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Himari's Perspective
The morning mist clung to the air like a secret refusing to be spoken.
Himari stood outside the house, her fingers brushing over the faded paper charm she had drawn last night. Its edges were burned… not by fire, but by something far older. Something she hadn't felt in centuries.
"His aura changed," she whispered, barely audible over the wind. "Something touched him."
She glanced back through the window where Yuki was resting again, Aiko quietly watching over him. He looked calm now, but it wasn't peace. It was contained chaos.
The dream hadn't been ordinary. She felt the shift when he called out in his sleep—the void twisted unnaturally, briefly pulling at the barrier between realms. Whatever he saw, whoever he saw, left a mark.
Himari stepped deeper into the forest alone, where the spiritual energy was strongest. Her eyes narrowed, tracing the residue in the air. Foxfire flickered softly at her fingertips, reacting to the lingering presence.
"It wasn't just void energy," she muttered. "It was… ancestral. Familiar. Kitsune—but not like Yuki."
Her heart skipped.
She'd sensed it once before. Long ago, in a forgotten place her kind didn't speak of anymore.
"If he's back…"
She clenched her fist, the flame at her fingers disappearing.
This wasn't just about protecting Yuki anymore.
Something bigger was moving.
---
Aiko's Perspective
The void never left her.
Even after waking, even after helping Yuki calm down, the memory lingered—like a whisper in the corners of her mind.
Aiko sat alone in the hallway, back pressed against the wall, her breathing slow and controlled.
But her thoughts weren't.
She remembered stepping through the rift with Yuki.
She remembered the pressure, the unbearable silence, and—
A flash.
A shadow standing beside Yuki, too close. Watching. Smiling.
And eyes that looked just like his.
Her hands trembled.
"I saw him," she whispered. "But I couldn't speak. I couldn't move."
She pressed her palms to her forehead, trying to shake the image, but it remained—carved into her memory.
Whoever that was… wasn't just watching.
He knew her.
He looked at her like she was in the way.
And somehow, that was scarier than the void itself.
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Outside, the wind picked up suddenly.
Himari turned toward the breeze, eyes wide.
"The barrier… it's weakening again."
Inside, Aiko stood up just as Yuki stirred in his sleep, mumbling something—
"…brother…"
The house grew still.
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