The light of dawn filtered lazily through the silken curtains of her room in the great Tokugawa mansion. Kyria opened her eyes slowly, her face as serene as a marble statue.
She woke up elegantly, each movement filled with a natural, almost mechanical grace. His morning routine was impeccable: he showered quietly, dressed in simple but distinguished clothes, and combed his long black hair with near-millimetre precision.
As she brushed her hair, her crimson eyes reflected in the mirror showed a sparkle that belied her outward composure. No one in the house would ever suspect that behind that perfect image lay something so broken.
-Today... might be a good day to do some preparations... -she whispered to herself, as a lopsided smile formed on her lips.
In the main dining room, she greeted her parents politely, exchanged a few pleasantries, and ate breakfast with impeccable manners. She was the quiet pride of the family, the daughter who knew how to handle business, magic and protocol with equal mastery.
It was all about appearances.
Because his real self was far, far away from that table.
-Father, mother, I'm going out for a moment to do some shopping! -he announced in his usual calm tone.
They nodded, satisfied. To them, Kyria was still the ideal daughter.
But as he walked towards the city, his mind wandered in far less saintly directions.
-Today... maybe I'll find something nice. Something I can wear for when... you're finally in front of me, nii-san...
Her thoughts danced between sweetness and madness. It was not a contradiction for her. It was her new normal.
The hustle and bustle of the city did not affect her. She walked like a beautiful spectre in the crowd, oblivious to the rest of the world.
He entered a supply shop. He checked out medicinal herbs, ointments, fine fabrics. All with a slight, attentive, polite smile. The shopkeeper served her with deference, unable to suspect that beneath that polite façade lurked a creature warped by desire and resentment.
As he paid, he felt something. A fleeting glance. He tensed slightly, but did not turn his head. He didn't need to. She knew it was him.
-Hehehe... You're not ready to see me yet, are you, nii-san?
He took his bag and walked calmly out. He never changed his expression. He never let the world see inside him.
That night, in her room, after dinner and every ritual of perfection, Kyria locked the door. She sat up in bed, the moonlight illuminating her figure.
He let out a low, uncontrollable laugh.
-Soon... very soon...
She lay on her side, hugging the pillow as if it were a person. Her cheeks flushed as she imagined.
Arms around her body. A trembling voice asking for forgiveness. A pleading look. The shared warmth under the sheets.
-My precious nii-san... hehehe...
She began to whisper sweet and distorted words, as she tossed restlessly on the bed, wrapped in her secret delusions.
His heartbeat accelerated.
She thought of tying him up, of preventing him from escaping. To force him to look only at her. To mould him, slowly, until he loved her with the same sick intensity with which she already loved him.
-You will be mine! You belong to me, only to me!
The sound of his accelerated breathing filled the room.
And then, the final whisper, just a hoarse murmur:
-This time... you won't be able to escape...
He closed his eyes, letting his fantasies take him away, while a sweet, sinister laughter floated in the darkness of his room.
Beyond the walls of his house, the world went on. Innocent.
Ignorant of the monster disguised as a maiden that gestated in silence.
And in her dreams, Kyria planned.
He planned everything he would do the next time he saw his "dear brother" again.