Work Text:
Tomoko feels like she's losing her mind.
For a few days now, there's been this.. glowing, barely visible, something, (someone?) following her 6-year-old around. It's huge, hulking, and inexplicably covered in armor and sharp spikes.
It doesn't seem to notice that she can see It, seeing as it'd rather spend Its time either flipping through books sitting on the shelves or just sitting on the couch, watching Josuke. He doesn't seem bothered by the… Thing sitting by him at all despite being able to see it, going so far as to attempt to interact with It.
The Thing seems unphased by this, almost seeming.. bored by her son's actions.
Tomoko's been watching It watch Josuke for a few minutes now. Josuke stands up suddenly, turning and running towards the coffee table. It would be fine normally, but he wobbles when he gets close to the table, tripping and falling forward into the sharp corner of the coffee table she had never gotten around to baby-proofing.
To her horror, before she can even do anything, It darts forward in a blur, long claws reaching for him. Her heart nearly skips a beat as It snatches him up, pulling him up into his arms away from the sharp corner of the table. She stares for a second, heart in her throat, before It, (He?), hikes Josuke up on Its hip, seemingly scolding him. His mouth moves, but no sound comes from it, and the movements look nothing like any language she knows. Her son seems unbothered despite all this, going so far as to try and stick his hands into His fanged mouth.
After appearing to realize that Josuke isn't paying any attention to what He's saying, He puts Josuke down, huffing for a second in frustration before glancing up, in Tomoko's direction. The two of them freeze in tandem at making eye contact, He, freezing at the prospect of being seen, and Tomoko, at being caught watching. He stares for a few seconds longer before somehow fading into Josuke, presumably in an attempt to hide.
Tomoko carefully backs out of the room, and after making sure that Josuke was occupied with his toys, goes into the kitchen to make some tea to try and avoid thinking about whatever impossible Thing she just witnessed.