1 The Firstborn of the Yamanobe Clan

SHIZUKU jolted awake and propelled her body up, beads of sweat lined up from her forehead and each fell down as she breathed heavily. The rays of the sun blurred by the paper sheets framed on their walls blinded her slightly as she looked around as if to see if the eyes she saw in her dream was still there.

The female ran her finger through her raven hair and quietly thought of the dream she just saw. It wasn't weird that she was indeed inside that kind of place again, it was a daily occurrence ever since she turned 16 and it has been going on for 2 years now.

Her dreams were vivid as if she was there personally and was watching everything unfold from the moment as black haired baby girl was born, until the time she grew up and looked exactly the same as Shizuku. She wanted a clear interpretation of what her dreams represented but all of the people she spoke to about told her that she was only dreaming about her childhood fantasies.

But they were wrong.

The scenery felt so alive. The people looked so real. And the breeze of the wind, the blazing heat of the sun and the freezing cold of winter felt too real. And the eyes she looked at bore a hole into her soul the longer she stared at it.

"Aneue?"

Shizuku turned to face her younger sister, Yamanobe Kikyo, who placed a hand on her back and rubbed her eyes with the other.

"I'm sorry if I woke you up Kyo" she apologized, feeling guilty that the younger sibling got shook awake by her sudden actions.

Kikyo, however, shook her head and smiled, "I slept well enough aneue, it's okay" she replied and scooted closer to Shizuku. "Is it that dream again?"

Slowly, Shizuku nodded with a sigh. "Yes but it was somehow different from the usual" she answered and started to fold her sheets slowly.

"What do you mean aneue?" Kikyo asked, sounding grim.

In a way, Shizuku was thankful that Kikyo actually believed her about her abnormal dreams. Out of all the family members present in their house, all of them said that she's being childish and overreacting over something so simple like a dream, which infuriated her. But knowing that at least one believes is more than enough for Shizuku.

"They were out on a hunt Kikyo. The whole family was out looking and killing every single soul they see inside that dark forest and I was with them. And there I saw another person, looking at me piercing flaxen orbs." she started saying. "By the time I woke up, I was shaking and breathing heavily Kikyo." Shizuku finished, placing her futon inside the drawer and fixed the light blue robe she wore.

The younger didn't utter a single word but instead, hugged her figure and caressed her back. Before long, the two headed out to fix themselves for school.

Discrimination slapped Shizuku square on the face as she strode along the wooden floorboards inside their house. Each of the family members looked down on her as if she was irrelevant to the whole bloodline. But Shizuku walked with her head up high.

Her heart had long been sealed in iron, because in her home, she had no need for feelings of sadness. She didn't know when it began, but the moment she was born and her hair was of the color or the night sky, she wasn't entirely cared for.

Sure, she was given meals 3 times a day and were given expensive kimonos to wear but it remained just that until her younger sister was born. Shizuku watched the whole family radiated in pure joy and happiness, she envied the light and warm feeling she never got even from her parents.

It was an unspoken tradition in their family. First borns, be it a girl or a boy, canmot succeed the family at all costs. If broken, the whole family will fall into ruin and chaos. Shizuku hated that she was born into such a family, yet, as time went by she learned to be strong.

Instead of giving up, Shizuku worked harder than anyone. Even at school, she would win awards more than anyone and would ace almost all of the test. All of it just to prove that a first-born child like her could make the family prosper.

"Kikyo-sama, the car is waiting outside" one of the servants said, as Shizuku exited the house behind Kikyo.

The two wore different uniforms. Shizuku wore a regular uniform with a blazer and a checkered skirt just a few inches above her knees. All the while, Kikyo wore a pearl white dress with balloon sleeves and frills with a ribbon in the middle part.

"And you dare not call my sister's name?" Kikyo fumed hearing that the servant didn't acknowledge Shizuku's presence.

The said servant shivered feeling Kikyo's anger radiate from how she looked at him, "I-I didn't mean to young mistress. I-I apologize to you as well S-Shizuku-sama"

Kikyo gritted her teeth, "You should pay more respect to my sister than me, do you understand?" she said intently.

Shizuku felt touched by how the scene played out, but she was in no place to feel glad about this. Kikyo would be in great trouble if their parents heard the girl defending her.

"Y-Yes, please step inside the car Kikyo-sama, Shizuku-sama" said the servant and opened the door. Kikyo clicked her tongue and went inside the vehicle, waiting for her sister to enter.

But instead, Shizuku put on a fake smile, "I will go to school by train, you have a safe trip Kikyo"

"But aneue!"

"It's fine" she said and started walking out of the estate.

It really was fine. It had been that way long ago. Kikyo had all the luxuries, and she had the throw aways. Shizuku got tired getting envious and jealous of her little sister and simply began living how she wanted.