Lord kiryuu Hanzou - the head of kiryuu dynasty, king of the Tenshogai Nation - stood silently. The news had reached him. Yet he gave no response. Not a word. Not a breath wasted.
Instead.....he turned.
His footsteps echoed through the quiet corridor, wooden floors creaking beneath his formal sandals. Sunlight carved sharp shadows around him, but none reached the storm brewing within his heart.
His mind whispered.
" So.....this is the child. My second son. A new storm truly begins today."
He didn't not enter the room. He didn't need to - not yet.
But then-
A sudden sound pierced the stillness
Sfx:" Uwaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!"
A baby's loud, emotional wali burst from within the room- not weak,but raw, pained and desperate. Like a scream from a soul that had been reborn through fire.
His eyes widened. His calm cracked. And without a second thought, the king of Tenshogai rushed toward the door.
Inside the room, the air had settled.
The cries that once echoed had quieted, leaving behind a soft, serene stillness. The kind of silence that carries weight - not emptiness, but peace. The kind born only from love.
There, on a silken bedding, lay the newborn child. His small body wrapped. Carefully, his breathing light and even. The tears had stopped. His expression now gentle. As if, in this moment, the world no longer felt foreign to him. He was sleeping peacefully.
Lord hanzou stepped quietly into the room.
His presence, though commanding, did not disturb the peace. With slow, reverent hands, he bent down and lifted the infant into his arms. The baby stirred slightly, but did not cry. Instead, he rested easily in the lord's hold- as if recognized something... familiar.
A rare smile touched hanzou' s face.
" My dear son..." he whispered, his voice softer the anyone in the palace had ever heard. " So small ..... Yet already so important."
Across the room, the mother- elegant, though pale and tired- rested against soft pillows. Her hair clung slightly to her skin, and her breath was slow. Yet in her eyes, there was only warmth.
She watched her husband. And he watched her back.
A brief silence passed between them, full of meaning.
Then, with a calm tone, lord hanzou asked,
" Ahhhhmm....so....what name have you given our son?"
She smiled faintly, a whisper od strength behind her voice as she answered with. Love,
" I have named him....kiryuu ryouma."
And at that moment, something unspoken settle between them. A name had been given. A soul had returned. And a legacy had just been born anew.
Lord Hanzou gently placed the baby back onto the bedding. The child shifted slightly. His small fingers curling into his blanket,the room still holding the lingering warmth of that precious moment.
The lord hanzou straightened slightly, glancing at the baby with a smile tugging at his lips.
" Hmmm.... ryouma, huh? The name's got weight."
He said in a calm but amused voice.
" No one's better at picking names than you, Akane."
From her resting place,Akane - still tired from childbirth smiled softly, her eyes half- lidded, but full of affection.
" Hmph, flattery won't save you from diaper duty, my lord." she murmured playfully.
Hanzou chuckled lightly, and knelt again. Beside their son.
" Still...look at him. Akane, he's got my hair- black like a moonless night. That sharp nose, that strong jawline....ha, this boy's going to be just as handsome and built as his father. Look at those arms and legs-."
"Ahem."
Before he could finish, Akane cut in gently, her voice teasing but firm.
" Have you really looked closely, dear?"
She said, raising her brows." Yes, the black hair is from you...but see here- " she pointed at a soft streak glinting under the candlelight, "He has crimson red strands too. Just like mine hair."
Hanzou leaned in closer, squinting.
"A...is that so? Tch, it's barely visible - most of it's black anyway."
They both laughed lightly, the sound echoing warmly in the quiet chamber.
Just then, the baby stirred.
Ryouma let out a soft "hai~" - a short sound, as if reacting to their voices. He blinked his eyes once- slowly - revealing the striking mismatched hues.
Hanzou's smile faltered. His brow lifted.
" Left eye....red?"
Akane's eyes widened too.
" Right eye....black?"
They turned to each other at the same time, a look of silent realization passing between them.
" He inherited from both of us." they said together - and then, both laughed.
The soft moment was interrupted by a knock on the door, followed by a voice from the hallway.
" Your highness, it is time for the lady's meal."
Hanzou stood, nodding to himself as if grounding his heart again.
" Akane." he said gently." Take care of yourself. And our son."
She smiled. Placing a hand on her chest.
" Of course. Don't worry. I will."
Hanzou gave one last look at the peacefully sleeping ryouma before turning and stepping out into the corridor.
Akane, now alone with baby, began eating slowly. Glancing down at her child between bites.
Ryouma, however, remained asleep - his tiny face still, unaware that his father has just left. Unaware of the gentle banter. The love that filled the air, the quiet laughter that echoed in the room.
Also so, the soul that once died..... slept soundly in the warmth he never knew in his former life.
As the soft clatter of tableware echoed in the quiet room, Akane slowly lifted another spoonful of warm rice to her lips. Her body, though still recovering, had begun to ease. The pain of childbirth dulled under the comforting weight of peace.
But something -
A flicker.
An invisible shiver brushed her spine.
Her gaze slowly shifted to the nearby cradle where ryouma slept peacefully, his small chest rising and falling with rhythmic calm.
Her eyes narrowed.
She leaned in slightly.
" One black.....and one red ....." she murmured under her breath, her brow gently furrowing. There has been so much chaos, so much emotions, she hadn't truly seen it before.
" Why... didn't i notice this sooner?"
" Why does it feel.... strange now?"
A moment of silence.
Then, as if brushing it away with a sigh, she shook her head lightly.
" No..... I'm probably just tired. Exhaustion must've dulled my senses." she told herself, placing the bowl back down.
But even as she said the words aloud, part of her didn't believe them.
She glance once more at her sleeping son
He looked like any newborn - tiny, innocent, safe.
And yet.... something about that red eye and hair. Something buried deep, something unnamed, quietly called out from it.
But Akane silenced the thought.
She resumed eating.
Still, the image of that crimson hue stayed in her mind - like a forgotten melody from a past life.
What Akane didn't know...
Was that even though Ryouma had been reborn. That eye- that very mark - had changed at the moment of his arrival, taking on something unknown. Something not even the heavens could trace.
Neither mother not child knew yet....
But a hidden truth had already begun growing in the silence between their heatbeats.
Akane lifted another spoon of food to her lips. Though her appetite had long faded.
She kept glancing towards the cradle.
Her son - Ryouma - lay still, soft breaths rising and falling, his little hand curled near his cheek.
That one red eye....that streak of crimson in his hair.....it looked so familiar.
Too familiar.
She exhaled quietly.
" It's not strange...is it?" she whispered to herself.
" He just inherited it from me."
She paused.
But...no. Something was different.
That eye hadn't always looked like that.
It had shifted - after birth.
She remembered the moment clearly now. The cry. The light. That flash. The crimson shade had burned brighter- new, sudden.
" No... I must've been too tired." she murmured.
Shaking her head. " That's all. I didn't notice earlier..... that's all...."
Still, her words hold no weight in her own heart. There was a question inside her that wouldn't settle: " What...am I ? What is my existence...?"
Akane looked at her son once more. His soft face gave no answers. Only more silence.
Meanwhile...
Somewhere far from the palace , across forests thic with fog and shadows, deep within a jungle cloaked in darkness....
A dim black haze twisted like smoke, curling around ancient trees.
A soft rustling of leaves.
Then - two eyes opened in the black.
Glowing.
Uneven.
One eye flickered with embers of crimson fire, the other with depth of a starless void
The air around it stilled.
No animal moved. No bird cried.
Only a whisper broke the silence.
" Finally...the child ..is born."
A moment passed.
The eyes slowly closed.
The black haze vanished - as if it was never there.
Back in the cradle, Ryouma stirred.
He shifted under his blanket.
A faint breath. A quiet sigh. Then stillness again.
He slept peacefully - unaware that his birth had already stirred the shadows.