Can You Hold My Child?

When I stepped off the bus, my head swirled with hiking knowledge. I didn’t even know the Great Trail existed until today. After Hinako was done talking about hiking, she smiled at me as she asked, “Do you have any questions?”

“Surprisingly, no. It was a lot of information, but it was pretty easy to grasp.”

“Of course it was! My little sis is amazing!”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” When those words left my mouth, I could feel a chill run down my spine. I turned around frantically to get a grasp of my surroundings, and I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. The only thing of note was seeing Yukimura staring at me, but when I waved at her, Yukimura looked the other way. Did I do something to upset her?

Before I could dwell on it any longer, Hinako said, “Alright, guys. Let’s get a move on!” However, Takeda, who remained in the driver's seat, immediately burst her bubble.

“Ahem! Aren’t you four forgetting something?” I looked around when he said that, and Takeda was right. We were forgetting one of the essentials for hiking: supplies. We didn’t take anything out of the bus when we exited it. Thank you, Takeda, for reminding us.

“Where are they?”

“They’re in the back. You and Rentarou should carry them. They’re a little heavy.”

A little heavy… he said. When I heard that, I was expecting a few big bags, but when I checked the back of the bus, there were two ginormous bags. I’m surprised that we didn’t see this earlier.

“Um… Takeda, there’s a problem. I think you got our bags confused with plane cargo. We might need to go back to the hotel to switch them out.”

“Nope, those are the right bags.” Takeda has forsaken me once more.

“How am I even supposed to carry it out of the bus?”

“Here, I’ll open the rear exit for you.” Even when that exit was open, it was a hard fit, but with a bit of elbow grease, I was able to push it out. When it was out, I stumbled out with it before giving Rentarou a thumbs up.

“Why are you giving a thumbs up? Did you put everything in one bag?” In response, I shook my head.

“No, your bag is still inside. Good luck, soldier.” He responded with a look of horror as he struggled for a minute, dragging his own bag out of the bus. As soon as he did, the rear end of the bus closed, and Takeda stepped out to speak to all of us.

“Good luck fighting the Yuki-onna. I won’t be able to assist you guys at all in this fight, but based on the efforts you’ve shown and progress made in training, I believe you four can defeat it. Be safe hiking. That is all.”

With those words said, he went back into the bus, not leaving any room for response, and drove off, leaving the four of us to hike up this mountain.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I’m so tired! These bags are so heavy! When are we gonna find this stupid yokai?” Rentarou began to whine, and rightfully so. The bags were too heavy. Even with my strength, carrying this bag for so long has been hellish. I want to drop it down to the base.

I looked down to see how high up we were, but I couldn’t even see it. There was a snowstorm obscuring my vision. I could only make out Rentarou, Hinako, Yukimura, and a bit of the path ahead of us.

However, despite the snowstorm and the pain Rentarou and I were experiencing, Hinako remained excited to go hiking. Every so often, she’d check up on us before she wandered slightly ahead. Whenever she did, I looked past the bag on my back to look at Yukimura. And every time I looked at her, she seemed to be looking away from me.

I definitely did something to her. What should I say? However, before I could ask her something, I bumped into Rentarou, who was standing still.

“Why are you standing still? I could’ve fallen.”
“Shhh!” he said. The loudest one here is telling me to be quiet? Something must be wrong. I looked over his side to see what was happening, and Hinako was standing still in front of him. And beyond Hinako, there was another figure.

I brushed past Rentarou to get a better look at the figure, and it was a woman. She had long hair like Yukimura, but hers was black and strained. She was also tall and had pale skin like the snow that surrounded her. As I stood where Hinako was, I got a better look at her. I could see her ethereal beauty that was only elevated by the kimono she wore. What was that in her hand? I still couldn’t quite make it out from where we were, so I took one step closer. It was a kid.

My eyes widened when I realized this, and as I did, the snow began to pick up. I put up my arms to shield my eyes, but with all the snow flying around me, I couldn’t see anything. I couldn’t hear anything either, besides the sound of the wind howling. When it stopped, I opened my eyes to the woman who was once in the distance, standing in front of me.

She towered over me as she stood two steps away from me. I looked up to see her face, and she was smiling. But I didn’t stare for long since I felt something poke at my chest. I looked down, and the woman extended her arms with a child in them.

“Can you hold my child for me?” That was the question the woman asked. I turned my back to see the others’ reactions, but all I could see behind me was the whirling snow. The only person I could see in this moment was this woman, who only repeated what she asked before.