[b]DAY 16: TEKE TEKE – TRAIL OF BLOOD[/b]

It was already late evening when Izumi waved at her friend and they said their goodbyes. She had spent more time at her friend's place than she had originally intended, but sometimes it just happens. They did their homework together and after that, the girls had been having fun with various activities and it was no wonder they had lost track of time. But it was another school day tomorrow, so it was for the best to get some sleep. Besides, they could always hang out some more the next day, Izumi didn't live far away from her friend's home. The relatively short distance between their apartments also was the reason why Izumi felt confident walking to her place alone.

The sun had already disappeared beyond the horizon and so the world was enveloped in darkness. But living in a city had its benefits and so Izumi's way was illuminated by the many street lamps and other sources of light that came from the buildings all around her. In their glow, she felt safe and she walked towards her home with a carefree mind. The streets were mostly devoid of human presence – which wasn't surprising knowing the late hour – but Izumi did encounter a lady having a nighttime walk with her dog. Other than that, she didn't meet anyone else and was fine by that. At least there weren't any weirdos around, even though the night is a perfect time for them to come out from their hideouts.

Izumi decided to use a shortcut that went through a nearby park – it was just a small plot of land, but the many trees, bushes and spots of grass gave an illusion of nature, which some people found soothing. Maybe that was why it even existed. It was a tiny piece of something where you could possibly find a moment of harmony, a break from the busy city life. Sometimes even Izumi enjoyed coming there and sitting on the bench for a while, just to relax. And occasionally, that was all she needed to feel calm and content.

She knew the park very well, just like many others that lived around these parts, so she didn't have any difficulties traversing through. She still maintained a carefree mindset, but it vanished as soon as she spotted something gleaming on the ground in the light of a street lamp. Izumi slowed down her pace and squinted her eyes, trying to distinguish what she was seeing. As she walked closer, she could tell that it was red liquid. Feeling a churn in her stomach, she realized that it was fresh blood. Did somebody get injured here? Or worse… She didn't want to even think about it. Nervously she glanced around, but couldn't see or hear anyone. The night was silent. But she realized that she had to get to the safety of her home and so she started running, going as fast as she could.

At first, she could only hear the sound of her shoes hitting the pavement as she hurried towards her home. But at some point, another terrifying sound joined it; she couldn't really tell what it was, it did resemble the sound of footsteps, but without shoes. For a second Izumi pondered whether she should take a look at what was following her. Did she really want to know? But how could she get rid of it if she didn't know what exactly was making those sounds?

In the end, she decided to look behind her.

Something was indeed chasing her. A ghostly figure that was walking on its hands because it had no lower body. It was leaving a trail of blood behind it as it scurried forward and Izumi noticed, much to her horror, that the ghost was carrying a sickle. She turned her gaze forward again and ran even faster, because she was sure something terrible would happen if the ghost caught her. She was almost home, if only she could run a little longer…

But the creature was much faster than she was. It managed to catch her and with one swift cut from its sickle it was able to slice Izumi in half, separating her upper and lower body. The two pieces of her body fell to the ground and she shrieked as the blood was flowing out of her body and her intestines scattered on the ground. She saw how the ghost took her legs and hurried away with them, leaving her to suffer alone. Only thing that remained of the creature was the trail of blood it left behind, now accompanied with Izumi's blood as well.

Izumi bled to death. A young life lost, always such a tragic thing to occur. Her restless spirit would remain on the spot where she faced death, but could anyone help her to move on, there was no answer for that.



[b]DAY 17: KASHA – DON'T LET CATS NEAR DEAD BODIES[/b]

Somebody had died recently in the town. A curious little cat could tell. Who could it be, however? Was it a beloved mother with a bunch of children? Or an old man that had already been lingering between the border of life and death for a while, but had now decided to choose death? Or maybe it was a man who had eyed everyone around him with arrogance, thinking he was way above them all? The curious little cat didn't know, but it was about to find out. No matter who you were, death was something that awaited all, and there was no escaping it. You could always try cheating it or desperately prolong your life, but in the end, you would succumb to your inevitable demise. The curious little cat knew this very well, death was no stranger to it. The cat looked forward to meeting the person who had just died.

It was the funeral ceremony where the curious little cat expected to encounter the one who had just lost their life. So it looked forward to that, even though it didn't know when exactly it would be held. But it just loitered around a temple, being aware that the funeral ceremony would occur there at some point. And the curious little cat didn't have to wait for long, because the next evening, it noticed that the priests were getting prepared for something; it had to be the funeral. The curious little cat stayed out of the way, but remained nearby, making one of the nearby rooftops as its watchtower. Never did it look away, it was staring intently at the people who were getting ready for the funeral. That was also when the sky had turned dark because heavy clouds covered it, and soon it started raining, as if the heaven was mourning the dead too. Now the curious little cat was even more eager to find out who the deceased one happened to be.

Then the ceremony began and a solemn atmosphere filled the temple, as well as the hearts of people. In a way, it touched the curious little cat too, filling it with thrill which put in motion a strange effect. The curious little cat changed its form, its size grew about as large as the one of a human. Now it could stand on two feet only, leaving the limbs that had previously been its front legs free to do whatever it wanted to. Seemingly out of nowhere appeared flames that burned around various parts of its body, giving the cat a little terrifying look. Now it was ready to meet the dead.

Being swift like a lightning strike, the curious little cat leapt down from the roof and headed straight in the middle of the funeral ceremony. But before people had even time to react to its presence, the cat had already made its way to the coffin where the dead were resting, snatched the body and had already hopped back to the rooftops while carrying the corpse. No one could do anything about it, no one could stop it. The curious little cat was easily traveling through the town by hopping from roof to roof and its flaming form scared a couple of people who were deeply worried for a moment that the buildings would catch fire. But they didn't and the cat managed to get away with the body in its arms, leaving the town behind.

Once the curious little cat was sure it was far enough from the human habitat, it finally slowed its pace and then came to a stop. It laid the corpse – its prize – down on the ground. Carefully it started to peel off the winding sheets of the deceased until the face of the dead was revealed. It was a young woman with a large bruise on her neck, a clear mark that she was strangled to death. And by staring at her lifeless face, the curious little cat could piece together bits of her life. A beautiful maiden, the center of attention of many men, her gorgeous looks would attract many kinds of suitors and of course, the bad apples were included in them, too. Perhaps a man she had rejected couldn't accept her response and thus killed her with his bare hands for if he couldn't have her, then no one can. A tragic tale not too uncommon, but it was all the same to the curious little cat.

It was hungry; it had been so long since the last time it had eaten. The face of the woman was the main source of her misery and so the curious little cat struck its claws at her face and ripped a piece off of it. Voraciously the cat ate the meat, quite enjoying the taste of her. It was so mouthwatering, and hastily the cat tore pieces out of the corpse, savoring every bite. It was so hungry that it ate the whole body on the spot and everything that remained were her bones, clothes and the winding sheets.

The curious little cat changed its form, reverting back into the shape of a mere and harmless stray cat. It headed back to the settlement, to wait for the moment when death would claim the next victim.



[b]DAY 18: MAYOIBUNE – SPIRITS OF THE SEA[/b]

Such a beautiful and bright night, perfect for fishing. A group of fishermen decided together to head out to the sea and catch as much fish as they could. A full moon was shining in the sky and the calm waters reflected its flawless image as the men left the shore and sailed towards the parts they knew were usually bountiful with fish. No other fishing boats in sight, it was just them and the quiet and gentle night. Their vessel glided on the small waves and a pleasant breeze was blowing across the sea; everything appeared to be perfect. For a while the fishermen sailed, until they finally came to the waters they had been looking for. They threw their nets into the sea, hoping to get a good catch that night.

Much to their delight, their haul was plentiful and they just continued to get more and more fish. But they weren't robbers and knew when to stop; one shouldn't get too greedy. Eventually they pulled their nets back into their boat, satisfied with their work for that night. The fishermen were about to head back to the land when something strange caught their attention. They could hear sounds, other than the wind humming or the waves hitting the hull of their vessel. It was cackling, a terrifying, mad cackling. The men were anxious and confused; there were no other boats in sight, they could easily notice if there were because the night was so bright and clear. Then one of them made a horrid observation: there were severed heads floating on the water, laughing in a way a living person could never be able to pull off. The fishermen were almost nailed at their spot as they watched how the heads rolled on the waves, all the while doing their constant cackle that was starting to take hold of the minds of the fishermen.

Were they all going mad? It was the question that invaded their minds and even more so after they started to see strange orbs of fire floating from the sea, drifting among the heads. It was clear that they were ghost flames, but whether they should flee immediately or to stay and hope that they wouldn't anger any spirits, the fishermen were unsure what to do. They just stared into the waters and at the unnatural things that were floating on the surface and the longer they lingered there, the harder it became to think clearly. It was like a fog had infiltrated their heads, clouding the thoughts and preventing them from making rational decisions. Maybe it was the first sign of madness – they would never know.

The gentle breeze that had been blowing across the sea turned against the fishermen too. Suddenly it took the form of a harsh wind, it was cold and almost felt like it had claws which it could use to cut the skin of the fishermen. It had an ominous feel to it, like if souls of the dead were riding on it, wailing and lost. Suddenly the fishermen found themselves in the middle of a nightmare, even though the night had been so perfect just a moment ago.

Then they noticed a ship in the distance, sailing against the wind. Perhaps it was their confused state that made them incredibly curious about it and instead of turning around and returning back to shore, they decided to sail towards the strange vessel. One man was still sane enough to think that this was a terrible idea, but he was alone against all the others, so his individual opinion didn't matter. Maybe the rest should have listened to him.

For a while they chased the ship, but didn't seem to get any closer to it. Perhaps that should have been a clear sign that they should drop the pursue and head back home. But instead, they kept sailing towards the ship.

Until their chase got an abrupt end.

It was like pointy rocks had just risen from the depths of the sea, just to hit the fishing boat. They tore open the boat's hull, completely destroying it. Water gushed in and the vessel began to sink incredibly fast. All the fishermen and their precious catch got swept into the sea. One by one the men drowned and the water claimed their souls, just like it had done for as long as there had been people sailing in the sea. They would join the restless spirits that won't be able to pass on, perhaps haunting these waters forever. Their loved ones on the land would never know what exactly happened to them.

Many hungry creatures resided in the water and the bodies of the fishermen wouldn't go to waste. They would be shredded and torn apart, not a single piece of flesh would be left to rot. The men had been feeding on the fish of the sea, but now it was time for the water beings to feast on their bodies.



[b]DAY 19: KUBIKAJIRI – I WILL RETURN AT AUTUMN[/b]

A lot of villagers held fond memories of Yasuharu. He was a kind and hard-working man, a smile always decorating his face. He was also very helpful and would aid anyone who needed it, never expecting anything in return. It's not surprising that he touched the hearts of many people and the villagers remembered him with warmth. He lived alone, but seemed to be content with his life. His death was a great tragedy, shocking the whole village. Yasuharu was still a young man when it happened, which only deepened the mystery regarding his sudden passing. A sickness struck his body, a horrible sickness that drained the lifeforce out of him, making his demise painfully slow. The people tried to find a cure, but nothing seemed to work – they were only able to delay the inevitable. Even in a state of misery Yasuharu managed to smile and that smile was the last memory villagers had of him.

At the beginning of summer, Yasuharu finally took his last breath. No one was by his side when it happened, so it raised a lot of confusion when people found his body in the state it was. It was a horrifying sight: his deathbed was stained with blood and his head was missing. Somebody had come in and cut his head off and taken it with them. But who could possibly do that? Especially since Yasuharu was a respected and loved man among the villagers, somebody like him didn't have enemies. People started to ponder if there was a connection between this gruesome deed and his strange illness. But no one was able to solve it and his missing head was never found. The villagers had no choice but to bury him without his head.

But dead don't always stay dead. The strange circumstances of Yasuharu's case prevented him from passing on. The villagers would see him again, although not in a pleasant form.

The autumn came around and so the days were getting darker. But still there was beauty in nature as the leaves were wearing the pretty colors, not quite yet ready to fall to the ground. One autumn day, a villager was walking along the road towards his home since it was afternoon already and he didn't want to be near the woods when the darkness would come. The weather was pleasant that day, it was warmer than it had been for a while, and so the man enjoyed his stroll back home. He was about to walk past the graveyard that was located in the vicinity of the road, but he saw something from the corner of his eye that caused him to stop and take a better look at whatever it was.

A haunting figure was slowly floating around the graveyard as if looking for something. It appeared to be humanoid enough, had long unkempt hair, was wearing burial robes and it had no legs. But the most haunting thing of this creature to the man was the striking resemblance to Yasuharu, even when buried beneath these ghastly traits it now carried. This made the man curious about what this entity was planning to do – even though he probably should have just let it be – and he sneakily got closer to the graveyard to spy on the creature.

What used to be Yasuharu wandered in the cemetery for a while until it came upon a fresh grave. Then it started digging it and the man wondered why it was doing that. It continued this task for a moment, but was still amazingly swift with its job. The man was peeking behind a tree and from his hiding spot he couldn't see clearly what the creature was doing with the grave, but then it straightened itself and was holding something in its hands.

The man almost gagged; the creature had a severed head. It started to leisurely gnawn on it, doing it in a disgustingly messy way. The creature ate the skin and flesh, blood dripping on the ground along with some pieces of meat that it dropped while chewing. If the villager wasn't disgusted before, he definitely was now as he – for a reason he didn't understand – watched how the creature feasted on the head of a recently deceased woman. He hadn't known the lady that well, but was still familiar with her. Maybe it made watching the creature eating her head even more repulsive.

The villager decided that he couldn't watch anymore and ran away. But the creature didn't care, it just remained there and continued to eat the woman's head in peace.



[b]DAY 20: OTOROSHI – FACE YOUR JUDGMENT[/b]

Horrific deeds are easy to blame on a monster of some kind. People would do that rather than accept the fact that there was a malicious person among them. When children started to disappear never to be seen again, the townsfolk were sure it was the work of a wicked entity that lurked around their town and snatched small children during the night or if their parents let them unsupervised for a long period of time. No one knew what exactly happened to these children since not a single piece of them was ever found. Once these disappearances had gone long enough, people started to become really worried and wouldn't let their offspring out of their sight even for a second. Keeping a watchful eye on their children seemed to work and no disappearances occurred for a while. But the culprit was a patient one and knew that eventually, the parents would make the mistake of leaving their child alone for a long enough time.

Masashi would walk among them, those terrified parents and those who had lost their child. And no one could suspect that he was the one responsible for the disappearances. They were absolutely sure that it was a monster that had been snatching their offspring, when in reality, it was just a man whose face they saw every day. He didn't look like a monster, but he definitely had the heart of one. He would walk around the town with a smug face, enjoying how the seeds of terror he had planted were now blooming. Drowning the town in fear wasn't his intention, it was merely a byproduct of the nefarious deeds he would do to the children.

He simply ate them. He would slaughter them like pigs, cook them and then eat every piece of their meat. Bones he threw away for the dogs to gnaw at. There just was this dark desire in his head, commanding him to devour children. Sometimes Masashi wondered if he should take a step further and start eating adults as well, but that wasn't his yearning. The children were so soft, so innocent… How could he resist a delicacy like that. Now that he had developed a taste for flesh of the young ones, he wasn't going to stop. Though, it was now difficult for him to snatch children because the parents were so paranoid and careful at the moment, but Masashi could wait. Eventually their guard would drop down and when it does, he would be there.

Near the town was a sacred shrine, built in honor of a local deity. People would occasionally go there and pray, but ever since Masashi began his child hunting, the townsfolk had gone there to pray even more than usual. Masashi found it amusing. Clearly their prayers were left unanswered since he was still able to steal their precious little ones. Getting away with kidnapping children and eating them had made Masashi a very arrogant man, so arrogant that he was ready to mock gods. One evening he decided to pay a visit to the shrine as well, just to take a look around and enjoy the feebleness of the deity.

Sun was about to set when Masashi was walking towards the sacred area. Wearing the same smug expression as he tended to do while strolling around the town, he was climbing the stairs made of stone. A red torii gate was in his sight as he progressed. But at some point, when he was getting near the gate, he noticed how a hideous figure had appeared on top of it and was now watching him. It appeared to be four-legged and was mostly covered by a black mane. Somewhere under all that hair peeked an ugly head and its mouth was open, revealing large fangs. The creature had blue skin; the late rays of the sun almost made it gleam.

Masashi didn't know what that thing was, but he wasn't afraid of it. So he continued to climb the stairs and slowly got closer to the monster. Maybe he should have turned around and forgotten to get to the shrine. As soon as he was in front of the torii gate, the creature leapt at him and pinned him to the ground. Its mouth was so huge that it was able to put Masashi's whole head in there. With one powerful bite, it managed to decapitate him and then devoured his head. It tore the man's body to shreds with its fearsome claws and ate everything. Nothing remained except for a stain of blood on the ground where the creature had attacked Masashi. After this feast, the being just disappeared, and didn't want to be seen by anyone else.

What an ironic way to die.