Kana took a step back as the Tenjo Kudari crept closer to her. Her hands turned backward and she chuckled as she moved forward, making a sickly slapping sound against the floorboards.
"Run," her companion told her gravely.
"My mother...I need to give her a proper funeral."
Tenjo Kudari suddenly paused and sniffed the air. She came to a stop beside Azumi's corpse and sniffed. Then lapped at Azumi's face gingerly. She uttered a low chuckle and then opened her mouth wide.
Kana gasped and then screamed as Tenjo Kudari began to swallow Azumi. Kana heard the crunch of bones and felt her stomach churn.
"Make her stop! Do something!"
The old man turned to her sharply. "I can't. Run, Kana. Run."
Kana watched, frozen as her mother was wholly swallowed by Tenjo Kudari. When the creature was done, she smacked her lips and then used her long tongue to lick the blood off the floor.
Kana continued to watch in horror, feeling numb. The last of the droplets of blood was cleaned, and Tenjo Kudari regarded Kana with a predatory gleam in her eyes once more.
She jumped forward and Kana finally found the strength to move. She turned on her heels and ran as fast as she could.
She could hear the wind, see the sun's gradual ascent, and the dusty road ahead.
She kept running, even as her feet hurt and her chest burned. Eventually, she reached the riverbanks and stumbled forward. She fell face forward and felt the breath knock out of her.
Kana let out a cry and clutched her knee.
She pulled herself up, turning her head around, her eyes frantically searching for the yokai. She raised her arm and blinked.
The bandage had torn, revealing her burn scar that seemed to glow. She felt a burning sensation and winced.
She tried wrapping the bandage around her arm with the remains but her burn scar could no longer be concealed.
She tossed away the bandage and fell to her knees, crying for her mother, for Michi, for her current predicament.
It was only later, that she realized that her cries were mingled with the cries of a baby.
She wiped her tears and looked around. Behind the rocks, she spotted a woman with long, wet hair, cradling a white bundle in her arms. The sounds appeared to be coming from the bundle.
"Please don't cry, shhh! Please don't. I love you so much."
Kana wiped her face and got to her feet. Slowly, she walked toward the woman.
"Hello? Is everything alright?"
The woman turned her head and Kana saw the desperation in the woman's eyes.
"Oh, there's someone here. I could really use your help."
Kana nodded. "I don't know if I can."
I fell in the river and I am all wet. My baby will fall sick if I keep holding it. I have a change of clothes but my baby is being fussy. Could you please hold it, just for a few minutes? Please."
Kana could see how desperate the woman looked and moved forward with her arms outstretched.
"I'll try. If your baby comes to me, I'll take her."
The woman gave her the bundle and to Kana's surprise, the baby stopped crying immediately.
"She must really like you," the woman said with a smile. "Just give me a moment, please. I will be done soon."
Kana turned around so that the woman could have some privacy as she changed her clothes.
She peered down at the bundle and frowned. Somehow the baby had gotten heavier in her arms.
"I'm almost done," the woman called out in a mellifluous voice.
Kana felt a strain in her arms. Something was wrong. She was either becoming weaker or the baby had somehow gotten heavier.
She tried to shift the baby to get a better grip and realized she couldn’t move her arms properly.
"I need help," Kana said but the woman didn't respond.
Kana pulled the sheet off the baby's head and gasped. There was no baby. It was a boulder that was growing larger in her arms. She tried to put it down but the boulder wouldn't move.
"Help!" Kana called out.
The woman still didn't turn around.
Kana tried to move her arms and even lower herself but she couldn't. She was frozen on the spot.
"Help!" She screamed and looked frantically for the old man. He was nowhere in sight and she remembered leaving him at the house. No doubt his particular form refrained him from following her at a quick pace.
Kana kept screaming for help but there was no one else at the riverbanks.
The woman finally turned and exposed her fiendish grin. In a matter of seconds, she had slithered to her and rose before her.
"Hello, Kana, I've heard about you. You may have escaped hell, but you will not escape me!"
To her horror, Kana realized the yokai's snake-like form. She began to wrap her body around Kana and then opened her mouth to stick out her forked tongue.
Kana opened her mouth but no scream came. It was pointless now. She was trapped and escape was impossible. She could see her death in the yokai's eyes.
She held her breath, expecting to be ingested in one swallow when suddenly there was a swishing sound as if the air had been cut.
The yokai let out a painful cry before her head fell forward and detached from the body. Kana immediately fell to the ground.
The bundle was weightless now. The yokai's head rolled away from her as the body collapsed, scattering mud all around.
Kana looked up to see a man before her, his face was covered with a gray scarf. He wore a black and gray uniform and held a long sword splattered with fresh, dark blood.
Kana let out a cry as the man approached her, his sword raised in the air.
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