As time passed and the sun slipped behind the horizon, Rei and Sera walked in silence, their steps slow and unhurried, until her small hut came into view.
Shiro stepped as far as he could, giving them distance as they said their goodbyes, the moment stretching thin, like neither of them wanted to be the first to turn away.
When it was over, Rei didn't head home. Instead, he climbed to the top of a tree at the forest's edge, settling into the branches as night crept in.
From there, he watched over the village in silence, his legs dangling freely, the cooling air brushing against him as the last traces of daylight disappeared.
Shiro did the same, sitting beside him like a shadow no one could see, enjoying the breeze and the warm glow of the setting sun.
Rei's expression suddenly took a complete 180, the smile he had held throughout the day vanishing without a trace. The air grew heavy, thick enough to sink the trees around them.
He let out an annoyed sigh. "How long are you guys going to keep following me?"
The change sent a slow, creeping chill down Shiro's spine.
"Young master. Your father is calling for you," one of the men said from the shadows.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming," Rei replied coldly.
The words young master made Shiro freeze.
That title wasn't given lightly. It belonged to the next head of the clan. The heir of a top family.
And his family… was the top family.
For a moment, he was at a loss for words.
He followed as Rei entered the main house, and there, standing before him, was his father.
Younger. Yet unmistakable.
The same brute force.
The same monstrous presence that seemed to press down on the air itself.
And beside him stood his mother.
Her eyes were still sharp. Still watchful.
Carrying that familiar hunter's gaze, like she was always measuring prey, even now.
His chest tightened. His breathing sped up, eyes flicking around as the world suddenly hit fast-forward, like someone got bored and started flipping through the pages.
Seasons blurred past. Leaves fell. Snow melted. The same tree stretched taller, like it was keeping score. Rei's face changed too. The easy grin faded. The boyish edge disappeared. His sword work sharpened, cleaner and meaner.
And somewhere along the way, Liz started showing up less.
Until she almost wasn't there at all.
Then time just stopped.
And Rei was standing in the main house, fists clenched, facing their parents.
The anger hit Shiro like a fist to the chest.
Not his.
Rei's.
A rage so dense it felt physical, pouring into him like poison. It was sharper than anything Shiro had ever felt, more suffocating, more violent. It burned through his chest, crawled under his skin, screamed for release.
And it wasn't just anger he was feeling.
It was resentment. Helplessness.
Shiro clenched his fists, teeth grinding as the emotion threatened to tear him apart. For a split second, he felt like he could rip a nation apart just to breathe again. Just to make it stop.
His chest heaved.
Slowly, his gaze shifted.
To Rei.
"Please don't leave me," the boy said.
Shiro's heart went wild, pounding like it was about to explode out of his chest. Those words. That feeling. It was familiar, too familiar, but somehow worse than his own.
Liz didn't pull away. She didn't smile, didn't reassure him, didn't say it would be okay.
She just held on.
"It's the clan tradition, little brother," she said softly.
Rei held her tightly, like letting go would shatter him, like his hands alone could stop what was coming.
Then the scene shifted again.
Like a page turning in a book.
His sister now wore a white dress. It was clean. Simple. Almost peaceful, if you didn't know what it meant.
She walked between their parents, steps steady, back straight. She didn't look back.
Not even once.
Shiro's gaze locked on to the peak of the mountain, and instantly, his stomach twisted, like his insides were about to scramble themselves. His breath hitched, panic clawing up his throat.
He turned to Rei, shouting.
"You have to stop them. Kill them all."
Rei shot forward, sword drawn, his massive black blade cutting down anyone who stepped in his way.
But he was outnumbered.
His strike was blocked by one of the captains, and with a single blow, Rei was sent skidding across the ground.
Everything went dark, like a curtain closing at the end of a play.
When Rei woke up, he ran straight to his sister's room.
Nothing.
He searched everywhere. Every corner. Every shadow.
Nothing.
She was gone.
Shiro sat beside Rei, staring at the same spot where both Rei and Liz used to train.
And the longer he watched, the darker Rei's expression became, until that darkness slowly bled into Shiro as well.
A small smile tugged at his lips. "Don't worry, brother. I'll handle it from here."
He leaned back against the familiar tree trunk, closed his eyes, and took a slow, steady breath.
"It was good to see you again, old man," he murmured.
His jaw tightened just a bit.
And when he opened them again, the world had shifted back into place.
"It's rude to watch someone sleep," he said softly.
"Kind of creepy."