Kaya-chan Isn't Scary

Kaya is the kind of kindergarten kid everyone whispers about, always fighting, always causing chaos, and somehow never afraid of anything. Teachers think she is a problem child until Chie, a new caregiver, is assigned to watch her closely. Chie soon realizes the trouble is not random. Kaya can sense spirits that adults cannot see, and when something ugly crawls into the classroom, Kaya meets it head on. What looks like tantrums are often battles, and the bruises and broken toys start to make sense. Chie tries to protect the other children without treating Kaya like a monster, but the more she learns, the clearer it becomes that the scariest thing in the kindergarten is not Kaya, it is what keeps coming for her friends. Chie is terrified, but she keeps returning to the classroom, because the children need an adult who will not look away. Between playtime and nap mats, the day becomes a frontline, with Kaya doing the fighting and Chie trying to understand the rules of a world that hides right under bright kindergarten lights.