Y/n sat on the ground, breathing in and out rapidly, trying to calm herself.
Okay... she was no longer on the train.
She was home.
She recognized the snow she sat on and the trees that surrounded her. Who wouldn't recognize their childhood home?
An idiot.
'My mask...! It's not here!' the girl realized and squeaked, 'There's someone-'
Oh, she recognized those footsteps.
"Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t-" she whisper-shouted, searching for something to cover her face with. She spotted a scarf in her lap, the one that would always slip off whenever she managed to put it on by herself.
'Right, Mom would always have to help me put it on.' y/n realized, 'I tried to do it myself... but it would always fall off.'
"Nee-chaaaaaan!" someone shouted in the distance and y/n tensed, hurriedly scooping up her black scarf and messily wrapped it around her head so that only her ears, nose and mouth were visible.
She scrambled to her feet, dusting snow off of herself and picking up the log she had beside her. It was bigger than her, yes, but she was able to carry it easily.
Y/n inhaled deeply, exhaling a puff of air as the two pairs of footsteps she'd heard earlier finally stopped in front of her.
"Nee-chan! You're home!" one of them exclaimed, "Are you gonna teach us how to make really cool wood carvings now? You promised before you left, remember?"
"I wanna learn to make a cool mask just like the kitsune one you made last year!" the second voice chimed.
Y/n's voice caught in her throat.
Her brothers. They were alive. They were well. They seemed so happy.
Huh, their voices... they were the same as the day she last saw them. She wondered if they looked the same...
'Guess I'll never know. I'll start crying if I look.' y/n thought, still keeping quiet.
"Nee-chan? Hello???" one of her younger brothers questioned, she could tell which one it was simply because of his voice, "Are you gonna teach us or not?"
"Why are you wearing your scarf like that?" her youngest brother inquired.
"Did you try to put it on by yourself again? You always need Mom's help."
"I... erm... Ko-chan is helping me learn to use my other senses-" y/n blurted and almost facepalmed herself, 'I didn'tmeet Ko-chan until after I left home alone that day!'
"Ko-chan? Who's that?"
"Nobody..." y/n murmured then tried to smile, "Let's just head home. I'll teach you guys to make masks tomorrow, okay?"
"Aw... but I wanted to learn today."
"Nee-chan just got home! She's been gone for days! Let her rest first then she'll teach us!"
"Hm... okay then!"
As y/n walked with her younger brothers, she couldn't help but feel as if something was terribly wrong.
Wasn't she just on a train?
...what was a train?
She realized one of her brothers and paused and could feel him looking at him, "Nee-chan? Are you okay? You're acting a little weird"
Y/n blinked, about to reply with her usual lie about being fine but stopped.
'He told me not to lie about being fine-' she thought then frowned, 'Who are these people I keep thinking of? This Ko-chan person and the strange scary dude...'
Y/n merely smiled, "I'm fine. Let's go home you two. I'm practically starving."
"You're always hungry, Nee-chan..."
"That's cause I need food so I can continue being strong!" y/n laughed.
"So if we eat a lot, we'll be strong too?"
"Haha, maybe." y/n chuckled, unsure of what she was originally worrying about, 'Hm... it was probably nothing...'
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