One-Shot: Sisters
End of the World.
"Kyaaaah! Shiro-nee, put me down now!"
A young girl's voice echoed through the forest, trembling between sobs, fury… and genuine fear.
A small girl with snow-white hair dangled from a rope tied to a sharp rock, right above a shimmering river that flowed toward the edge of Little Garden's world.
Her crimson eyes gleamed with tears. Her tantrum was clearly visible on her face.
"Ahahaha! I didn't think this would be so much fun!" exclaimed a girl with gloved hands holding the rope with enthusiasm.
She was the embodiment of power, style, and arrogance: Shiro Muramasa, also known as the [Demon Lord] White Queen.
Her white military uniform gleamed under the sky. She wore an admiral's cap adorned with a rising sun emblem, and at the center, a glowing clock sphere. Her white hair, tied in two perfectly symmetrical ponytails, fluttered in the wind as she smiled cruelly.
Her right eye, blood-red, sparkled with excitement. Her left eye, icy blue with a slowly turning clock, observed every reaction of her younger sister.
"Stop staring at me with those weird eyes! Put me down already, Shiro-nee!"
"Weird? But they run in the family!" she mocked.
A moment later, a new presence appeared, walking gracefully through the air.
"Well, well… don't hog all the fun."
Kurumi Muramasa, Senji's other daughter, descended slowly. Her beauty was dark and captivating.
Black hair tied in two long ponytails, one slightly shorter than the other to mimic clock hands. She wore a gothic crimson and black dress, adorned with frills. A large crimson mesh bow held her hair in place. Her skin was a pearly white.
Her right eye, red, gleamed mischievously, while the left—an inorganic golden clock—rested at the 3 o'clock position… for now.
"Kurumi-nee, not you too!" Alicia begged.
"Oh, little sister… if you're so noisy, I can't ignore you," Kurumi whispered with a sharp smile.
She took the rope and began to sway it in a zigzag motion, provoking terrified screams from the little girl.
"Uwaaah! I'm gonna fall! I'll disappear! I'll vanish at the edge of the world!"
Shiro crossed her arms.
"Disappear? Please. The End of the World connects many places. You might end up at the Second Digit Gate and land on Leviathan or one of the [Twelve Devas]. Who knows."
"WHAAT!?"
Kurumi let out a small chuckle.
"Shiro, you should've tied her better. It's loosening."
"Eh, let it a bit loose. Watching her kick around is fun."
The two sisters, both recognized as [Demon Lords]—White Queen and Nightmare—watched their little sister without the slightest hint of compassion.
"Dad! Daaaaad! I'm gonna tell daaaaaad!!"
…
Far away, at Thousand Eyes headquarters, Outer Gate #3345.
"Tch…" Senji Muramasa, wearing a dark jinbei and with messy white hair, frowned as he sipped his chamomile tea. "That voice… no doubt."
"Are they blaming you again, Sengo?" asked Shiroyasha, relaxed as she looked out the window.
Senji sighed.
"Not exactly. But… Kurumi and Shiro are playing a nasty prank on Alicia."
"With daughters like that, who needs enemies?"
…
Back at the river, Alicia hung in silence. The tears had stopped. Fear was slowly transforming into anger.
"Someday… I'll be stronger than both of you…"
Kurumi and Shiro looked at each other—then burst out laughing.
"I definitely want to see that!" said Shiro.
"When that day comes… I hope you come at me with everything you've got, little sister," Kurumi whispered melodiously.
But neither of them noticed how Alicia's left eye, for a brief moment, shone with a dark crimson hue… very much like their father's.
…
Alicia was still hanging from the rope.
Her small hands clutched the knot around her waist. Her face, flushed with frustration, glared angrily at her sisters.
Shiro kept laughing while spinning the rope like a gallows swing.
Kurumi, on the other hand, had taken out a small pocket watch ticking in rhythm with the motion.
"Maybe we should drop her now," murmured Kurumi, amused.
"And miss the show? Nah."
At that moment, a cold wind rose, carrying a familiar scent.
Both sisters paused.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound of light footsteps echoed behind them.
"…What are you doing?" asked a soft, firm… and very cold voice.
Kurumi narrowed her eyes.
Shiro curled her lips in amusement.
"Well, if it isn't Leticia Draculea," Kurumi whispered. "What a coincidence."
"The brat's mother," added Shiro nonchalantly.
In front of them, a young girl with curly blonde hair tied with a large black bow, pale skin, and red eyes, floated elegantly just a few meters away.
She wore a black collared shirt, a gray tie adorned with a cross, and a red coat fluttering like a short cape. Her white miniskirt with red trim, black and gray striped stockings, and short-heeled black boots completed her noble vampire appearance.
"Oh no…" Shiro whispered theatrically, raising a finger to her lips. "Did mommy come to scold us?"
"Are you so bored you need to torment a child?" Leticia asked, with a calmness colder than any demonic power.
Alicia, eyes filled with tears, looked up from her hanging prison.
"Moooom!"
Leticia sighed, closing her eyes for a moment.
Then, she untied the black ribbon from her hair.
Immediately, her body began to change.
In the blink of an eye, the girl turned into a tall woman with a slender figure, a mature beauty with an imperial aura. Her blonde hair cascaded down, and her red eyes glowed with the nobility of ancient blood.
Kurumi elegantly stepped back.
"Oops. She took off the ribbon. That's a bad sign…"
Shiro whistled.
"That means she's in 'serious mom mode'."
Leticia raised her hand, and a pressure surrounded the area—an invisible force reminding them they stood before a true Pure-Blood Vampire and a Demon Lord once feared in the past.
"Need I remind you that it is entirely legal for me to attack anyone who endangers my daughter? Even if you two are Sengo's daughters."
"Technically, we never said we'd drop her…" Shiro tried to justify.
"Alicia suffered no physical harm. It was recreational," added Kurumi.
Leticia said nothing. She simply raised an eyebrow.
"Look, you're not even our mom," said Shiro, scratching her head. "Yet you act like we have to obey you."
"And yet… you're backing off," Leticia replied.
Silence.
Kurumi smiled.
"We were just here to play a little. Not looking for a fight. It's been centuries since we had fun like this."
Shiro let go of the rope. Alicia screamed for a second, until a shadow emerged from Leticia and caught her, bringing her safely into her mother's arms.
Her mother held her gently, stroking her hair.
Alicia clung tightly to her neck.
"Thanks, mom…"
Shiro turned midair, floating backward.
"Kurumi, shall we go?"
"Yes, yes. I don't want another sermon with motherly fragrance."
"Shiro-nee! Kurumi-nee! I'll defeat you one day!!" Alicia cried through tears.
Shiro raised a hand and gave a farewell wave without turning.
"We'll be waiting, little sister."
Kurumi smiled sweetly.
"Make it interesting when that day comes, okay?"
And with that, both vanished into a wave of temporal distortion.
…
Leticia, still in her adult form, stroked her daughter's head. Her expression softened.
"You're strong, Alicia. But never be afraid to ask for help."
"I… won't. Thank you, mom."
They remained silent. The river light shimmered beneath them, and Little Garden's sky seemed calmer than usual.
Leticia smiled, looking down.
"I wonder… what your destiny will be."
A week had passed since the incident at the edge of the End of the World.
The sun floated high over the fragmented skies of Little Garden, casting abstract shapes over the slanted roofs of the residence. Inside, three figures rested on the terrace, surrounded by sweets, cushions, and the gentle midday breeze.
Alicia, with a curious expression, broke the silence.
"Hey… Shiro-nee, Kurumi-nee…" her crimson eyes narrowed with a slight blink, as if looking beyond the surface of her sisters' pupils. "When will I get the same kind of eyes you both have?"
Kurumi, sipping tea with graceful hands, turned her gaze at the question. Her index finger brushed her lower lip, thoughtful.
"The clock eye, you mean?" she repeated softly, then let out a mischievous giggle.
Her memory drifted back to a past conversation with their father.
"Dad said…" she paused dramatically, savoring the mystery. "That Alicia could easily manifest a clock eye, but the consequence would be severe… for him."
Alicia tilted her head, clearly confused.
"A consequence for… dad? I don't get it."
Kurumi slowly nodded.
"He gave more info… though very cryptic. He said that if Alicia manifested a clock eye and used its power… it would slowly kill him. Like his existence would unravel piece by piece."
Shiro, lying with her arms behind her head, watched the clouds in silence. Finally, she spoke calmly.
"So that means Alicia… doesn't have her own clock eye."
"Huh?" Alicia's eyes widened.
"Think about it," Shiro continued, sitting up with a carefree smile. "If you don't have one… but can manifest one… that means you're not gaining it, but borrowing it."
Kurumi narrowed her eyes, starting to piece it together.
"Stealing, to be more precise," she murmured. "Temporarily stealing dad's clock eye."
Shiro snapped her fingers, as if confirming the theory.
"And since that power isn't yours, using it… drains the real owner. In this case, our father."
A brief silence fell over the three.
The wind gently moved Alicia's white hair as she lowered her head. Inside, many new questions were born… but no easy answers followed.
"So… if I use it… I could kill him."
"Slowly, yes," Kurumi answered without sweetness, though not with cruelty. "But only if you overuse it. Dad might end up dead."
"I see, I see…" Alicia repeated, her eyes beginning to glow with a faint crimson gleam.
Kurumi noticed that glow and narrowed her own eyes, as if calculating something.
"…Though now that I think about it," she said with a half-smile, "Dad never explained why you can steal that eye. That's what intrigues me the most."
Shiro let out a small laugh, raising a finger playfully.
"Isn't it obvious? Alicia's the favorite."
Kurumi shrugged with grace.
"Or the most dangerous one…"
Alicia said nothing. She just hugged her knees, a faint mischievous smile on her face. Her white hair gleamed in the sunlight, and her left eye… for a moment, seemed to reflect clock hands turning slowly.
Shiro and Kurumi exchanged a glance.
It was only a matter of time.
Author's Note: I'll probably be dead before I ever manage to finish the story of [Demon Lord] Oni King Sengo.
Crying in solitude. 😢