[center]WHEN THE SUN SETS WE GO HOME TOGETHER EPISODE HOTARU - CHAPTER 0 [img]https://i.imgur.com/M5DuOtF.png[/img][/center][center] [sup][h1] [color=black]CRIES FROM THE MOON VALLEY [/color] [color=white]CRIES FROM THE MOON VALLEY[/color] [/h1][/sup] [/center] [color=DCDCDC][i]It’s cool dad, nothing’s gonna happen anyway.[/i][/color] She’d said that with the confidence only a thirteen year old could have. [color=DCDCDC][i]It’s probably just a silly old bear, everyone knows it. The Mayor just wants Konoha’s attention. The fields were probably wasted on purpose, it’s not as if the crops were looking any good.[/i][/color] With enough confidence that she’d convinced him it would be okay for her to visit her friend’s house…on the other side of the village. Right at the edge of the forest. He had sent her off with worried warnings and the promise of whooping her ass, plus a year’s detention, if she didn’t make it back home while the sky was still baby blue. It had long faded into a crimson red and Nishida was staring at the door, looking at it so hard, if it were up to his will, his daughter would be walking in right at that moment. He should’ve never let her go; he should’ve known better. But it had been years now that his wife left and his relationship with Suzume was still strained, he constantly walked the line between being an overbearing parent and trying to keep a good relationship with his daughter. Shouldn’t have even let her consider it; he’d been in the scavenging group that had found Kishi’s body…or what had been left of it. For a second, his brain overlapped his memories of the scene with his daughter, seeing her scattered across rocks and trees and bushes. He swallowed the bile that rose to his throat and grabbed his jacket and field boots. There was still some light left, he could make it if he used his tractor. But what if she had decided to stay overnight? No. She would have phoned home if she had. Not wasting any more time, Nishida opened the door and was met with dead quiet. Everyone was hiding out already, not daring to even turn on the lights. Whoever had basements would probably already be having dinner right about now. The fact not even critters could be heard was a sign that something was off. The neighbor’s dog barking, like the gates to hell were about to open in their little town, made Nishida pause before he walked out. There. In the distance, he saw Suzume running towards him, she looked disgruntled and - oh lord - was that blood? Kishi’s body parts flashed in his mind again. Nishida stood there, door open, hand on the knob; looking as his daughter ran like her life depended on it. She screamed. [color=DCDCDC]“DAD! [b]DAD!![/b]”[/color] The trees behind one of the neighbor’s house rustled, one actually falling over. There were at least three houses between Suzume and their home, but nobody opened their doors. Nishida knew everyone was watching but nobody would do anything. Still, light wasn’t gone just yet and whatever was hunting his daughter wasn’t leaving the safety of shadows until it were. [color=DCDCDC]“Run Suzume!”[/color] He shouted back at his daughter, sweat pouring from his temple but his hand still refused to let go of the knob. The dog’s barking grew louder, even snarling now. Just another two houses. He could see her even more clearly now, she had probably been running for a hot minute now with how exhausted and disgruntled she looked. Suzume wasn’t exactly a fit kid but she held okay out in the fields. [color=DCDCDC]“Just a little more hun, come on!”[/color] Suzume tripped and fell. Finally, Nishida’s hand left the knob and he ran back inside, he could hear her scream for him from outside. He pulled the old shotgun off the wall above the fireplace and grabbed the bullets from the cupboard. Nishida be damned if he was letting anybody take his daughter. The man ran outside, shotgun in hand. All natural light all but gone now, only a few and sparse street lights shedding clarity on the scene. [color=DCDCDC]“[b]SUZUME![/b]”[/color] His daughter got up and limped towards him. The moment she started moving, something came out behind the trees. And it weren’t no bear. [color=DCDCDC]“[b]GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER YOU FREAK.[/b]”[/color] He took aim and shot. [color=DCDCDC]“DAD!”[/color] Suzume screamed. [color=DCDCDC]“RUN. DON’T LOOK BACK, JUST [b]RUN![/b]”[/color] He warned her, the sound from the shotgun muting his last words. He reloaded the gun as fast as he could, but each shot only seemed to deter the monster for only a few seconds, and he hadn’t that many bullets to begin with. Should’ve taken the ax instead. The monster tackled his daughter and his mouth open, though he wasn’t sure if the blood curdling scream that sounded was his or his daughter’s. He stopped shooting, not wanting to accidentally hit Suzume and sprinted even harder, feet flying over the dirt road. Blood was pouring, it was getting everywhere. It was all Nishida could see, it was all that filled his mind as he rose the gun and used it to hit at the monster preying on his daughter. Not doing much damage but, hell, if it weren’t effective in drawing its attention to him. … Hand fist against the wooden door, Tsukitane’s mayor glared at it with tears in his eyes, other hand grasping the collar of his dog to keep him still. The screams had long stopped but the dog’s nervousness was clear sign that this wouldn’t be a safe night. [color=DCDCDC]“Dear?”[/color] His wife called, peeking from the basement’s door, kids probably downstairs. He shook his head at her and dragged himself and the dog down to the confined safety.