That year, the cherry blossoms bloomed early.
Yukino sat beneath the old sakura tree, a small rabbit plush in her arms.
Beside her, Tarou knelt in the grass, drawing clumsy circles with a wooden stick.
> "When I grow up," he said proudly, "I'll become a magician strong enough to protect you."
"Liar," Yukino giggled. "You can't even say a spell right."
Petals fell into her hair as the spring breeze swayed the branches above them.
The sunlight was warm, the world simple—
and neither of them knew that the gears of fate had already begun to turn.