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He blinked lightly at first β then his eyes shot open all at once.
Morning dew clung to the air and pale sunlight cut straight into his face.
Ahhβ
He lurched upright, chest heaving, breath ragged and uneven like he'd been running from something in his sleep. For a long moment he simply sat there, blinking, letting the room slowly piece itself back together around him.
He exhaled slowly and buried his face in both palms.
I should not have woken up.
He stayed like that a little longer before something loosened in his chest.
Am glad... Hoshi is awake from his sleep. But when will he finally come back to me.
He let the thought drift before another one surfaced β heavier, stranger, still fresh like an open wound.
And what was that dream? I have a mother called Lilith... and my father. A short, hollow breath escaped him. He's the devil himself. What an irony. No wonder... I have such a miserable fate.
He threw the sheets off and let his eyes wander the room.
What's that bowl?
He reached for it, fingers curling around the ceramic before he understood β medicine. Still faintly warm. He turned it over in his hands.
Mr. Hotaru must have given this to me. Is that why I feel no pain anymore?
He drank what remained of it slowly. It settled in his stomach in a way that quieted something β hunger, he realized. He hadn't even noticed he was hungry until it was gone. He licked his lower lip and set the bowl aside.
His eyes dropped to himself β clean clothes, clean skin. Someone had taken care of him while he was asleep.
He cleaned my body and changed my clothes. All thanks to him I'm in a better state. I owe him a great deal.
".....Shhiharu...?"
He looked up.
Mr. Hotaru stood in the doorway holding a tray, its contents hidden from where Shiharu sat. There was nothing alarming about his presence β only that quiet, unhurried kind of concern that somehow felt louder than worry.
He crossed the room and pressed the back of his hand gently to the boy's forehead, checking without making a fuss of it. Shiharu gave a small nod in greeting, something light and honest in it despite everything.
Mr. Hotaru sat beside him on the edge of the bed. He set the tray to one side, then without a word reached over and ruffled the boy's hair β the kind of gesture that carried no explanation, only steadiness.
Then he spoke.
"You are the one with wish manifestation power."
His voice was calm but deliberate, the weight of it arriving a moment after the words.
"Which means you must be especially careful β of what you think, of what you say. A single careless remark could bring a thousand losses... or blessings... or death."
He paused. "And be mindful of who you tell. Your safety depends on not being discovered."
Shiharu stared at him.
"How..." His voice came out smaller than he intended. "How did you know I was the one...?"
Mr. Hotaru went quiet. Not the kind of quiet that avoided the question β the kind that was choosing its words carefully. After a moment he reached over and took the boy's hand, turning it gently so the inside of his wrist faced upward.
There it was.
A faint mark, glowing softly in dark gray β a perfect circle, filled with something that looked almost Egyptian in design. Symbols that didn't belong to any language Shiharu had studied, and yet something about them felt deeply, inexplicably familiar. Like something he'd always carried without knowing.
It had been there all along. His mother's mark. Without question β it was hers.
The one... the sun goddess herself spoke of. So it was true after all.
He brought his wrist closer, adjusting the red thread that looped there, studying the marking like it might shift if he looked at it long enough.
How strange...
Something warm moved through his chest β not heat, not pain. Just warmth. Quiet and real.
Maybe it's because I'm glad my real parents weren't the ones who rejected me. Or maybe it's because I understand now β I was loved. This whole time, I was loved. I was never truly alone.
The realization sat there gently, not demanding anything from him.
Then I must have powers. Why did they only start showing now? I hope I'll find my father soon. He must be looking for me too... surely he must be.
"Do you know who that is?" Mr. Hotaru asked, nodding toward the portrait etched into the center of the circle.
Shiharu looked at it a moment longer.
"She's called Lilith," he said quietly. "The devil's wife."
Silence fell over the room like a held breath.
Mr. Hotaru didn't react outwardly β but behind his stillness, the pieces were already falling into place, one by one, with the quiet inevitability of something long suspected finally confirmed. The boy he had taken in. The boy he had chosen. He was no ordinary child.
He was the devil's reborn son.
Mr. Hotaru's eyes lingered on him β carefully, wordlessly. A dozen thoughts moved behind his gaze, none of them spoken. What does this mean for his own family? What does it bring to their door?
But then he looked at the boy again. Really looked.
There was still something gentle in him. Something human that hadn't been swallowed by whatever he was becoming. He wouldn't hurt people β not willingly. Not him.
"You do realize," Mr. Hotaru said at last, with the evenness of someone delivering difficult news as kindly as possible, "that you will need to drink blood. For the rest of your life."
Shiharu went completely still.
He turned to look at him β slowly, like the words had taken a moment to land β his expression caught somewhere between stunned and something he couldn't name.
"I've prepared food you can actually consume," Mr. Hotaru continued, his tone steady, already moving past the weight of what he'd said. "Made with the same medicine from the bowl. Hereβ" He gestured toward the tray. "Breakfast."
He rose to leave, then paused at the door.
"A friend of yours is here to see you." A brief silence. "Also β I've heard that Yokai are sensitive to sunlight. Be careful. It may burn your skin, or do something far worse. And for the time being..." He hesitated, just barely. "Avoid being around Reika and Yuki."
Shiharu's head snapped up.
"Wh β why? Why would I avoid my sisters?"
Mr. Hotaru didn't answer. Instead he turned back, just for a moment, and ran his hand over the boy's head β slow, deliberate, genuine. A small smile crossed his face. Then he turned and walked away, his footsteps fading quietly down the hall.
Shiharu stared at the empty doorway.
Does he know something? He's suddenly being cautious around me. I don't want that. I hate that.
I won't harm anyone. I won't. Please β not Reika. Not Yuki.
A long beat of silence.
...I hate to admit it, but he's right.
The memory surfaced before he could stop it β their faces, their fear, how close he'd come. He closed his eyes.
I scared them. I nearly drank their blood.
It's only right that I keep my distance.
He sat with that a moment. Then β
Geezβ!!
He pressed his hand over his face.
This is really, truly not a good thing.
---
He stepped outside.
The air hit him differently β cooler, wider, carrying the morning with it.
"You're finally awake."
Yurina's voice reached him before he even had time to look up.