Summary
Yuna is a fourth grader on her way to visit her grandmother and extended family out in the countryside. Two years ago her grandfather passed away and her grandmother lives alone now.
She arrives and they embrace while exchanging greetings, then she heads inside after she remarks on how much she has grown since last time. Yuna greets her aunt and uncle and their son -her younger cousin- Sora. She cuts to the chase to ask for her Otoshidama (money given to children on New Years) and they happily comply as her mother scolds her for being so upfront. Yuna doesn't care though, and she runs off to count it; excited to compare with her friends and purchase a bunch of mystery bags. But she is shocked to only find 5000 yen within it, rather than the 10,000 she expected.
Sora joins her afterwards and he looks over the otoshidama her parents gave him, commenting that as he's only a first grader, her dad is just being generous. She is baffled upon realizing he got the 10,000 yen she wanted and silently begins to fume as Sora happily admires the large sum.
Without second thought she grabs it and runs from Sora, deciding to play a joke on him by hiding it. He chases after her and she quickly escapes, spotting a kotatsu nearby that she decides to hide beneath.
As Sora cries in defeat, Yuna thinks about how much she misses her grandfather. She really wants this money, and he would always slip her some in private- with the currency she got this year she won't be able to afford very much with it.
Suddenly, Yuna notices the seal placed beneath the Kotatsu's cover and rips it off to look at it. Not hearing Sora any longer she crawls out from beneath it to find Mikan -her grandmothers cat- staring at her. It runs beneath the kotatsu and Yuna decides to join it, grabbing some snacks and manga she brought with her to enjoy.
Eventually Sora returns to ask for his money again. Rather than hand it over or come up with an excuse not to, Yuna remembers that there was a new anime she wanted to watch at midnight, but hearing this her grandmother forbids it. Children must go to bed early, or else she may risk being taken to another world. Yuna expresses confusion as her grandmother teases her, explaining that it's a legend in this area that the kotatsu is made from trees previously used within the shrines. Whenever the clock strikes midnight, it becomes a portal to another world and the only way to repel it is by putting a protective seal on it. Yuna begins to worry as she recalls ripping it off earlier, but she assures herself it's nothing but made up nonsense.
Later, Yuna's dad finds her preparing for bed and mentions how unlike her this is- it isn't even ten pm yet. Yuna claims that her grandmother would prefer it if she went to bed early though, only for Sora to join her after he leaves. She notices how concerned he looks and questions why he's still up before settling down for bed.
As everyone sleeps that night, Sora slowly awakens and leaves his spot.
The following morning, Yuna wakes up to find the adults in an uproar over Sora vanishing. Initially they assumed he was just using the restroom but he never came back. While glancing at the kotatsu Yuna begins to fear the worst, thinking he might have gotten up around midnight to look for the money she stole, and she panics until they ask her if she would know anything. Yuna claims she doesn't and rushes back for her sleeping spot to grab the seal she tore off. She puts it right back, only to notice Sora's envelope and state that because he didn't listen, it isn't her fault.
She packs up her items to prepare for departure later when she heads outside to find her family and several other residents worriedly searching the area for the missing child. Nobody has seen him yet, but she isn't worried since the police can just find him; even though she knows this is a big lie. She suggests they just head for home now since she got her money- but to her shock her mother suddenly slaps her. She briskly chews out Yuna for being such a selfish brat who only thinks of herself, but just then someone approaches them to announce locating Sora.
Everyone rushes straight for the pantry inside, expressing relief as it's explained that he got stuck inside the pantry and fell asleep. Everyone is very apologetic for not having noticed and coddle him with attention, glad to know he's alright; except for Yuna, who is enraged at having been struck. Sora happily runs up to her and she instantly assumes he wants his money, but now that she's been hit she refuses to hand it over.
As she reaches into her pocket she suddenly remembers the seal and asks him to wait a moment. She returns to the kotatsu and rips the seal off again, placing it onto the money pack and hands it over, claiming that she put a special seal on it to make sure the money doesn't fall out. Sora delightfully runs off and Yuna reveals she kept the money, feeling that he should at least be happy getting that after everything she had to put up with. She refuses to give him back the money and decides to return to the kotatsu.
She remains there, sulking until her parents come by later that evening to suggest she go to bed since it's getting late. Yuna won't speak to them, and her mom remarks on how she's been doing since noon, but it can't be helped if she's unwilling to cooperate. She refuses to say or do anything; unless they were to give her money, then she might be willing to forgive them. With midnight approaching, her parents say goodnight and leave the room to prepare for bed.
When the lights shut off Yuna decides that she should probably be getting some sleep and she turns to find everyone has already fell asleep. She turns over when her foot touches something and she finds a large bump on the opposite side of the kotatsu. She initially believes someone is sitting there, but after a second it dons on her that everyone else is already asleep. She panics as she remembers what her grandmother said, but she assumes it's Mikan again and ducks beneath the thick fabric as the figure steps out.
Seeing the figure has darkened skin, Yuna fears it might be a burglar as they search the room for something. However, as they begin to walk over to her she suddenly remembers where she has seen it's clothing before and expresses alarm realizing the figure is the spirit of her grandfather!
He is happy to see her, but she is frightened of his grotesque appearance. He remarks on how he would like to give her this years money and grabs her, dragging her beneath the Kotatsu.
The next morning Yuna's parents attempt to locate her as Mikan sleeps on the kotatsu, with the crumpled up money Yuna stole from Sora. Unaware of what happened, her mother assumes she is still angry and avoiding everyone.
Tropes:
- Deadly Prank: Probably. If Yuna hadn't decided to play a prank on Sora because he received more money than her, she might not have hid beneath the kotatsu and found the seal.
- Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday: The second story of the series taking place at/around News Years.
- Karmic Twist Ending: Yuna rips the seal off despite being warned and ends up falling asleep under the kotatsu. Without the seal, her deceased grandfather's spirit appears and drags her into the other world.
- Never My Fault: Yuna insists this after Sora goes missing and she starts worrying he might have found the kotatsu. But it turns out she was right, because he was hiding in another room.
- The Scrooge: Yuna isn't the first protagonist who has an obsession with money- but she's the worst, being a Spoiled Brat who only cares about money. For fun her and her friends like to compare their holiday earnings, she spends it on frivolous things and skips formalities and courtesy to count it, and she gets envious if someone has more than her.
