A few years ago.

“Mio.” She laughed at me as I ran through the yard. “No more sweets before dinner!”

“Moooom-“ I moaned loudly continuing to run around “but it makes more sense to have sweets before dinner. It makes your rice taste better.”

She shook her head, silky black hair dancing all around her “I thought you liked my rice.”

“I like your mochi better.”

“I see how it is.” She smiled brightly “you only like me for my sweets.”

“And your stories!” I ran into her. Wrapping my arms around her waist and burying my face in her shirt “but I love you for your sweets more.”

She ran her fingers through my hair “well that's good. Cause I only love you for your jokes.”

“Hey!” I looked up into her eyes “I’m your baby. You have to love me for more than that!”

“Well. I’m your mom and you only love me for my sweets and stories. So I only have to love you for two things too.” She smiled “so I love you for your silly jokes and that big smile.”

I tried to frown “no. I’m your baby. You have to love me for everything.”

She shrugged “fair is fair.”

“Hey! I didn’t ask to be borned!” I hissed “you made me!”

“Well, your spirit made the choice of my belly out of all the bellies in the world.” She expanded her arms high above my head “you could have had any mommy in the world. But you wanted me. So you must like me for more than just my sweets and stories” she dropped her arms and wrapped me in a big embrace “and I love you for far more than your silly jokes and a big smile. Plus, you’re not as funny as me. You didn’t get your funny bone from me.”

“Hey!” I buried my face in her skirt again and made growling noises. “I’ll bite you!”

“Don’t bite your mom.” She said softly stroking my head “remember the fae don’t like little kids who do that.”

“You always say they don't like things. When it’s you that doesn’t like it.”

“No. Mio-chan.” Her voice went soft but demanding “they don't like it when kids bite their mom. See Mio.”

My heart started to pound and I tried to hide the smile that was aching to spread across my face “are you going to tell me a story?”

She nodded and sat on the grass motioning me to sit in her lap “you know the fae created a lot of different creatures to serve them. They created these creatures to different bidding for them.”
 “Like the mandrake?”

She nodded “like the mandrake. But some were created to do harm to humanity. See the fae are jealous and spiteful creatures who dislike the Gods for making them go into hiding, mad at humans for following these new Gods, and to get back at us humans and the Gods. The Noxi is one of the creatures.”

“The Noxi?”

“Also, just called a Nox.” She coughed and straightened up, a tell sign the story was about to get good “these mischievous creatures were born of teeth and fox blood. During the first full moon of spring, the fae gathered to create a child. The first child to be created from fae magick. This child would leave the den and venture into the human world to tempt the children of man to return to the fae world. However, the Gods had placed a magick more powerful than of the fae around the world. This magick wouldn't allow the fae to create creatures in the image of man. So when the spell was finished. They had a human child. Or, what could be called a human child. The creature was small, very small, about the size of a 10-yen coin. It was covered in a thick, purplish-brown fur with a pair of paper-thin wings protruding from their back, and four pairs of human-like feet.”

“I bet that looked funny,” I said.

She smiled “it was funny. Till the creature opened its mouth.”

My smile faded instantly “what?”

“The creature opened its mouth and a pool of green sludge poured. And thousands of tiny little-jagged teeth, even on its tongue.”

“W-why?”

“See the green sludge was a powerful magick, that immobilized any creature that suffered at the bite of the Noxi.” She sighed softly “even the fae feared the bite of the Noxi. See Noxi’s cannot be controlled by the fae not can they be forced to do anything they don’t want to do. And all they want to do is eat. The fae were tricked by the cunning fox who they asked for blood. The fox was a friend of a Goddess who was relaying information back and forth. He told the Goddess who gave him the blood of a yokai.”

“And yokai are the demons of the Gods?”

“More or less. But they are not all demons, little Mio.” She tried to smile, she didn’t like stories of the Yokai “so the Goddess and fox played a cruel trick on the fae and brought them the blood of a yokai we know today as a hungry spirit.” My eyes widened “yep, those ones.” She must have known what I was thinking but she continued on her story “so the Noxi became creatures stuck in the fetal form of a child, biting, and eating anyone or anything.”
 “Wait.” I rose my finger to get her to stop “they eat anything.”
 “Yes.” Shrugging she looked around “they eat rocks, dirt, trees, and.” She stopped looking at me “and children.”

I swallowed hard “why?”

“They are looking for something to fed their starving bellies.” She poked me in mine but I didn’t find that funny. “They even ate the fae.”

“They ate them?!”

“Noxi’s eat any and everything. Little and big. Those with magick and those without.”

“Well good thing they are in the fae world,” I said letting out a sigh of relief.

“No.” Mom said coldly “they were exiled into the forests.”

“Why would they do that?!”

“The fae figured they would kill us all.” She shrugged “but don’t fret little Mio.” She could tell I was getting scared now “I’ve told you scary stories of the fae before. You know they can’t come in here and bother you.” She pointed into the forest “thousands of spells enchant these woods from Priests and Mikos. Millions from old and new Gods. And we have the twelve bells. They won’t bother you because they can’t leave the forest. But I don’t want you biting, because the rotten tooth of a child is how they are born. If you eat too much candy, or don’t listen to your mommy or daddy, or you bite people, these cause the teeth to rot and Noxi to be born.”

“But I didn’t mean too.” Tears welling up in my eyes.

She looked at me sympathetically “it takes a lot of bad things or a lot of sweets to cause baby teeth to rot. So you’re ok. As long as you say you are sorry and promise never to bite mommy or daddy.”

“I promise.”

She kissed the top of my head “think that’s enough scary stories for tonight? Maybe we should fix up dinner before Daddy gets home from the shrine.”

“Daddy won’t be home again tonight.” I sighed and stood up with her “he’s never home till Saturdays.”

“Maybe he’ll be home this time.” She tried to sound optimistic.

“Do you think the Noxi’s will just eat up the Shrine and it can go back to being the three of us again?”

She looked at me, almost like she wanted to say something but quickly looked away “let’s go inside and wash up.”

“I don't think the Noxi’s would like your rice either,” I said poking her in the leg.

“What’s wrong with my rice?”

I shrugged and ran to the door “it tastes funny!”

She seemed hurt but nodded “it tastes funny because it has fae magick in it.”

“Here we go with the fae things again.” I rolled my eyes and slid open the door “I’ll eat it, Mom.”

“Good girl.”