The night was as deep as ink.
Water dripped from the eaves of the Tsugikuni estate—
not rain,
but melted oil from the lanterns.
At the end of the corridor, a single light swayed, casting two shadows:
one seven years old, one six.
Yoriichi carried a small travel bag. His wooden clogs made no sound on the floorboards.
Yuiko, barefoot, followed close behind, her fingers clinging to the hem of his sleeve.
"Are you really leaving?"
"Father said… before sunrise."
"And Mother?"
"Mother… is gone."
The wind slid through the corridor and snuffed the flame.
In the dark, the markings on Yoriichi's face glowed like burning iron,
and Yuiko's pupils turned crimson in the light.
A memory flickered—
a shout from another life, from a glowing screen:
"What do you take life for?!"
That scream was still centuries away.
But she didn't have centuries.
She had only tonight,
to end everything before it began.
---
At the same time, in the main hall of the Tsugikuni household—
Tsugikuni Yasumasa, their father, knelt on the tatami.
Before him lay a scroll, its edge stained with blood.
On the last page, written in red ink:
"Twins — one born of Sun, one born of Moon.
The Moon bears a cursed mark, destined for corruption.
If not erased, the bloodline will perish."
Yasumasa lifted his gaze toward the window.
A blood moon rose over the horizon,
a thin crack splitting its surface like a vertical pupil.
"Attend me."
"Yes, my lord."
"Prepare a palanquin. Before dawn, send Yoriichi to the southern temple."
"…And the young lady?"
"Yuiko?" Yasumasa's smile turned cold.
"Tomorrow she'll go north—to the army camp. Three hundred koku of rice in exchange."
---
At the corridor's end—
Yuiko gripped Yoriichi's hand, her voice trembling.
"Brother… listen to me—"
"I can't stay." Yoriichi shook his head, his tone faint as a sigh.
"I'll become a monster."
"You won't." Yuiko bit her lip and pulled a small flute from her robe.
"Because I have this."
The flute was pitch-black, the mouthpiece set with a single bead of vermilion.
She remembered it—from her previous life, from an anime she once loved.
The heirloom of the Sun Breathing lineage.
But a six-year-old child shouldn't be able to play it.
Unless—
She pressed the flute into his palm and laced her fingers through his.
"We'll play it together."
"…Together?"
"Yes. The Breath of the Sun isn't meant for one person."
The blood moon climbed higher, spilling silver-red light across the corridor.
Two small shadows stood side by side, flute against their lips.
When the first note sounded—
the oil lamp at the eaves burst with a sharp pop.
The second note—
the bloodstained scroll in the main hall ignited on its own.
The third—
Yasumasa's eyes snapped open, his pupils constricting.
"This is… the First Breath?!"
Before the echo faded, the night sky split apart, revealing a golden-red ring of sunlight.
Within that halo, ancient words appeared, burning like fire:
"Children of Tsugikuni, twins of one breath.
The Moon shall not devour the Sun.
The Sun shall not forsake the Moon.
Break this vow—and perish."
Yasumasa's sword fell from his hand with a metallic cry.
At the end of the corridor, the two children lowered their flute and met each other's eyes.
Yuiko grinned, tiger tooth gleaming.
"All right, Brother. From today on, the Tsugikuni family… belongs to us."
The blood moon sank without a sound.
The hunt had not yet begun—
but the prey had already taken up the blade.
—To be continued—