"What is this smell?" Kaede asked, wrinkling her nose.
"Don't worry about it," I told her, not wanting to freak her out with the truth. "It's because I haven't taken a shower."
"..are you seriously cracking a joke right now?"
Well, I'm not lying at least.
The smell was like rotting flesh mixed with a sickly sweet stench of decay. I was shaking, and I didn't have a weapon to defend myself with. But I couldn't just stand here, I had to keep moving, even if I was scared out of my mind.
Kaede was clinging to my shirt, and I took a deep breath before leading the way into the deeper part of the house. Suddenly, Kaede stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, her scream piercing the silence of the room.
"AH!!" Kaede whimpered, her voice quavering as she stumbled backwards.
"What's wrong, Kaede?!" I cried out in alarm, my eyes instinctively widening in fear.
She was panting, tears streaming down her face. Her trembling finger pointed towards the bathroom door, and I followed her gaze.
There was a corpse, its head ominously missing and its neck a gross sight.
The body of a person sat there, missing its head. Dried blood stains covered the floor, the walls, and the body itself, marring the once pristine surfaces with a grisly aftermath of violence.
The neck was brutally torn apart, with jagged edges of flesh and tendons peeking out from the gore-soaked flesh.
The inner workings of the neck were visible, with crimson-stained bones and sinewy tendons glistening under the dim light. The body itself was emaciated, with skin clinging tightly to its bones and darkened bruises marring the flesh.
With a look of horror, I realized that the lifeless body on the bathroom floor was wearing the same outfit as our father's.
"D-Did someone break in?" Kaede stammered, her voice shaking with tears.
"No," I said, my voice low and certain. I knew the truth, even if I couldn't bring myself to say it out loud.
"Come on," I said, grabbing Kaede's arm and pulling her towards the stairs. She struggled against me, but I held on tight.
"Let me go!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. "You're hurting me!"
I ignored her protests, dragging her up the stairs despite her attempts to break free. Her sobs echoed through the empty house as I pushed her ahead of me, the weight of the situation heavy on my chest.
As we made it to the second floor, I released my grip on Kaede's arm and she quickly stepped back from me. It was frustrating, why was she acting like this? At times, I found my own sister to be incredibly annoying. She was selfish, constantly nagging and scolding me even when I had done nothing wrong.
She showed no consideration for me and my feelings, she had no idea what I was going through, carrying all the weight and hope. And yet, even now, she was still acting this way.
"Why are you looking at me like that? I'm doing this for you. Don't you understand?"
"Y-you don't seem to care about Father, do you?" Kaede retorted, tears still streaming down her face. "..people like you, people like you should just drop dead!"
I was at my breaking point, the pressure I felt before threatened to burst. I had nowhere to turn, no one to confide in. Kaede had no idea what it's like to bear the burden of everything, but I do care about Father. What can be done about his death? Can you bring him back? This isn't some game.
"You shouldn't speak to your older brother like that."
Girls are irrational, they act on emotions. They're the ones who always die in movies, but Kaede didn't die yet because of me. If I wasn't her brother, she'd rot in that damn bathroom.
I clenched my jaw and fists, my eyes locked onto hers. It was a struggle to keep my composure. How did things get so out of hand? Why did everything have to fall apart? I was lost and unsure, with no one to turn to now that Father was gone.
Leading the household was an overwhelming responsibility, one I wasn't prepared to shoulder.
We stood there, silently glaring at each other, until a loud thud echoed through the first floor and reached us on the second. Kaede's gaze shifted away from me, her attention drawn to the stairs.
The egoistic nature of humans shines through in times of danger, and I was no exception. I was just as self-serving as the next person.
I made my way towards my bedroom. With every step I took, I could hear Kaede's faint whispers trailing behind me, calling out to me.
"...where are you g-going..?" she asked in a trembling voice.
I didn't acknowledge her and continued towards my room, slamming the door behind me as I entered.
"W-wait!"
But before I could fully escape her, Kaede's footsteps approached, and she pushed her way in. I didn't have the energy to argue with her, so I let her be, allowing her to enter my room as I closed the door behind her. The heavy footsteps from the first floor grew louder, but I paid them no mind.
I plopped down onto my bed, trying to figure out what to do next. The only escape route was through the window, which was large enough for a person to jump through.
"What should we do now..?" Kaede's voice cut through my thoughts, her cries now silenced.
"I-"
Before I could even talk, the door burst open and the only thing left was the doorframe. I jumped up, surprised, while Kaede stumbled back away from the door.
The monster wasn't like the ones I had encountered in school. It looked like something straight out of an anime or manga - an ogre. It was massive, towering over us, with a freakishly large head, shaggy hair, and skin that was a weird, green color.
"I-Izagi!"
Kaede cried out in terror as she saw the ogre, rushing towards us. The ogre had to duck just to fit through the doorframe, which was too small for its massive size. And me? I was standing there like a deer in the headlights, not knowing what the hell to do.
That was until I felt a wet sensation under my foot.
I looked down and saw a pool of yellow liquid at my feet. It was slowly spreading, as if it was flowing from somewhere. My gaze traveled up, and I saw that the source of the liquid was coming from Kaede's shaking legs. The skirt she was wearing now was soaked and clung to her skin, revealing the contours of her trembling legs.