for a moment.
“stay with me shiori... i’m going to get us some help, just a little longer and we’ll be safe” he mumbles under his breath, despite running out of it. in the distance, the town still had its people walking around meaning it wouldn’t be long before someone would offer help. they were just children in a crisis. as he got closer step by step, he nearly tripped trying to stop the high speed he was running at.
several people gasped at the sight, some rushing by their side to help. a man approached the siblings, “hey! hey, you’re safe.” those words comforted hoshii, better than anything he could’ve told himself right now.
“thank you sir. please check on my sister” hoshii ushered in distress. shiroi’s injuries needed to be treated as soon as possible, the attention didn’t need to be on him!
“slow down, she’s going to be looked after. but where are you parents?” the man asked, a concerned stare bore into hoshii like he was staring at his soul shrinking. hoshii’s eye’s widened, not at the man in front of him, but the flashes of his parent’s devastation coming back to haunt him. he knows they are past the point of saving, but if saving his sister—who’s still alive, he will get all the help he needs.
hoshii opens his mouth to respond but a harsh tug on his shoulder has him groaning in pain. nails dug deep into his flesh, using his shoulder to hold themselves up.
a tensed scream erupts from the man who just asked his parent’s whereabouts, soon creating a domino effect of terrified screams coming from everyone near the pair. the body weighing hoshii down a second ago was suddenly lifted off of him.
his head perks up to see the man falling backwards with his sister jumping onto him, a feminine growl hurls from shiroi’s throat. the citizens left standing were running away in fear, hoshii would soon realize this as his attention could only be on his sister attacking the innocent man trying to help them.
shiroi hovers over the man shaking in fear and pleading for his life to be spared, an arm roughly pulls her backwards and tightens around her small shoulders. the poor man shrieks and rushes to back away from the feral girl. seeing her face clearly—the features on her were undeniably the same as a demon.
her nails shaped until the tips of her nails were razor sharp. her eyes dulled and pupils dilated, displaying an intense hunger through her deep blue eyes. as she growled, her teeth flaunted two pairs of teeth that were sharp enough to tear through flesh and skin. and of course, her aggressive behavior.
“SHIROI STOP! PLEASE STOP! DON’T DO THIS!” hoshii pleaded with his life. he blocks shiroi’s ability to run by wrapping his legs over hers. another word wasn’t spoken to the pair, seemingly the man had ran off before hoshii could call out to him.
he would have to keep her at bay before she could run off again. hoshii searches both of his sides to block her teeth from biting anything else, he spots a long branch that was within his reach. using his free hand, he immediately grabs the branch and places it between shiroi’s teeth. she had no choice but to start biting on it.
hoshii’s thoughts scrambled around like an egg frying on a pan.
shiroi’s growls become quieter in moments when she hears her brother’s words. “PLEASE SHIROI! IT’S ME, YOUR BIG BROTHER! I PROMISE WE WOULD GET HELP DIDN’T I?!”
hoshii’s eyes closed tightly, feeling a body fall onto his, his eyes shot open seeing his sister go limp. the words he was about to mutter were cut short at the realization that shiroi was now fast asleep on his lap. he heaved out a sigh, a lump in his throat disappearing as relaxation waved through him.
he blinked one, then twice. “i thought it was the end for us” his heavy panting made it easier to hear his own rapid heartbeat. man… he was exhausted. some water and shade would be nice right now, a thought crossing his mind.
the town was lacking any materials that would be of help to them. so, hoshii lifted his weakened body, propping one arm to clasp around shiroi’s shoulder and the other carried her legs. hoshii winced, taking a second to look at her leg injury.
it didn’t matter how long it would take—he would get them to safety and get her healed up. questions weren’t a priority when a difficult crisis put them in this situation.
he promised he’d protect his sister. pinky promised.
when the snow starts to fall, so does the sun itself. not because moonlight has taken over the sky, but the mirky dark-gray clouds blind countless eyes to ever see the bright blue skies.
unlike rain; which plummets down and splatters onto the ground, marking a spot beneath our feet—snow takes its sweet time to land softly on every surface it reaches.
it soon reached someone. a person whose face turned pale, flushing red painted his cheeks. his icey cold body shivered little by little, on it’s survival instincts to warm itself and fight against the cooling temperature that surrounded the two bodies pressed against the snow.
distant footsteps wondered closer inch by inch, nearing the direction of the pair. “oh my. looks like i found you two.”
the person said calmly, a smile maybe? stretched slightly from their lips.
“time to take you with me.”