Witch Quest: Childhood Playmate has been completed.
Received "Puppet Rabbit Spirit" —
Name: Little Carrot Pouch
Codename: Puppet Rabbit
Race: Rabbit Spirit
Attributes: Strength D- | Stamina D+ | Charm F | Agility E | Spirit C
Evaluation: Merely the level of a very ordinary serial killer.
Background Introduction: A broken rabbit doll, abandoned by who knows who, with tears all over its body and low-quality cotton spilling out.
Kirishima Kuyo loved rabbits since she was a child, and this was a treasure she picked up from a dumpster in an alley.
Despite the foul smell, Kuchiha happily brought it home and carefully washed it.
Because of the large tear on its body that could fit snacks and toys, Kuchiha affectionately called it "Little Carrot Pouch."
Just because of this, Kuchiha was often beaten and cursed by her father.
Her parents thought "Little Carrot Pouch" was unlucky and ugly.
But they never bought Kuchiha any toys; she... only had Little Carrot Pouch.
It's just that now Kuchiha is nowhere to be found, and it seems to have returned to where it started...
The unnoticed garbage heap...
Perhaps deep down, it is also looking forward to its master's return?
...
The dirty fabric on Little Carrot Pouch's body twisted and stretched, revealing not cotton inside, but... a deeper darkness!
Two broken-hole eyes flickered with an eerie red light.
It slowly stood up from its hunched posture, exuding an inhuman sense of oppression.
The abdomen, made of dirty rags, suddenly split open with a crooked zipper!
The zipper automatically slid down, revealing a viscous darkness inside that seemed to swallow light.
Deep within that darkness, countless fragmented, indescribable things seemed to be wriggling!
Immediately after, the rag rabbit's arm tremblingly reached into this void of darkness.
It pulled out a huge, rusty chainsaw from within!
"Whirr—!!!"
The ear-splitting roar of the chainsaw engine, enough to make one's scalp tingle, echoed through the apartment building.
"Splurt—!!!"
A dull, teeth-grinding sound of flesh being rapidly torn and shredded, accompanied by crimson liquid splashing like spilled ink, instantly filled the entire small kitchen!
Kuchiha felt the hands gripping her neck suddenly loosen, and that suffocating force and cursing vanished forever.
Warm liquid splashed all over her cheeks, her hair, her faded old school uniform... slowly sliding down from the corners of her eyes.
Kuchiha lowered her head, looking at her hands, which were covered in crimson and trembling slightly.
There was no screaming, no vomiting.
A sense of numbness quickly overwhelmed all her senses and emotions like a tide.
The next second, almost instinctively, a Rabbit Hole tore open out of thin air in the doorframe behind her.
"Little Carrot Pouch... let's go home."
After speaking, she walked into the deep opening.
The scene before her instantly switched.
The pungent smell of blood was replaced by the familiar mixed scent of oil, dust, and... food.
Kuchiha's figure stumbled out of an inconspicuous Rabbit Hole in the corner of the factory, falling heavily onto the cold concrete floor.
Her old school uniform was now soaked with large patches of dark red bloodstains, clinging wetly to her body, emitting a suffocating metallic smell.
Her face and hair were also stained with blood, making her look like a demonic girl who had crawled out of a pool of blood.
In the center of the factory, by the large metal workbench serving as a dining table, the atmosphere was completely different.
Goluthos was carefully placing several items wrapped in banana leaves, exuding the aroma of American spices, on the corner of the table—they were specialty foods she had brought back from Saint Martan.
On the other side were several fast-food paper bags left by Billie, and the greasy smell of fried chicken permeated the air.
Riley had treated her to them.
In the center of the table, the Joy Witch in the small flowerpot swayed slightly with the music playing, and when she got excited, she even spoke human words: "I am Ye Ningfu~ I am Ye Ningfu~"
Serie didn't know who taught her that, and Billie certainly didn't.
Zoya sat on a discarded machine a little further away, with her back to everyone.
She hung her head, her silver short hair a bit messy, and a pile of cigarette butts lay scattered at her feet.
Even from a distance, one could feel the thick, unconcealed gloom and despondency emanating from her.
Billie, on the other hand, sat beside Zoya, uncharacteristically not being playful.
She extended an arm and gently pulled Zoya's stiff body into her embrace.
Billie's voice was very low, no longer her usual flamboyant tone, but like she was comforting a frightened beast, murmuring something incessantly.
Zoya did not resist; instead, she clung tightly to Billie.
When Kuchiha stumbled out, carrying a strong smell of blood, the sounds in the factory instantly ceased.
After a brief silence, the solemnity on Billie's face quickly faded, replaced by a radiant smile that seemed to dispel all gloom.
"Kuchiha-chan is back?" Billie's voice returned to its usual clear tone: "Are you hungry? Goluthos has specialties over there, and I have delicious junk food here too, you can choose whatever you like!"
She seemed not to notice the bloodstains on Kuchiha, her tone as relaxed as if discussing the weather, "Go take a hot shower quickly, the water is all ready for you, it's warm! Come out after your shower, and we'll eat together!"
It was clear that Billie, or rather all the Witches, knew what had happened to Kuchiha.
Goluthos also immediately came to her senses.
She quickly walked to Kuchiha, without the slightest hint of distaste for the pungent blood and filth, and extended her own slender yet warm hand, taking Kuchiha's small, blood-stained, cold, and trembling hand.
Her eyes held only the warmth of a winter sun and a silent invitation.
At the same time, the Rabbit Spirit who were playing in the corner of the factory—
The fluffy Little Carrot and Unicorn Rabbit, as well as Little Carrot Pouch, who had just emerged from the Rabbit Hole and returned to doll size, but was also covered in blood—all quietly gathered around on their short legs.
They made no sound, just affectionately rubbed Kuchiha's blood-stained calves with their fluffy heads and warm bodies.
Watching everything before her, Kuchiha's long-suppressed, numb heart felt as if it had been struck hard by something!
She pressed her bloodless lips together, trying to lock away the surging emotions, but her eyes uncontrollably grew warm.
Finally, a tear the size of a bean broke free from her eyelashes and fell heavily onto her blood-stained hand, spreading a small, dark mark.
Following that, came the second, the third...
Silent tears poured down like a broken dam, washing away the dried bloodstains on her face.
Her small body began to tremble uncontrollably.
It wasn't sadness, nor grievance, but a sense of relief.
Serie silently watched all of this; this emotion, of course, was not generated by her.
Although they were all Serie, all reflections of the same soul in different bodies.
Even though this warmth was essentially self-embracing, a special form of self-comfort, at this moment, the solace and acceptance it brought felt... more fervent, more genuine, and more like a true home than anything Kuchiha had ever felt from any outsider in that place called "home."
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