"High up in the ancient mountains of the north, there live the ones who only come down in the dark of night - to terrorize your alert hours before you even go to bed. They descend in the snow from the mountain down, bearing torches and uttering the most monstrous of growls and roars that you can hear even from miles away...you know they are coming..."
The lights were off in the house, save for the lone lantern in the middle of the room, and it wasn't enough to illuminate the entire area, so they were unprotected except by each other as the man walked around them, wearing the dark shroud which covered his very being. It was priceless to see everyone's individual reactions as the horror was told.
Denki whimpered and held onto Iwabe who toughed it out with a stone face.
Chocho got so nervous she munched on her favorite chips and even leaned into Sarada who watched with rapt attention behind her glasses.
Inojin was anxious, too, while Shikadai simply looked off in another direction.
Sumire scooched closer to him and whispered that she was worried about being scared a second time since she'd been subjected before.
Mitsuki, on the other hand, smiled peacefully as he took it better than they all did.
"They show up to spread unimaginable terror -" The man paused right above the girls, making Chocho almost choke as she never expected him to pause right behind her and her best friend, which was too close for comfort for Denki and Iwabe who was now becoming uncomfortable. "- in the form of the NAMAHAGE!"
His voice rose a tremendous octave enough to make them all scream and scramble away into two bigger groups as the black shroud was thrown back to reveal a body covered with straw, but the nightmare was in the image of the red mask of a wicked fiend, draped with messy black hair, and roaring with both hands spread, causing some kids to wet their pants, and embarrassingly, Boruto was included.
The creature-man growled as he leaned into the light of the lantern, eyes flickering side to side as he spoke.
"A word of warning to all the lazy children: do your work and chores, never laze around when you are not supposed to, and the Devils of the North will not come for you."
~o~
How the hell could he EVER forget that when he was just six years old and Himawari was still just a toddler?! He had nightmares for months if not years after that, and he wound up wetting the bed which was a lot of trouble for his poor mom. Mitsuki's dad really did the deed there, and all the parents on the block got on his ass for it, yet it had started to prepare all of them for the experience they would have soon after that when the New Year reached its peak.
Boruto Uzumaki had SHIT himself when the real deal mercilessly slammed on those screen doors of the inn room he, his friends, and their parents gathered in for the rite of passage; they proceeded to bellow in those monstrous voices to be good, or else they'd come back for them to do their worse. A few were also snatched from the floors or their mothers' arms - himself, Denki, and Chocho included notably - and brandishing their great blades, even though the kids would later learn they were fake, as soon as they were old enough to understand.
He had whispered into the shadows, looking at every one of them before pulling the blankets over his head, the terrifying bellow still ringing in his ears before he was damned to hell. He was still crying and screaming as were the others even after it was all over. As if the snow and the murderous cold weren't bad enough.
"ANY LAZY GOOD FOR NOTHING'S HERE?!"
He wasn't taken from his family and home, but he had been reprimanded into studying hard and not slacking off there or with his chores, and to treat his loved ones with the proper respect - and of course, women as soon as he was old enough.
Sarada was the only one to not be scared and waved the noisemaker to ward off the evil spirits, being the little badass that she was. The badass that he found the most attractive about her besides her beauty and intelligence, and why he decided she was his future wife...which brought everyone to the present day.
"And legends go like this," Sarada was telling him in the rear of the car Shikadai was driving, Chocho up front with him and enjoying a couple of bags of chips in her lap despite going on a "diet" as she planned - guess age-old anxiety about those ogre bastards really do that to your appetite - and Inojin on the left while Sarada was sandwiched between them. Gave both guys a direct side view of the snowflakes and landscape. The five of them were in Shikadai's new hard-earned car while their parents and the rest of their friends followed, either on the bullet train or taking a car trip of their own; they'd be among the lucky few to get parking spots. Damned spots were limited for everyone living in Akita or visiting. Plan was to officially meet together tomorrow afternoon, in time for the first of the three days.
"Beware the ones who descend from the mountains of Oga," his fiancée intoned with a gleeful glitter in her eyes, amplified by her spectacles for nightmarish emphasis, "who beat the drums of war and roam the land to terrorize the children. The poor sweet ones." Her insipid giggle through her teeth bordered on a cackle from the Wicked Witch of the West, causing Shikamaru's knuckles to turn white around the steering wheel and Chocho to munch harder on her favorite snacks. "If you do not study hard or shirk your household duties, the Namahage will come for you, cut your back leg tendons so you can't flee, and DEVOUR YOU WHOLE."
"Sarada!" Inojin finally burst, taking this better than he had when they were all kids, though some of them were still too sensitive like back then. "You should save that till we actually get there. Someone else could think you want us all to turn back."
She laughed and leaned into Boruto's shoulder, shrugging. "Spoiling the fun, the three of you boys - right, Chocho?" She scowled when the dark-skinned girl didn't respond right away. "Seriously? Scared, too?"
Boruto knew she meant well and expected the backing of the best friend he knew too well on his part, but - "Babe, give everyone a break. Not all of us have outgrown childhood trauma." Crap that many STILL believe in those things just to keep kids in line, and what you're gonna get once we settle into the inn.
Yeah, the inn for them while other people generally had the Namahage - young men in costumes these days to sell it - come invited into homes to do their thing.
"Yeah, excuse me for bracing myself, Sarada," Chocho shot back, turning halfway around in her seat. "This will be like when we were that age, but also different..."
And speaking of which, just as the snow and winds picked up, on the verge of a blizzard, the group arrived just in time to see the point of entry into their territory. This was enough to REALLY make Boruto hold his girl, Inojin to stiffen and squeeze himself further into the two of them, causing Sarada to roll her eyes; Chocho managed to swallow before she choked herself, and that left Shikadai to widen his eyes before bringing them back to normal and forcing a smile, announcing, "We're here, guys." As if it wasn't obvious enough.
The two great statues of Namahage.
Those demons' eyes seemed to be following them as the car passed, bringing the heated car a sharp burst of chills.
~o~
Red-orange lanterns lit the pathways to ceremonial points, casting their eerie, passionate glow upon the misshapen diamonds entirely covering the earth.
"There's the drums," Naruto whispered to him, his breath on the air, and rubbing his gloved hands together even though the fabric was thick enough to keep the cold out. "Should be any second now..." And right on cue, there were the growls that made him jump but not duck behind Sasuke like he did when they were kids. This time, the blond just straightened his posture and swallowed, forcing a smile at the sight of the men in the straw garments and heavy monster masks of red and blue.
"Supposed to be us girls who are scared more, but are we kids anymore, Naruto?" Sakura challenged, laughing with him as they approached the campsite where the bonfire was roaring. The three of them and Hinata had been here along with the others - Ino and Sai, Choji and Karui, Shikamaru and Temari, and so on - ever since just before the first ceremony would begin.
A half hour had passed before they finally got the treatment they had as kids, but now they were older teenagers here to have fun. Yet the antics of the "monsters" who bellowed and pounded their way through the snow and surrounded them still evoked fear.
Dainty fingers anxiously stroked the necklace he gave her last Christmas, a smooth and clear crystal framed with black branches, but they were together and with friends. Hinata burrowed further into him as the stomping and roaring dialect commenced.
No one's gonna hurt us, and hey, at least we got the mochi these guys like. Too bad they don't accept ramen as a peace offering.
And to think all of this made him think twice about including healthy vegetables and fruits in his diet which Mom and Grandma Tsunade always got on his ass about.
~o~
The powdery, seed-covered rice treats were roasted over the fire. God help them if they weren't prepped at. All.
They were here for their children's wedding in a few days, and the ceremony would be after the festivities ended.
He and Sakura were behind Sarada, leaving Naruto, Hinata, and Himawari who was almost done with high school flanking Boruto. Other families they'd never met before were gathered to participate. Sasuke could see the excitement of some young ones, others ready to ruin their pants. His daughter was one of the few brides-to-be in here, from what he'd gathered. His wife held his hand, smirking and trying not to laugh. This gave them nightmares when they were all children, but now they laughed. Mitsuki's father, Orochimaru, did the job to their own offspring that one time before they even attended their first festival, but as far as all the Konoha parents of the neighborhood were concerned, it was well-meaning just like the mean-spirited demons who were now outside those doors.
The absences of Shikadai Nara, Inojin Yamanaka, and Iwabe Yuino were noted. There was only one place they could be, but Boruto and Sarada didn't need to know that.
The doors broke open, property not destroyed for payment damages, but the appearance of the demons along with their giant "knives" had the youngest of the population either wailing and clambering all over their loved ones or brandishing their noisemakers to keep the monsters away.
Sakura and Hinata had the unfortunate honor of receiving stern lectures from the red and blue ogres, their families present, when they married their husbands years ago; their more traditional parents had instilled the values of the wife and mother into them whilst allowing their modern independence.
Sarada had better conditions than they ever did before, and because Naruto and the others watched her grow up with their kids, they trusted her with their lives, no matter what the fiends of the north would say and do to her.
~o~
It's said that the spirits of the Namahage are brought to life through the masks given to the wearers.
Throughout the evenings, straw falls from the clothing of the ogres, and those who pick it up receive good luck, while those who forcibly pluck it are granted the greatest misfortune for the next year.
After being granted their divine sake and sesame rice sweets, the creatures of heaven and hell return to the mountains amid the blistering winds and snow, the drums echoing throughout the human world before their presence vanishes until the following year.