Prologue: What If Vengeance Found You?
Natsuo Mikage never cared about climbing the echoes of the past. He woke before dawn, swept the old shrine steps, and dreamed of his sister’s smile. You ever miss someone so much your chest aches? He sure did.
Sakura Town hid secrets, like any other place. Most folk just kept heads down. But the day Kaede Mikage vanished, leaving only blood on those white steps, nothing was ever quiet for Natsuo again. Who do you blame when it hurts that much? The answer burned harder every year.
The Curse Passed Down
Everyone suspected the Kamiishi gang, those ghost-backed punks ruling the market. Natsuo waited, watched. He stashed away any info, counted debts, listened by the shop blinds. And he got smarter. Revenge isn’t easy; it is slow and patient, like moss on stone.
A Fire Kindled
By spring, Natsuo’s resolve wasn’t a boy’s wish anymore. His tools: Momotaro, the outcast warrior who failed his own revenge; Sayaka, his sick friend skilled with lockpicks and bad ideas. What makes someone take the risk to hurt their foe? Seems simple till it’s your turn. “You’re really going to do it?” Sayaka sliced dried persimmons. “What if you screw up?”
He scowled. “Then I tried. I’ll never rest if I don’t.” The group swore on Kaede’s hair ribbon found beside the river: vengeance or ashes.
Pawns and Shadows
By episode three, secrets slink out. The Kamiishi aren’t just cruel; they serve a power in the shrine undercroft. The true ringleader—Akio, blind but can hear fear—uses a red wolf spirit to sniff out threats. One misstep, they’d be cornered.
Every plan sets one pawn against another. Sometimes, their group nearly splits. Can friendship outlast hate? Which would you pick for yourself—peace or justice?
Fractures: The Moral Maze
On a rain-slick night, the gang traps Natsuo behind the east market. He does poorly—he’s just one guy, aching joints, tired as sin. Momotaro throws a smoke bomb. They run, coughing, Sayaka hiding something from both boys. In storms like that, even revenge feels cold. 
Warning from Beyond
That night, Kaede’s voice comes in a river dream. She isn’t happy. “Brother, are you using me, or do you still know hope?” Natsuo wakes shivering, scared of himself. Chills skitter up his back.
Who Will He Become?
Final act, first part: Natsuo makes it under the shrine. The true cost: Kaede’s hair ribbon glows in moonlight, wound round the wolf’s neck. “Get rid of them and you’ll lose yourself,” Momotaro hisses. Sayaka shivers. Akio grins, fangs showing—hard to believe someone so young could be that hungry for power. The fight isn’t swords or fists now; it’s hatred itself, thick as fog and twice as sharp. One last question for you: If you had five minutes alone with the source of your pain, could you stop yourself?
Episode closes as Natsuo must face either his own anger…or Kaede’s lost soul. Lives hinge on his choice.Revenge ends or begins again?
