Himari's Bonus Chapter

[March 29th, 1210 - 5 years earlier]

"Mom! Mom! Can we go outside, please?"

A child that's raring to go out and play jumps around in excitement. The mother smiles gently and pats the thrilled boy.

"Alright, but take care of yourselves."

She then looks at me.

"Look after them, Himari."

I nod and take the hands of my two little brothers.

"Let's go, big sister is going to take you for a ride!"

The two siblings yell out one last time before we step outside our home. We are headed to a playground on the outskirts of Hikone, a part of the town that's near the forest. We often play hide and seek in the woods, it's fun. There are also friends there we meet often.

Soon the playground will be torn down as the Mayor decided to build a wall around the town. They've deemed that the forest is too dangerous to play at, despite guards cleaning up demons around our homes all day long. They will reconstruct it at a different place later on though.

As we are walking down the street, my right arm is being pulled down multiple times, indicating one of the little buggers wants my attention.

"Big sis! Big sis!"

I look at my seven-year-old brother with a smile.

"What is it Hidiku?"

"Roy and Emily said they will come today too!"

Roy and Emily are friends of my brothers, they play together everyday. How they don't get tired of each other? I don't know. I giggle as I look down on his little red cheeks filled with amusement.

"Isn't that great?"

Hidiku nods twice.

Then Enmei stops the march and points his finger before us.

"Look! It's those three!"

The two of us follow his pointed route with our gaze. It's one of our neighbour families, the Argentos. Our parents know each other for a long time and are good friends, but I'm not exactly sure I can say the same for us. Oh, it would seem one of them took notice. Their expression says it all.

"Ah! It's the stinky brat!"

A girl yells as she points straight back at my kid brother. Enmei takes great offense to this somewhat hilarious comment and leaps at his critic before seizing her soft red cheeks and spreading them apart. The victim of my brother's assault counters back with the very same deadly technique.

The girl's name is Charlotte, those two are the same age and pretty much fight whenever they get the chance. I should probably stop him from bullying the girl… I walk over to the two, still holding Hidiku's hand. That is until I'm met with another challenger instead.

"Look who it is. Still didn't give up on your little babies? We both know that there's no way they could compare to my little Yuuna!"

She grabs her younger sister standing before her and hugs her tightly. That's Lena and the girl she's near to choking out is the youngest of the three, Yuuna. Right now I'm more concerned for her rather than myself. Should I help her?

I force out the fakest smile I can pull off.

"Sure…"

Hidiku lets go of my hand and walks up to the youngest girl. He then takes a good look at her, almost as if he's checking her out. I get that he's a boy, but isn't it a bit too son for this kind of stuff? My brother reaches out his arm and places his palm on her chest before giving me a smile.

"Big sis, look! She's smooth, just like you!"

My heart shatters. As Enmei and Charlotte fight it out in the background, I stand paralyzed by my own kid brothers unintentionaly stinging words. I might have just been scared for life. At least Lena's having a blast from my mental state's demise.

Hidiku continues to bump Yuuna with his palm a few more times until he gets the sudden feeling of endangerment. His attention transfers to his victims face instead, which has a very sinister expression formed on it. The little girl loses it before attempting to force her way out of her older sister's clutches.

Frightened by the sight of demonic presence he has woken up within little Yuuna, my youngest brother drops on his rear and crawls back to me. I can't bring myself to do more than stare at him with my soulless gaze. The shock left me empty within.

Lena attempts to calm her sister down by yelling. She has probably realized that she doesn't want to be a witness to a murder.

"It's alright, Yuuna! You are still too young! You still have plenty of time for development!"

As Hidiku isn't getting a response from me, in his little brain he comes up with a plan to bring me back to reality. And what the kid thought of is to touch my chest now instead. Hidiku receives an instant reflexive smack to the face. The sheer impact of it rotates his head into different direction.

My reaction was so fast he didn't get the chance to change his expression and now he's stuck with a smile on his face together with a big red hand mark.

"Oh crap!"

I yell out as I try to apologize but he's already shaking and shortly after he turns into a water fountain of a tears. What a miserable situation I've found myself in. It takes me quite a while to drag my siblings out of this mess, but eventually I succeed.

"I will come back for you! Just you wait!"

Enmei yells at Charlotte as I yank him by his collar with one hand and the crying Hidiku with the other.

"Stop crying, Hidiku. We are going to play with your friends. You don't want to look like a big cry baby, do you?"

I then rerun everything that we've just went through and mumble to myself.

"What's their deal anyway?"

Feeling bad for little Hidiku, I kneel and give him a pat on the head.

"There there, I'm sorry, it won't happen again. Will you forgive your big sister?"

He wipes off his salty droplets covering his cheeks so red that you can't even see the hand mark anymore, before sniffing and nodding his head.

"Mhm."

I give him a gentle kiss on the forehead before gracefully turning around to face my second sibling.

"Your turn!"

He looks at me with a very conflicted expression.

"No, no way! Get away from me! Ew!"

I provoke my kid brother by trying to force a smooch on him. He never liked being kissed by anyone. I'll love to see how that will change in a few years.

"Hidiku! Enmei!"

A little child yells somewhat further from our position. I track down the voice with my gaze and spot a little girl with a boy standing behind her.

"Oh my, it seems you have been saved."

I smile at Enmei and let him sprint off to the safety of his two friends. The four kids group up and I let my voice become louder as they escape me.

"Be careful! Don't go too far!"

Hidiku waves back at me before running off into the distance. It's always like this, and while they play, I enjoy some relaxing time alone. Or so I've thought. I'm watching them slowly disappear from my sight when someone unexpectedly taps my shoulder.

"Yaho!"

Curious to know who could be greeting me like this, I swiftly redirect my attention toward the unknown person. It's Mia! One of my best friends! Without a second thought I throw a big hug her way, returning the element of surprise.

"Whoa there lovely!"

Long, honey brown hair. Eyes blue as the clear skies with a tiny hint of grey. She's a few years older than myself and one of the kindest and sweetest people I've ever met - I'm very lucky to be her friend. I distance myself from her as I stretch my arms that are currently holding her shoulders. My eyes are shining bright as stars on the midnight sky.

"What are you doing here? I thought you moved to another town with your mom."

"I'm here to visit father."

I hug her one more time, this time I squeezing the life out of her.

"I'm sure he feels very lonely without is wonderful daughter."

The girl giggles and takes my hand as I let her out of my clutches. She points toward the playground the kids are headed for.

"You wanna go?"

My head bobs with excitement. I suddenly feel like a little kid being spoiled by her big sister… how ironic. And so we walk off as Mia leads me with her hand.

———

We sit down on a bench that stands just before the playground, facing the dark woods across the field.

"Eight… Nine... And ten! Ready or not, here I come!"

Looks like they are playing hide and seek. Hidiku is the seeker.

"Oh, aren't those your siblings?"

Mia asks as she recognizes the familiar faces.

"Mhm, my cute little brothers."

I swing my feet back and forth in a scissor pattern. Hidiku starts looking around when Enmei jumps out of the bush at the edge of the forest, holding his pants. The younger brother aims his index finger at him and yells.

"Found you!"

The elder brother throws his gaze directly at the seeker full speed, as if he didn't know Hidiku was standing there to begin with.

"Hey, no fair! I was peeing!"

Their little comedic scene makes their audience of two chuckle.

"So, has your gift awoken yet?"

I shake my head.

"Not yet… but I'm sure It will soon! Did yours get any better?"

Mia grins before extending her arm and aiming her palm upwards. Her concentration is very visible. I focus my view on her palm when a small blue-ish bright light can be seen, forming something above her palm. The light is then solidified and ice is created. Mia then proceeds to repel the shards like some sort of projectiles. I clap with impressment. She was barely able to form a single icicle when I saw her last time.

"Soon you will be able to make a whole iceberg, I'm sure of it!"

My friend puts on what definitely looks like a genuine smile.

"Thanks, but I don't know about that one."

A sudden scream vocalizing fear comes straight out of the forest.

"A rowdy bunch, aren't they."

My friend pronounces. Those kids are probably having a lot of fun. What would I give to be their age again. I let out an audible sigh which catches Mia's attention, but not for long as louder and louder screams exit the forest. A bad feeling gradually grows on me as the yells sound more filled with terror rather than joy.

I inspect the area, but my siblings are nowhere to be seen. None of the children are. Wary of my little siblings, I stand up and call out to them, but there's no response. My body starts trembling, but it's soon overcome by warmth that can be felt coming from one of my hands as Mia holds it.

"Let's find out what's going on."

We enter the forest in hurry.

"Enmei! Hidiku! Answer me, please!"

I desperately call out into the cold darkness of the woods hoping for a response.

"Big sis!"

It's Hidiku's voice! I rush towards it without a second thought as Mia tails me. Soon enough I spot Hidiku sitting on the cold soil, right next to his friend, Roy. They are both shaking like a leaf in the wind.

"Hidiku! What's going on? Why did you scream?"

He looks at me with his little terrified eyes before taking notice of something behind me.

"Big sis, watch out!"

To my surprise, a tall dark tree is descending directly toward me. Mia jumps at me just in the nick of time, ultimately saving my life. Both of us then hit the ground.

"Are you alright?"

She's aware of how terrified I am when I nod. Why would a tree just suddenly fall like that? Was it an old tree? Or did something made it fall? One question after another storm my conflicted mind, but only until an awkward and squishy sound peaks my attention instead.

I look down beneath my palm once my previously dulled senses sharpen again as the feeling I'm getting from below isn't familiar. At first I thought I'm resting my hand on a rock, as the thing is harder than earth, but now that I've moved it a bit, it also has an unusually mushy sensation. Oh how wrong my assumption was.

Not a cold rock, nor the cold ground of the forest, but a body of a child with its back wide open. The face I can identify as Emily's while my hand is laying on her spine.

From the bottom of my lungs I let out a scream as I completely give in and fear consumes me. What happened here? Is it a demon? It has to be! But where is it? And why is it here? I thought the guards are clearing the forests near Hikone from demons at all time. I need to get myself together. If I show I'm scared, the kids will be even more terrified.

Hidiku is sitting, still trembling in fear. Where's Enmei? Is he close? With a perfect timing, by missing brother jumps out of a bush.

"What are you doing? Where were you?"

I question him worryingly. I was scared that I've lost him.

"I was peeing again…"

His eyes then run down to the ground beneath me, spotting his deceased friend.

"Emily?"

As if suddenly paralyzed, my kid brother stands still with an expression of disbelief. I stand up and take his hand despite having my own still drenched in the fluids of the little girl.

"We need to get out! Now!"

The two of us start running as the rest of the kids are led by Mia. We are about to reach the edge of this deadly forest and once we do, something launches itself down from the trees above and crash-lands right before us, cutting us off from the playground. Standing wide on its fours. A long, bony tail with its body covered in reptile scales. Limbs armed with sharp claws a face embodying the perfect image of a mummy.

It isn't too large, probably a C-rank but it still is dangerous nonetheless as we don't possess any abilities yet and there's no way Mia's could protect us at her level. Given no other option, the group backs off as slow as possible.

Of course, that is of no help against a monster that hunts our kind for sport. Within a moment it dashes towards us. I react as fast as my brain allows me to, and together with Hidiku I throw myself out of the beast's way. Miraculously the rest of the group has also managed to evade the assault.

Now there's an opening to get out of the forest! We dart towards the playground as we scream for help all together, though the enemy is about to go another round. We are not fast enough!

I disconnect myself from the fleeing group and plant my feet before facing the demon without a plan. Why have I stopped? I can't do anything, I'm powerless against it. Conflicted about my own actions I'm caught by surprise when Mia jumps before me as the demon is about to strike. She pushes me out of its range while trying to guard herself at the same time. But within an instant, one of her hands come off. My friend falls over as she holds the rest of her arm - she's screaming in pain.

I want to get her out, but I am stopped by Hidiku. He's pulling my shirt from my rear. What is he still doing here?! No, I can't look away now! I've only averted my gaze for a second, yet that was enough for the monstrosity to reach me. I now find myself helplessly standing before it as it's a about to swing at me next.

"Big sis! I don't want to die!"

Hearing my little brother's words my heart rate drops. My lungs cease to pump air within. It's as if everything froze in that split second, but I can feel warmth. It's my little brother's warmth. He's still with me, tightly gripping my shirt. Those little fearful eyes. His tiny trembling lips surrounded by the rose red cheeks. My little brother is crying, calling to his big sister for help.

The next thing I know, my heart breaks out of its rest as it begins to race. My breathing becomes irregular. The blood in my veins flows once again as it boils within. And a strange, almost electrifying sensation, runs down my spine. It's like my body fell into a sudden state of trance, then woke up full of adrenaline.

Without any hesitation, I grab the approaching demon's arm and swing its body against the ground. Together with it I then spin myself just like a raging vortex, before letting go and sending it back into the forest. It doesn't take the monstrosity long to leap back at me, out of the darkness. Its arm approaches my face faster than lightning, yet I dodge it with the slightest of head movement and counter with a punch strong as a thunderbolt.

The force of my fist buried in the beast's skull pushes it down to the ground with a bang, creating a small crater as a result. The demon wiggles just like a worm when you split it in half. I check on the kids just to be met with a few small faces covered in surprise. Mia's still visibly agonizing over her hand, I need to get her help!

I attempt to make a step, but my knees hit the ground instead. Suddenly I feel so weak, have I used up all of my strength? My legs have given up on me, I can't move them no matter how hard I try. I'm fighting against myself when I spot the demon slowly getting up as it reaches its arm out toward me.

At one moment, it's about to take hold of my tired body, and at the next, its arm is… gone? To my surprise, the beast's limb is lying next to me rather than being attached to its owner, and I find myself covered in its demonic blood.

"Are you kids alright?"

It's an adult, a guard! Nobody is able to give him an answer, we are too busy trying to make out what is even going on at this point. He then takes notice of Mia and her injury.

"We have a severely injured child here! Get a medic, fast!"

The knight kneels next to me and pats my head.

"You have done a great job, kid. Leave the rest to us."

He stands up as the demon tries to attack him but instead it gets slashed in half. Our lives have been saved, and with that final thought, my mind blacks out.

———

An unfamiliar ceiling. It's the first thing I see after slowly opening my eyes. I attempt to sit up but I'm halted by waves of sharp pain felt all over my body.

"Ow ow ow."

I reflexively voice out my torment before inspecting my surroundings. Is this the hospital?

"Enjoyed your beauty sleep?"

I immediately track down the very soothing and soft tone of a familiar voice. It's like music to my ears.

"Mia!"

She gives me a gentle smile. I've been hoping that everything that has happened was just a bad dream, but seeing her unusually short arm wrapped in white bandages only contradicts that naive idea. My injured roommate notices my expression as it goes from surprised to sad really fast.

"Oh, don't worry about it, I will live."

I shamefully avert my eyes to avoid direct eye contact.

"I'm sorry. This wouldn't have happened if I've just kept on running."

Mia shakes her head.

"Don't be silly. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be alive right now, none of us would. As I see it, we have been lucky to have you there with us. So thank you Himari, for saving my life."

Her previously gently smile now brightens. A shine passes through my eyes as the light reflects from the watery surface. There's a lot of mixed emotions fighting it out within me. Is it alright for me to feel happy right now?

"So… what happened back there? I don't remember much."

I question my injured friend. An expression of surprise forms on her face before clearly thinking hard for a moment. Then reverts back to her joyful smile.

"You've awakened your gift, silly!"

Is that so… I'm not sure what to think of it. It's not like I suddenly feel any more special or anything. I should be happy right now, after all, this is what I've wanted. But at what cost did I get it?

———

The kids are already at home. Their injuries were close to none. I've been stuck in the hospital for another week and Mia even longer. Soon after she was discharged, I met up with her as she was heading back to her mother's place in another town. I then continued to live my everyday life together with my younger brothers as if nothing ever happened.

Eventually, we all got our gifts. Enrolled in the local school. Unfortunately met the Argentos every day there, or maybe I should say fortunately. We fought between each other and then made up again. Laughed and cried together. Fought again, then comforted each other. The irreplaceable friends. They were someone we could depend on when needed. Someone we could never abandon. They became our dearest friends. Friends that I would gladly lay down my life for.