Chapter Text
Perhaps the last thing Sanemi could recall was him stepping outside of his house, taking in a deep breath of the sharp, cool air as he started his trek into the night anxiously—not that he would ever admit his uneasiness. Earlier, he had confidently told his precious younger siblings that he was going out to look for their mother and bring her back, and he had every intention of doing so. Taking care of not only his siblings, but also his sweet mother, was a great responsibility for Sanemi. After all, he was the eldest, and now, with the passing of their deadbeat father, the “man” of the household at the age of thirteen whether he liked it or not.
Their mother had been gone abnormally late. The moon had long risen, the crisp night air filling every corner of their uninsulated home. That night, Sanemi with the help of Genya, had to go fetch some extra quilts when their little siblings began complaining of the temperature. Little Koto, only two years old, began sniffling due to the cold, swiping his snot everywhere, the poor boy. It has always been a struggle for the Shinazugawas, but that was only more motivation for Sanemi. More motivation to take care of his family, protect them, and make sure everyone was warm and safe—which Sanemi was unsure his mother was currently.
“Ma! Where are you?!” Sanemi bellowed out, barely a mile or so away from their house. She doesn’t have reason to travel far so what is keeping her unless she’s in trouble? Sanemi’s jaw tenses at the mere thought, thinking maybe it could’ve been one of the men who held a grudge against his old man. Although their lives are much more peaceful with their father gone, the area they live in is still a dangerous, crime-ridden one, full of drunkards and knife-wielding idiots. Sanemi just prayed his mother didn’t get caught up in that shit.
Squinting his eyes (which hardly work as a result of his albinism), the rough silhouette of a petite woman can be seen sauntering over. The mannerisms of their lady were strange… she was stumbling as if injured, yet her pace was inhumanly fast, heading straight for him. His mother’s yellow kimono, however, was unmistakable. Without another thought, Sanemi was running towards his mother’s figure. “Ma! Where have you been?! Are you hurt?!” He called out, face contorted with concern. The closer he approached his mother, the more was blatantly wrong. Her beloved kimono was tattered, half hanging off her shoulders and covered in blood- Oh god, there was so much blood, it was practically dripping off of the fabric of her clothing. Not only that, she looked as if she could hardly balance herself, wobbling back and forth haphazardly. Sanemi’s only thoughts were:
Who did this?”
Why would they do this to his sweet mother who never did anything wrong in her life except marry a bad man? His mother never deserved any of this- oh god, what would he tell the younger one? They’ll be crying all night until morning.
“Ma! Don’t move anymore just sit down I’ll-”
Something was wrong. Something was gravely wrong. His mother wasn’t slowing down her pace, still rushing towards him like some sort of brainless zombie, a low rumble emitting from the back of her throat… some sort of low growl. Sanemi’s eyes shoot down to her garments once more. So much blood. So much blood and yet… no visible injuries on his mother other than her erratic walking. What was going on?
Before he can register any more details, his mother lunges forward, sharp nails digging into his left shoulder and the back of his neck. His mother’s animalistic expression is now up close, her teeth were unnaturally sharp for a human and she was foaming at the mouth. This wasn’t his mother- it couldn’t be. It had to be some sort of Yokai. A figment of his imagination of some sort due to all this stress he’s been harboring. And yet, the searing pain of his mother’s nails stabbing him was real. This is his mother’s face, her clothes, her hair pinned up as always.
Sanemi’s fight or flight promptly kicks in. He begins kicking, scratching, and squirming to escape the clutches of this beast. His younger siblings… he can’t die here. He has to protect them from whatever this creature is imitating his mother right now. Genya, Sumi, Hiroshi, Teiko, Shuya, and Koto, he has to protect them all.
And yet… his vision is going blurry… he can’t pry this monster’s claws off of him… He’s not going to make it.
“...Shinazugawa!”
Who was that?
“Shinazugawa, can you hear us?!”
Multiple unfamiliar voices are suddenly invading his brain, his vision is mixing in a nearly psychedelic manner, different eye-bleeding colors combining with the dark blue hues of the night sky, his mother’s sunflower yellow kimono which she always wore…
For a moment, Sanemi feels as if he’s falling backward, gravity’s frigid, gravelly hands latch onto his arms and legs, plunging him into darkness. His mother’s face, contorted monstrously, a far cry from the gentle visage he’s known all his life, fades away in a misty wisp.
His siblings… he had to get back to them.
“Shinazugawa!”
As if he were suddenly dunked in ice water, Sanemi shot up once more. He’s in a room with pristine white walls, a clean hardwood floor… This establishment was modern, something he had only seen in magazines prior. That and… he was surrounded by older strangers in weird police-esk uniforms, all peering down at him with pitiful expressions.
Sanemi’s eyes dart back and forth frantically. Instinctively, he crawls back, realizing he’s in a bed once his back hits the headboard against a wall. Who were these people? Where were his siblings? Where was his mother? His eyes suddenly unfocused as all these questions plagued his brain, his breathing picking up as he felt his throat constricting.
One of the shorter, kinder-looking ones suddenly approached him, a woman with a butterfly patterned haori and purple-tipped hair… She looked worried as she placed her hands on the edge of the bed, far enough as to not startle him, and leaned in slightly. “Hey there… Everything’s alright… You’re safe here..,” The lady murmured in a sweet tone, which for some reason reminded Sanemi of the melodic and gentle voice of a folksinger. “Do you know who we are?”
Sanemi shakes his head stiffly and for a moment, he could’ve sworn the Butterfly Lady’s expression saddened. “My name is Kochou Shinobu. You’re currently in the Butterfly Mansion recovering from… a minor injury,” She explains in a quiet tone, offering him a meek smile in an attempt to calm his nerves. However, Sanemi would not lower his guard.
“Where am I?! Where is my family?!” Sanemi immediately interrogates in a tone meant to be intimidating. Nonetheless, his anxious and panicked demeanor displays how he is actually feeling. Nothing felt familiar, everything looked too clean and polished and with all of these people circling him, he felt even smaller than he already was.
A sniffle can be heard from the back of the crowd. “Poor Shinazugawa! He doesn’t remember any of us..!” This time, a lady with vibrant pink hair weeps out, and a shorter man sporting a black and white haori hands her a handkerchief which she takes with a small ‘thank you’ and promptly blows her nose into.
“He will return to normal, Kanroji… Kochou will find a way,” The aforementioned man states just in time for Sanemi to see a snake slither out of his uniform and nudge the pink-haired lady wearing provocative clothes.
Without warning, suddenly the dull, turquoise eyes of a boy who seemed to be of similar age are all up in his face causing Sanemi to press himself against the wall to create as much space between them as possible. “He’s smaller… with significantly fewer scars,” The boy comments, tilting his head curiously before being hulled up like a cat by a man with white hair and a strange jeweled headband.
“Hey! This version of him is already way better! We might as well keep him like this!” The man wheezes, looking like he was holding back a laugh as he started to ridicule Sanemi with his eyes.
“As much as this version of Shinazugawa is calm, it is best we begin looking for a solution as soon as possible!” Thunders another man with the most insane, fiery hair known to man. Sanemi had to do a doubletake… Was that natural? “We do not know the side effects of this Blood Demon Art that did this to poor Shinazugawa! I’m sure he would hate to be stuck in this form for long.”
And if that weren’t enough, Sanemi feels a large, wet dollop of something dropping on his head, only to look up and see an absolute giant with blank eyes peering down at him. “Oh… Shinazugawa, your voice sounds so very small,” The giant boomed, tears streaming down his face which were subsequently pouring onto the poor boy’s head like rain.
At this point, Sanemi was thoroughly confused. His head felt like it was spinning from all the questions floating around his mind. Who were these people? How did they know him? Where is his family?!
Too overwhelmed to think straight and too panicked to ask questions, Sanemi leaps off the bed, only to stumble and trip on clothes that weren’t his, falling face-first onto the slick hardwood floors. Disoriented, the young boy looks down only to realize it was the same black uniform everyone else was adorning, except his had an open chest and was absolutely engulfing his form with how large it was.
There’s a commotion, people are grabbing him by the arm to lift him back onto his feet and as they did, he comes face to face with another person with raven black hair, tied into a ponytail and wearing the most hideous haori pattern he had ever seen. The man glares at him with an unreadable expression, bordering on curiosity and concern.
“You should be careful, Shinzugawa,” Is all the man says, although Shinazugawa couldn’t tell how sincere it sounds given how monotonous the other’s voice was… And due to the fact that his conscience is slipping again, everything fades to black as his ears fill with the panicked voices of these weird adults who seem to know him all too well.