Sleeping deeply wasn't a habit Seiki would practice. He slept lightly, and usually shortly, too, awaking with the rising sun to train. Day by day, he trained and trained. And as he closed his eyes, the embrace of this light sleep indeed did greet him, taking him away from the barren inside of his cell.
Though, the sleep wasn't much of a relief. Finding himself inside the gardens around the residence, drenched in a glowing white fog, his gaze was locked before himself as he ran forth. All of a sudden, his dream self halted, stopping in a circle of trees. A girl stood between those, garbed in a black kimono, with long white hair, reaching almost to her feet. She walked towards him, and drew a long soul-cutter from the sheath at her back. His hands immediately clenched around his own weapon, and he leaped into the air to avoid an incoming strike.
The swords clashed, and his weapon broke in his hands, shattering into dozens of shards. They turned into blossoms, whirling towards him and locking him in a column of death and destruction, beautiful and horrible at once. They radiated a pale rose glow. The sky went dark.
The body of his dream self was shredded by the shards, and he covered the ground with blood. The woman arose her own weapon, and he saw the blade of Blood-red Blossom collapsing at him. But right before it would deal the death blow, it faded and became naught. The girl changed. She was no longer Blood-red Blossom...
Instead of long wisps of silver hair, she had a halo of fire around her head. The little thief.
And then, he woke up, drawing a sharp breath in, and opening his eyes abruptly. The rose light of the rising sun was filling the room, shining straight into his eyes from the window of the other cell. Morning... How peaceful and beautiful it was. The strange sensation of the dream soon disappeared, and was replaced by the usual cold calm that reigned over his heart.
The first sound he heard was silent clicking of wood. Someone was coming up, most likely in wooden sandals... And the second sound was humming. An eerie sound of a high-pitched voice, hauntingly echoing from the walls.
Isako.
He would have recognized his little sister anytime, anywhere. Even despite being bound, he could feel a faint feeling of her spiritual pressure, drawing closer. Yes, it was definitely Isako - the silhouette of which he caught a glimpse, moving through the corridor, was an evidence to that. And he was not mistaken, for it was her that appeared between the halls, carrying a tray with two glasses and two bowls of food. She looked like a doll, with a short dress, distantly resembling the shihakushos of warriors, bound by a thick sash. There was a large bow at her back, elegant, and her long black hair was pinned at the back to her head, all except for her bangs and two thin wisps, framing her face and falling over her shoulders. Her pale skin and small mouth, slender figure, silky black hair, all resembled both Seiki and Shinobu. Only her eyes were different - they were a bright crimson, like Takuya's. Such a blood-colored scarlet they were unnerving.
She gave a curious look at both cells. No one told her there were two prisoners here! And now she didn't know who to give food to sooner...