The forest grew unnaturally still.
Birdsong faded, leaves froze mid-whisper, and even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Itsuki's pulse thundered in his ears as the stranger's arrow stayed trained on Tsukihime's heart.
"You've got the wrong idea!" Itsuki said quickly, raising his hands. "She's not here to hurt anyone—"
"Silence." The girl's eyes narrowed. "Do you think I can't smell the starlight radiating from her? I've been tracking that scent for three nights. You don't know what you're standing next to, boy."
Tsukihime's voice was calm, but steel edged her words. "If you believe me a threat, then loose your arrow. But know this—the moment you do, you will invite the shadows upon us all."
The girl's fingers tightened on the bowstring. For a moment, Itsuki thought she would fire. His muscles tensed, his hand itching for the Starblade, but his fear gnawed at him—what if he couldn't summon it in time?
The stranger's voice dropped into a low growl. "Shadows follow the star-born wherever they fall. Villages burn. Families vanish. I won't let it happen again."
Itsuki's breath caught. Again?
Something in her eyes—grief, raw and unhealed—froze him more than her arrow. She wasn't lying. She had lived through it.
"I don't care who you are," Itsuki said, forcing strength into his voice. "But if you've seen what those things can do, then you know we're on the same side. The shadows already came to my village. They'll come again, stronger. And if Tsukihime hadn't been there, I'd be dead."
The girl's gaze flicked toward him, sharp and skeptical.
Tsukihime spoke again, softly this time. "Child of arrows… do you not feel it too? The rift in the air, the whisper of the void? Even now, it watches us. Aim your bow where the true enemy lies."
For a heartbeat, silence hung heavy.
Then—the ground trembled.
From the shadows between the trees, black tendrils writhed, crawling upward, stitching themselves into twisted bodies. Three figures emerged, their forms half-human, half-beast, with jaws lined in smoke and claws like obsidian.
The hunter's eyes widened. "No… not here…"
"Shadows," Tsukihime said grimly.
The girl loosed her arrow instantly. It whistled through the air, glowing with faint light before piercing the creature's skull. The beast shrieked, dissolving into ash.
But two more lunged forward.
Itsuki gritted his teeth, forcing his fear aside. He raised his hand—light surged, and the Starblade flared to life. He met the charge head-on, swinging wildly. His strike lacked finesse, but the sheer radiance cut through the shadow's arm, scattering it in smoke.
The third beast pounced toward Tsukihime, but before Itsuki could reach her, the hunter leapt, her bow flipping in her grip like a staff. She struck the creature's head, then drove another arrow point-first into its chest. The shadow howled before bursting apart.
The forest fell still once more.
Itsuki gasped for breath, the Starblade flickering out in his trembling hand. Sweat clung to his skin, his heart hammering from both fear and exhilaration.
The girl lowered her bow slowly, her eyes never leaving Tsukihime. "You… you really can fight them."
"I told you," Itsuki panted. "We're not your enemies."
For the first time, hesitation cracked her guarded expression. She lowered her weapon, though not fully. "My name is Hanae Yukari. I am a Hunter of the Eclipse—our order exists to slay the star-born before the shadows they bring devour our world."
Itsuki stiffened. "So you were planning to kill her from the start…"
Yukari's jaw tightened. "Until I saw you. A Starbearer hasn't appeared in centuries. If the stars truly chose you, then… maybe not all is lost."
Tsukihime's gaze softened, but her tone remained sharp. "Then stand with us, Hunter. Alone, you will die. Together, we might endure."
Yukari's eyes flicked between them, conflict warring in her chest. At last, she exhaled sharply. "I'll walk with you. For now. But if either of you falter… my arrow won't miss a second time."
Itsuki swallowed, unsure whether to feel relieved or terrified.
The three of them pressed deeper into the forest, shadows lingering in every corner. For the first time, Itsuki felt the weight of the road ahead. The stars had thrown him into a battle older than he could comprehend.
And now, with a mysterious girl of starlight at his side and a hunter watching his every step, he realized something simple and terrifying:
There was no turning back.