Death's Stain 死の染み

Chapter 1: Torn Apart

The moon hung low in the night sky, casting a dim glow over the alleyway. A shadow that is moving with a purpose runs through the darkness, his dark grey and dark red tailcoat flutters swiftly in the wind.

His footsteps are long and silent; his senses keen and alert to any sign of danger. The dim light reflects off his blood-red eyes as they glance around and narrow to adjust to the darkness. The explosive and smoke marbles inside his hip pouch rattles with every stride, his razor-sharp blade clattering inside the sheath that is on his left hip.

The scent of the damp concrete fills his nose and creates a squishing sound under his feet, the wind runs through his messy blond hair. After a few more long, silent strides, he suddenly glides around a corner, the aggregate under his athletic sports shoes making a rough grinding noise.

His eyes dilate at the sight of a shadow figure on the other side, his breathing picks up and the rain begins to fall harder. His blond hair falls over his eyes as they narrow further, the presence of hatred and vengeance begins to fill the alleyway.

His right hand suddenly reaches out, then gripping the handle of his blade. A sharp SHIIING! is then heard as the blade is unsheathed from its sheath. Both figures on both ends of the alleyway glare at each other with pure hatred.

"Seiji Sentaro...", the ominous voice on the other side of the alleyway says. Seiji's gaze narrows to a piercing glare, a silent promise of the impending confrontation. And just before Seiji utters a word—let's rewind, back to how this all began.

A Decade Earlier, February 9th, 2015:
"Seiji!!!", his younger brother yells out while sat on the zabuton pillow at the kotatsu dinning table. His leg shaking restlessly as his fingers tap the wooden table impatiently.

Seiji then came around the corner, emerging from the kitchen, holding two bowls full of ramen noodles, the aroma of of the noodles filling the room, the dense steam still coming from the two bowls showing off how hot it is.

He rolls his eyes and then speaks with slight irritation, "Chill out, Senji. I had to put two packs on the stove. It just took a little longer."

He then sits down beside Senji, putting down his bowl, then sliding Senji's bowl over to him. He then crosses his legs and splits the wooden chop sticks for himself.

Senji mimicked Seiji's movements, his small hands attempting to replicate the skillful split of the chopsticks. A faint small smile tugged at Seiji's lips as he watched, a sense of warmth filling the room despite the chilly February evening

"Be careful, it's still very hot," Seiji cautioned, picking up some ramen noodles with his chopsticks and then blowing on the noodles to cool them down. Seiji would then slurp them down and glances over at the television which is mounted against the wall and facing down towards them, the television is currently on the local news channel, so Seiji watches out of curiosity.

The peaceful atmosphere is then suddenly shattered by a cry of pain, "Ow!!" Seiji hears this and then looks over at Senji, he sees that he burnt his tongue. Seiji then stands up and speaks with an agitated demeanor, "Come on, I told you to be careful! It's hot, don't you see the steam?"

Senji then shakes his head and a few tears roll down his cheeks from the heat. "I didn't hear you, I'm only five!" cries Senji. Seiji then roll his eyes, walking over to the sink and turns on the cold water.

He would then get on his tippy toes and grab a glass cup from the cupboard, then walking back over to the sink. The water crashes against the stainless steel of the sink bowl as he reaches over and then holds the cup under the cold water.

"Seiji!!! It burns! H-Hurry up!", Senji yells out with a lisp, his voice quivering and his distress is palpable.

"Shut up! Why don't you come do it then, huh? That's what I thought," he yells back. Then he turns off the tap when the cup is full of cold water.