ᴡɪɴᴅ ʙʟᴏᴡs ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴄʜɪᴍᴇs|| h. haganezuka

ⓒⓗⓐⓟⓣ. ②|| 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚕

"すみません!"

"すみません!"

Gentle nudges to your side caused you to wake with a start, sitting up from the forest floor, pain blossoming throughout your noggin. Man, this headache won't go away.

You try to get some bearings about your situation. The sun is dipping below the horizon, darkening the sky in swirls of blues and purples. The stream flows unbothered to your left, and kneeling in front of you is a man and his young child clinging to his pant leg. They're both wearing yukatas? You can't remember what the traditional style of Japanese clothing is called, since it's completely overtaken by the oddly familiar pink masks they both wear.

Like little clown people. It's kind of cute.

"すみませんお嬢さん?" The man asked you in a kind voice. Searching for a translation in your brain, you could only catch, "Excuse me?". That Russian class you took is really coming in clutch now.

"Uh, hello? I don't, um, understand you. But I'm lost! And-and I need some help!" Thinking quickly, you could only hope that your desperation came out in your tone.

There was nothing but a bewildered sound from the child behind him, as he squeaked out something to his father, "彼女は幽霊ですか?" The man shook his head before speaking to you,

"大丈夫ですか？ どうしました？ あなたの名前は何ですか?"

'Not a clue' you thought. An idea sprang to mind as you pointed to yourself and clearly said your name, he repeated it back to you stumbling over the syllables just a bit, but you were elated that you could communicate in some capacity.

Mimicking you, he pointed to himself and said, "Tadashi" and to his son, "Kotetsu" you nodded and repeated the gesture back.

He stood up and beckoned you to follow him, scooping up his child in his arms. The little kid had a mask with thick eyebrows and pink cheeks, resembling his father's in a way.

"You want me to follow you?" you asked, and he seemed to pause before nodding. 'Well, what other choice do I have?' And with that, you were walking once more, following Tadashi and Kotetsu.

There was complete silence between the three of you, save some conversation between Tadashi and his son. He led you around twisted trees and bushes until you met a stone path with little lantern markers throughout the road. Tadashi stopped and turned back to you, unwrapping the cloth around his head and handing it to you, motioning for you to use it as a veil of sorts.

"私たちが入る前にあなたの顔を覆ってください", He said. You guessed that he asked you to cover your face. Maybe it's a rule or a custom? You obliged, praying they weren't gonna lead you to your doom. You were absolutely battling your thoughts the whole time you were walking with this pair. On one hand, you did not trust anything this gentleman said to you. Quite literally a stranger in a strange land, you had to be kept on your toes to survive. What if this was all some elaborate kidnapping plot? Or they were gonna use you for some weird science experiment or something?

On the other hand...

You could feel your tongue dry up like sandpaper and the tightening of your stomach. Yeah, you would take any kidnapping plot for some food right now.

The light cotton fabric offered you some clarity in your vision, you could make out the bright lanterns against the darkness of the forest, the stone path underneath your feet, and the gentleman leading you to whatever fate they held for you.