A girl called Mei—a girl well in her teenage years—was peacefully sleeping in her room.
"Mei, wake up already!"
Together with a young boy's voice came a strong hit to the stomach. No, Mei was lying down, so it would be more fitting to call it a jump on her stomach.
Or at least she thought it was a deliberate hit, but when she opened her eyes, she saw the face of her little brother planted on her belly.
"Sorry, I tripped over the entrance."
At first shocked, now having calmed down, Mei let out a tired sigh. Even though she had just woken up, Izumo once again managed to drain her energy within the first hours of the morning.
Still, she couldn't get mad at the innocent smile of her brother. A smile that was missing a canine.
"Izumo, when did that tooth fall?"
"Huh?"
The boy looked confused, but after searching through Mei's sheets, he emerged with a triumphant smile and the canine in his hand.
"Here, sis, take it! It fell thanks to you."
But that innocent smile was not enough to convince her.
"Ew! I don't need your bloodied tooth. You can keep that! I've helped with nothing."
"But…"
"Nope. Not a chance."
The boy seemed disappointed. He got up and gently placed the tooth on a table before continuing his morning mission.
"Come on, let's get ready for breakfast! Mom left for the market, and Dad is out to meet the new daimyo. You have to help me!"
Trivialities such as preparing breakfast were painfully annoying obstacles to an enjoyable day for Mei in her early teenage years. She wanted to complain that nobody had woken her up in time to eat while her mom was cooking, but one look at the hopeful face of her brother was enough to have her pause for a second, take a deep breath, and answer with a smile.
"I can't get ready if you're lying on me now, can I?"
After serving the rice and vegetables, the two grabbed their chopsticks and sat themselves around the low table.
"Hey, Mei, this is really good, but why don't you do it like Mother's? Ouch!"
For the insensible remark, Izumo was awarded with his sister's knuckles dug into the top of his head.
"Listen here, you! Say something like this to other girls, and you'll never get married! Hmph!"
"I got it! You can stop! It hurts!" said the boy, powerless against his older sister.
"Sis, why are we already talking about me getting married? Aren't you first on the list? " he continued while rubbing his head.
"I'm sure it won't take long for some samurai to fall in love with you…"
"Huh? Me? No way. I'm not ready for something like that. Not now at least…"
"I heard when you get married, you have to leave behind the Oomori name, and take the name of your husband? Isn't that a little bit unfair?"
Mei hesitated to answer.
"Yes. That's the way things work. Women who get married oftentimes leave their name behind and marry into another family," the young lady answered with her face down.
"Yet this ain't always the case. There are cases where the opposite happened," Mei continued, letting a bit of her accent slip.
Hearing his sister's answer, Izumo fell into deep thought for a couple of seconds, making it clear with an audible "hmmmm."
"Ok, I've decided. If you have to leave your name behind one day, I will take care of it! Don't worry, our family name will never be forgotten!"
Again, the words of her brother had Mei pause for a second before putting on a sorrowful face that she made sure Izumo could not see.
"Yes. Don't worry, Izumo. We won't lose this name!"
Later that day, their father came back home reeking of alcohol—something unusual for the man. As he entered the house, he lost his balance and almost fell on his wife.
"Kinichi, are you ok? What happened over there?" the woman asked as she helped her husband stand on his feet.
"The bastard didn't accept me. We've lost it…."
Name, power, and status were lost that evening, leaving only uncertainty behind.
Mei, together with their parents, was expecting this outcome, but they prayed until the last second that the head of the household may find a way to beat the odds.
Shortly after, Kinichi started drinking heavily, leading to the family quickly falling apart. It was also then that Mei left home, heading for the red light district in Haneba against the orders of her parents.
This was the catalyst that made Izumo realize he had to do something. He went to his parents one day and told them about his plan to enter the military, earn a new name, and save the family that now fell to the lowly level of merchants. At first, his father didn't agree, but after seeing his diligence in training, he unconsciously started relying on his son more and more.
This is how Izumo fixed his broken family, with promises and effort. The only one he couldn't save was his sister, who had entered the entertainment industry unbeknownst to anyone.
It took years for them to reconcile and for Mei to start visiting home again, but she never mentioned anything about her goals, her line of work, or even where she was living. Nor did anyone dig too deep as long as she was coming home to visit on the regular.
"One day I will get that name back!" Mei used to say to herself every evening while in Haneba.
"One day, I will get our old life back, even if I have to carry myself through hell for it!"
That is how the once unified path of the old Oomori family split in two. Both siblings had the same destination, but the hardships, methods, and end goals varied wildly between them.
*****
The next morning at the camp, Izumo woke up early and prepared his katana. He got out of the room and walked slowly towards the gate. The sky was just now starting to display the slightest hue of light. It was early enough that the guards around were as few as there could be.
Without too much trouble, Izumo walked out undetected and readied himself for the battle that was to come.
At least that was his plan before the slim figure of a familial girl sprouted in front of him as if out of thin air.
"Really? Was the last escapade not enough for you?"
"Kotoko?"
With an uncharacteristically serious expression, the kunoichi who had smashed his delusions to pieces now stood in his way, blocking his path.
"Kotoko, my family is being held hostage. I have to get there a—"
"Die? You have to get there and face the same ending as him? Is this really how far that brain of yours can think? Have you really not learned anything?"
"There's nothing more to rationalize here. All I have to do is take them out and bring them back home. If I can at least get them out of there, I won't have to worry about what happens when I…"
Izumo swallowed his last word, but it was too late, for the sly fox could not be deceived easily.
"See? You really are ready to throw your life away! All for what? For a family that may be branded as traitors? Or did you forget death is the end? Do you have any way to get past that? If you do, why didn't you save… Kotaro with it?"
The girl could not help but have her voice turn sour the moment she mentioned the name of their late friend.
"What are you even saying? Of course I don't plan to die there! I still have higher places to get to! Now, if you will excuse me," Izumo said as he passed the trembling fox.
"Then let's reach those places together."
The words that escaped Kotoko's lips halted the boy's steps, who slowly turned his head to see an expression the foxgirl had never used on a friend before.
"How about it? Let's forget the people who are holding us back! You know what I'm capable of. The two of us together can go anywhere! We can be partners in crime~"
Seeing that she got Izumo to look at her, the girl walked closer to him, grabbed his hand, and locked their fingers together.
"Forget about the sister who's betrayed you to live off of a man's desires! Forget about the unstable father who has done irreparable damage to your family! If you do that, I will also forget about Kotaro! We can both leave everything behind and live on to aim for the top. We can even protect who is left if we do this."
What Kotoko was saying, although it sounded crazy, was not impossible.
Izumo had no doubt in his mind that Kotoko could obtain anything they desired. She was capable, very capable. Having her cunning, charm, and abilities supporting the already strong boy from the shadows would be enough to one day take Harubana—no, take the whole of Tsukide for themselves. Such a partner would give Izumo his best chance yet at surviving his curse while keeping his loved ones alive. Because of this, Izumo paused for a moment, unable to give a straight answer.
"So you and Kotaro were really dating… And now you want to forget him?"
"Come on, I am not the type to let a teenage love get in my way~"
It felt wrong. The words Kotoko spoke seemed convincing, yet Izumo couldn't believe her. No, he didn't want to believe.
"Give up on the family that wronged me…"
Seeing the hesitant Izumo, Kotoko put on a kind smile and approached the boy even more, the two of them now being able to feel each other's breaths.
"Come on, leave it all to me~. I can take care of you…"
Inside Izumo, a ferocious fight was raging on. He always felt like his heart leaned towards the girl in front of him—a girl he could never have. Yet he had long thrown away those feelings for the sake of his best friend. Or at least he thought he did.
The sun was now slowly rising behind the kunoichi, but he was not blinded by it. His face was covered by the shadow of a kunoichi, luring the boy in with her whispers.
"Izumo, I know how you've been looking at me. Don't let this chance slip away~" she whispered.
"You can claim both the country and this cute fox~. You just have to accept it~"
Izumo could feel the gentle touch of Kotoko's lips on his own as she was speaking to him. Long had any thoughts that this girl may be lying slipped his mind. Wanting to let himself be carried away by her warm embrace, Izumo closed his eyes and accepted the fox's lips, letting the sun be the witness of their deed.
Ah, how many times must she have fooled the vulnerable like this…
But this was not an agreement, and Izumo made it clear with the look he gave back once their bodies parted.
Kotoko didn't take long to catch on, her seductive gaze turning sour when she did.
"Huh… this cute little fox got taken advantage of… I see. I was being played at my own games."
"Kotoko, I swear it's not like that! I just can't leave them behind! I can find a way to keep you all safe! There is no need for you to do this…"
"Hahhh— Ok then! Do as you like! Go there and have yourself be killed over your delusions of grandeur for all I care. You've already taken him from me. What is it to lose one more friend anyway?"
As she said that, Kotoko faced away from the boy, yet the boy still spoke to her.
"Take care, Kotoko. See you again by the evening."
"Hard-headed until the very end… Believe what you want! Just know I'm not going to save you a second time! I only have one life, and I'm not going to waste it. Just know that I'll keep on living regardless of whose side I have to be on. With or without any of you."
Izumo nodded and continued walking away.
"Haha… That's good! You do that! Don't let me catch you dead around these parts! It's a promise!"
Keeping someone alive is not the same as keeping them safe. With this, Izumo made the decision to carry on,looking back at the girl only to reassure her one more time.
"Oh, and don't worry, I'm stronger than you may think!"
The foxgirl didn't answer back, at least not until Izumo was too far to hear her.
"What a conceited idiot. I saw what you can do… Not even stopping time can save you from that guy."