Halloween Chaos

As the clock struck midnight, it officially became Halloween morning. When it did, the hundreds of people who were dressed in costumes from head to toe began to celebrate. The adults outside clinked their beers as their children ran around to play.

A pair of children in particular were zigzagging through the crowd. They were twin brothers playing tag, one trying to catch up to the other. However, before the tagger could catch up to his twin, he bumped into someone. The child fell on his butt as he looked at the person.

It was a woman. She had nice, fair skin and was dressed in a yellow kimono with white flowers. Her hair seemed to be tied into a bun, which had a golden oriental hairpin in it.

“I’m sorry, pretty lady. I wasn’t paying attention.” That’s what the kid said as he extended his hand toward her.

“It’s fine, little one. It’s not like people have eyes in the back of their heads.” The woman’s voice was soft and calming. As she helped him rise to his feet, she gave him a warm smile. “Now, let’s go find your family, okay?”

“No need, my brother is right there.” The child pointed to his brother, who was behind the lady, but something was off.

His brother, Benjiro, was slumped on the ground. Benjiro’s body was trembling as he pointed to the back of the woman’s head. “T-T-Tanjiro… y-you n-n-need…” Benjiro was on the verge of tears, and his fear only worsened when the woman spoke.

“Aw, you saw it, didn’t you?” When she asked the boy, she was smiling, reveling in Benjiro’s fear.

“Saw what?” Tanjiro asked as he looked up at the woman’s now wide smile. And when he did, the woman licked her lips.

“Would you like to see, too?” Tanjiro attempted to look toward his brother for advice. However, before he could turn his head, the woman blocked his view. “Answer me, child. Would you like to see, too?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Good.” The woman said while guiding the boy’s body with her hands. “Stand right where your brother stood.”

“What do you mean he’s still…” Tanjiro’s words trailed off as his brother was no longer where he had been prior. “Where is he? Mama and Papa would be mad if I lost him.”

“Don’t cry,” the woman said. “In truth, I’m a magician. I only made him disappear.”

“A-A magician?”

“Mhm. So if you want to see the trick, you should run to that spot.” After she pointed to where Benjiro was, Tanjiro sprinted over. He had never seen a magician before, so he did what she said with a smile on his face. However, that smile faded as he saw the trick she was referring to.

The woman didn’t have to move to perform it, as it was already happening. Tanjiro’s face widened, falling to the ground helplessly as he watched the woman’s hair move. It wasn’t just the fact that it was moving that shocked him; it was the presence of a mouth, and a body was inside it.

“L-Let go of him!” Tanjiro brought up the courage to yell at the woman who had Benjiro in her hair. “O-Or I’ll—”

“No.” The woman’s cold voice cut through the child’s naive words. “I said I’d send you to him, didn’t I? Bon appétit!” After she said that, the tongue on the back of her head latched onto Tanjiro’s hand. And his scream mirrored the hundreds of others around them.

People were trembling, panicking, running, screaming, and crying, but never once did the music stop. The music served as the introduction music for the yokai that brought about this chaos. Some looked like ghosts, others were animals, and some even resembled objects, but one thing was clear among all of these yokai: they wanted to see the humans suffer.

While the people around them suffered, holding onto their loved ones, the yokai thrived. They partied as they were eliminating humans one by one. The only person they didn’t attack was an old man.

He was wearing a gray haori, which draped over his lower body. The sleeves had a black line each, and so did the shoulders, plus an extra, narrower white line underneath. If someone only saw the lower body, they’d assume he was normal. The only abnormal thing about him was his head. It resembled a gourd, and it loomed over the rest of his body. He didn’t even have hair to cover the veins on his enormous forehead as he smiled at the sight.

“It’s truly beautiful, isn’t it?” The man sighed as he quickly shuffled to a corpse with an unopened can of beer in its hand. He plucked the beer from the deceased man’s hand and drank it without a second thought. The man was the only one drinking, enjoying the spectacle of the chaos. The only entity to approach him was a Ushi-oni.

“Nurarihyon, the Onmyoji have arrived.”

“Good,” Nurarihyon said as he licked the last drip of beer from his lips. “Give them a nice welcome party.”

“Yes, sir!” The Ushi-oni immediately disappeared as Nurarihyon stared longingly at the moonlight.

“Oh… to be young again.”

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When Shin and the others arrived in the city of Shibuya, it was in despair. Corpses littered the ground, and the fragrance of death filled the air. Various yokai were parading around the ward as they chased normal people, only adding to the chaos around them.

“J-Just what’s happening here…” Hinako asked while covering her mouth. Any other time, she would faint, but she knew deep down inside that now wasn’t the time for that. Hinako could only try to force her resolve as Yukimura spoke.

“It’s the war,” she said in an apathetic voice. “I was hoping we got here in time, but it has already started long before our arrival.”

“Then, we need to go and help,” Shin said as he was about to sprint over to the nearest person. But Yukimura stopped his movement with her words.

“If you run in there headfirst, you’ll die. We need a plan.”

“D-Do you have one, Yukimura?”

“Yes, I do. Shin and I will scout ahead, while you and Rentarou…” Yukimura paused after saying his name. She looked to both sides of her, but he was nowhere to be seen. “Where did he go? He was just here… Don’t tell me he—”

The sound of Rentarou’s laughter rang throughout the chaos in the city. When Hinako heard it, she immediately bowed toward Yukimura. “I’m sorry, I’ll handle him right now.”

“Wait, you shouldn’t go alone.” However, Shin’s words were too late. Hinako was far out of earshot and out of sight in seconds as she pursued her brother.

“Okay, new, new plan,” Yukimura sighed. “You and I stick together while we look for Nurarihyon. If we see anyone in trouble, we help them.”

“Of course… And you’re sure he’s here? Nurarihyon?” Shin asked as his fists curled into a ball. I can’t forgive him for what he did to the Yuki-onna and the Yukinkos.

“Yes. Didn’t you hear what Takeda…” Yukimura's voice faltered for a second after saying his name before continuing. “Oh, right, you were in the mirror. I’ll fill you in on the way.”