When Uzuki opened her eyes, it was already 4 PM.
Outside the window, the setting sun slanted, the last rays of the day spilling across the floor along the window’s edge. Gazing at that corner of fading crimson, she found her friend leaning against the wall, a gentle smile on her face.
That smile sent a chill down her spine.
Last night, after her mother’s thigh had been smashed into pulp, she remained frenzied. Her bloodshot pupils were like those of a Vengeful Ghost. Perhaps Mother knew she couldn’t escape death, for she suddenly began laughing maniacally.
Death is indeed terrifying.
But for someone tormented for so long, with no way to save herself, it wasn’t entirely unacceptable.
At the very least, before dying, she had to take Uzuki with her.
The daughter carrying that man’s blood had to die alongside her. Tsukiyuki Fumiko could not accept her daughter being rescued alone, finding happiness alone. To Fumiko, that would be the ultimate betrayal.
When she first held Uzuki in the delivery room, Tsukiyuki Fumiko had, for a fleeting moment, considered strangling her. Uzuki carried the genes of that abusive man. Besides, an infant’s smile was the most beautiful thing in the world, and destroying beauty was Fumiko’s lifelong passion.
But Fumiko restrained herself. Compared to a brief death, trapping Uzuki’s soul within her flesh, forcing her to suffer eternally in this world, was far more fitting.
“Uzuki, let’s go together. Over there, we’ll be a loving family too.”
Carrying a pistol was a habit of Tsukiyuki Fumiko’s. Even when entering her daughter’s room, she kept it. Fumiko was a quick draw; from unholstering the gun to shooting Uzuki dead would take only a second.
Yet, she didn’t even get that single second. Fumiko couldn’t see who was injuring her. In the blink of an eye, bite marks covered her body, and the pistol simply vanished into thin air.
The sights Fumiko could not see were all reflected in Uzuki’s eyes.
She watched her friend transform into a pack of hyenas, beginning to ravenously devour Mother’s body.
In an instant, the nerves in Mother’s arm were severed, then her chest, her neck. The hyenas worked with precise coordination, as if hunting a stupid herbivore.
Mother’s body was dragged away by the hyena pack.
In the courtyard, harrowing screams rang out without end. Mother cursed loudly, and finally, the shrill curses transformed into pleas. But she wasn’t pleading for her own life—she was begging them to at least let her kill Uzuki too.
When Uzuki saw Mother again, she was the tattered, broken mess from that morning.
Her friend didn’t have a single drop of blood on her, dressed in a fitted white dress.
“Uzuki, go to sleep early.”
So Uzuki drank a glass of water and collapsed into sleep. She wondered if her supernatural friend would kill her in her slumber. If she could die in her dreams, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Her friend did not kill her.
And so, Uzuki welcomed the next day’s sunlight.
The recollection ended.
Dazedly, Uzuki stood up and walked to her friend’s side.
“Are you scared of me, Uzuki?”
The friend only Uzuki could see asked softly.
How could a friend who defied the world’s logic not be frightening?
“Don’t worry, Uzuki. I’m on your side. From now on, I can grant you anything you desire. Even becoming the next Tokyo Godmother would be a simple matter. No one will mock the tattoos on your body. You will obtain the happiness you’ve always dreamed of.”
“Who exactly are you?”
“I’m your friend.”
Uzuki swallowed hard. The illusion she once thought harmless was a Supernatural Entity capable of killing.
“Uzuki, from now on, we’ll continue being friends, okay?”
Her friend’s smile was so genuine, yet so terrifying.
Footsteps came from outside the room.
“Uzuki, I heard movement inside. Are you awake?”
Tsukiyuki Rio’s voice came from beyond the door.
“Yes, I’m awake, Cousin.”
“May I come in?”
“Please, come in.”
Tsukiyuki Rio entered the room.
After Fumiko’s death, the odor within the Western-style House seemed to have faded considerably. Yet, a faint, rusty smell of blood still lingered, something impossible to wash away entirely.
“Please, sit, Cousin.”
The most dazzling existence in the family now sat on the room’s chair. Her elegant black kimono paired with Cousin’s sleek black hime-cut hair made her resemble an ancient princess.
Once upon a time, Uzuki had always fantasized about becoming friends with her cousin, being saved by her, and building a close, harmonious relationship.
That yearning hadn’t changed, even now.
“Tell me about this friend of yours,” Tsukiyuki Rio said, sitting upright on the bench. Her composed expression made Uzuki feel utterly inadequate.
Uzuki glanced cautiously at her friend sitting on the bed. As expected, even Cousin and her maid couldn’t see the friend.
She asked her friend with her eyes if she could reveal her existence to Cousin. The friend indicated she didn’t mind.
“Cousin, do you believe in the supernatural?”
“How supernatural are we talking about?”
“Like the legend of Kisaragi Station.”
“I do,” Tsukiyuki Rio answered without hesitation.
“My friend… is a kind of Supernatural Entity.”
Tsukiyuki Rio remained calm, but the blonde maid behind her furrowed her brow, clearly scoffing at the notion.
Calmly, Uzuki recounted everything that had happened the previous night, leaving nothing out. To prove her story, she even showed Tsukiyuki Rio her diary.
She didn’t know how Rio would perceive her.
Even Uzuki herself found those twisted, frenzied doodles repulsive.
Trembling with anxiety, she awaited a disgusted look from Tsukiyuki Rio.
“Uzuki.” Tsukiyuki Rio, who had been flipping through the diary with her head lowered, suddenly spoke.
“Yes, Cousin?”
Uzuki secretly observed Rio’s expression. She showed no sign of impatience or disgust.
Only indifference.
Tsukiyuki Rio placed the diary on the desk beside her.
“Right now, you’ve lost both parents, and you’re a minor. The next step is likely adoption by the Branch Family.”
“The Branch Family?”
Most of the Main Family was in Tokyo, while the Branch Family members were scattered across other major cities. Among the relatives who had frequent contact with Mother, there were some in Kyoto, Osaka, and even relatives abroad.
In Uzuki’s view, all Branch Family relatives shared one trait—hypocrisy.
They would probably get into a huge argument at the funeral over Tsukiyuki Fumiko’s inheritance. Just imagining that scene made Uzuki press her lips together, her face turning pale.
At that moment, Tsukiyuki Rio spoke again.
“Uzuki, I imagine you don’t want to be adopted by the Branch Family, am I right?”
“I don’t, Cousin.”
Uzuki honestly expressed her feelings.
“Good. In that case, I’ll offer you a second path,” Tsukiyuki Rio inquired. “How about coming to my mansion to work as a maid?”
