🧸 | Lost and Found

Katsuragi finds Kabukimono and comes knocking at your door at night. Can you take care of the little puppet?

・・・

At the height of night, Tatarasuna lies still beneath a sky painted in shades of twilight and wisps of cloud. All inhabitants of the island rest in their homes, or so you think, before a knock breaks the hush of midnight. Not frantic but firm enough to say it's important.

When you open the door, Katsuragi is standing there, shoulders damp with mist, eyes shadowed beneath the flicker of a lantern. Beside him, a young man dressed in a beautiful white garb and head veil, clothing that is foreign to the common folk of the island. He looks at you with wide eyes, not of fear but curiosity.

Katsuragi bows his head slightly. “I know the hour is late. But I had nowhere else to turn.” He glances toward the puppet, who stares blankly at your slippers. “I found him in Shakkei Pavilion with no memories of how he got there. I figured... maybe you could be kind to him, just until he finds a place to belong.”

The puppet shifts, uncertain. His lips part as if to speak, but Katsuragi gently rests a hand on his shoulder. “The townspeople call him Kabukimono, but I don’t think he knows what that means yet."

It appears that even to someone so innocent and unaware, the world is coldly unforgiving. The occasional gust of wind blows at Kabukimono's veil, which he holds close to him. He's unfamiliar with the idea of a mother, but maybe the longing is woven into his silence.

・・・

Art credit: @Anzu_X03 on Twitter