S1. Cap 1
"Well , that's it, right...?" Shiro thought, glancing around at the destroyed forest where he and Kaito had just finished their training. Broken branches, charred tree trunks, and deep gashes in the earth surrounded them.
“What the hell is wrong with you today?” Kaito’s voice snapped Shiro out of his thoughts. He turned to see his friend glaring at him, arms crossed.
“What do you mean?” Shiro asked, confused.
“You’re reckless—again!” Kaito’s tone was sharp, frustration clear on his face.
“I am not!” Shiro replied, though the slight tremor in his voice betrayed his uncertainty.
“You are, and you know it!” *Kaito shot back, stepping closer. “You’re moving like you don’t care if you live or die!”
Shiro opened his mouth to argue, but the words didn’t come. He glanced at the destruction around them, his fists clenching. Before he could say anything, another voice cut in.
“Well, both of you were reckless,” Siena said, breaking the tension. She had been watching their sparring session from a boulder nearby, her tone light but pointed.
“Not true!” Shiro and Kaito yelled in unison, glaring at her.
“Sure, sure,” Siena said with a smirk, leaning back as if thoroughly entertained by their antics.
Shiro rolled his eyes, and just as he was about to retort, his crow swooped down, its sharp caw interrupting them. It landed on a nearby branch, tilting its head as it delivered its message.
“The Master requests your presence immediately.”
Kaito sighed heavily. “Great. What now?”
“Guess we’ll find out,” Shiro said, brushing dirt off his uniform as they started toward the Master’s estate.
---
Time Skip
After their meeting with the Master, Shiro and Kaito walked down the path back toward Shiro’s house. The Master had granted them permission to return to Tokyo but had also assigned them a mission while there—a task shrouded in mystery.
“I don’t know if I should be happy or worried about leaving,” *Shiro admitted, his hands clasped behind his head. “I miss my family, but things are just… more exciting here.”
“Yeah, but remember,” *Kaito said, his voice low, “they’re still out there. If we’re going back to Tokyo, we’ll need to stay sharp.”
“Doesn’t matter,” *Shiro said with forced confidence. “If they show up again, I’ll take them down for good.”
Kaito studied him for a moment, catching the faint unease behind Shiro’s words. He smirked, trying to lighten the mood. “Right, Snake~”
“Shut up!” *Shiro growled, glaring at him. “Stop bringing that stupid nickname up!”
Kaito laughed, the tension easing for a moment. But as they turned a corner in the path, Shiro stopped abruptly, his eyes narrowing at something ahead.
Kaito followed his gaze, and his smile vanished. There, in the middle of the road, stood a young girl, her back to them. She wore a tattered white dress, and her long black hair obscured her face.
“Hey!” Kaito called out, stepping forward cautiously. “Are you okay?”
The girl didn’t respond. Instead, she turned her head slightly, just enough for them to see one of her eyes—a piercing, unnatural red that glowed faintly in the dim light.
Kaito’s hand instinctively went to his sword. “Shiro…?”
Shiro took a step forward, his heart racing. Something about the girl felt… wrong. “Hey, are you lost?” he asked, keeping his voice steady.
The girl turned fully to face them, and both boys froze. Her face was pale, almost translucent, and her red eyes seemed to pierce straight through them. But what made their blood run cold was the faint, twisted smile spreading across her lips.
“Sano Shiro,” *she said softly, her voice echoing unnaturally. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
Kaito unsheathed his blade, his grip tightening. “Who the hell are you?”
The girl tilted her head, her smile widening. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
Before either of them could react, the ground beneath them shifted. Black tendrils erupted from the earth, snaking toward them with terrifying speed.
“Move!” Shiro shouted, shoving Kaito aside as one of the tendrils lashed out, narrowly missing him.
Kaito rolled to his feet, slashing at the tendrils, but his blade passed through them like smoke. “What is this?!”
Shiro grabbed his own weapon, slashing at the tendrils as he tried to keep his distance from the girl. She remained eerily still, watching them with that same unsettling smile.
“You can’t fight this,” she said, her voice calm. “You’ll see soon enough. Everything you’ve done… everything you’ve run from… it’s all coming for you.”
And then, just as suddenly as she appeared, she vanished. The tendrils dissolved into nothing, leaving Shiro and Kaito standing in the middle of the path, panting and on edge.
“What the hell was that?” Kaito demanded, his voice shaking.
Shiro didn’t answer immediately. He stared at the spot where the girl had been, his mind racing. Finally, he spoke, his voice low and grim.
“I don’t know… but I think it’s connected to our mission in Tokyo.”
Kaito shot him a wary look. “And you didn’t think to mention that earlier?”
Shiro sighed, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly. “I didn’t think it’d find us so soon.”
