Tsukumo looked over at his older sister and fought the urge to smile as she walked with a confident gait by his side. He nibbled the Pocky stick between his lips in a contemplative manner and appreciated the way that her feet never faltered when they fell in step with his own.

It was easy company that the two kept, whether they were in the act of assuming their duty as bearers of the Kami no Mimi, God's Ears, or just enjoying the time spent as brother and sister. He finally gave into that urge of smiling when she looked back and chastised him for falling a little behind. She grabbed his hand and tugged lightly to pull him back to her side.

With only half seriousness and more than a little twinkle in her eye she urged him forward faster.

"We are going to be late if we don't hurry! Come on already!"

The words sounded exasperated but the voice of the lithe girl betrayed her mirth. As long as they were together nothing could dampen her spirits. They both knew this, and it was a dangerous dance that they both participated in. Unspoken feelings of tenderness that went beyond their usual sibling interaction hung heavily in the air between them, but it was easy enough to shrug the elephant in the room back into the closet. All it took was a little elbow grease. And a big toilet plunger.

Tsukumo frowned at the unruly mixture of analogies as he let his mind wander to where she was gripping gently with the tips of her pale fingers. He closed his own fingers around her hand before pulling her to a stop. The pocky stuck in his throat but he swallowed it valiantly before raising her hand and grazing his lips playfully across it.

She blushed and the pink tinge gave him a sense of uncharacteristic and animalistic satisfaction. That light sprinkling of fevered flesh made her eyes glow even more than they normally did. It was almost enough for him to get drunk on. Almost.

"Neesan, wait. Just a little…wait with me."

A slow smile spread across Toko's face as stood up on her tippy toes and bumped her head lightly against his, sending electric shocks through his entire being.

"Ototo, what's the matter?"

Tsukumo shook his head to relieve his glazed expression and let his ears prick as the trees and the wind sang their subtle melodies around him. They locked gazes and remained pleasantly marooned there while their own musings took them over.

Tsukumo flinched and shoved his sister behind him when a sharp zing interrupted their fragile silence. The Duras materialized and snapped at the air where she had been not a second before. He heard his sister call on her sword, Eon, and felt an instantaneous relief as her warm back leaned up against his. Now he could focus.

Flicking out his wrist and calling forth his own weapon, Knell, Tsukumo tensed in anticipation. Like an unruly mutt, the Duras cocked its head then bared its teeth and exploded into motion. Tsukumo's arm rose of its own volition and took careful aim at the beast. He closed his eyes and welcomed the jerk in his arm as the gun fired. With his eyes still closed, he knew the Duras had shattered. His gun's dirge hung bitterly in the air, fading out with the name of a thousand Duras. Well, a thousand and one. Just another day in the life where a Zweilt Guardian's duty was concerned.

He turned and was floored at the sight that confronted him. Tsukumo reached for his sister helplessly, not realizing how far away she had gotten in the skirmish. Toko gripped her bleeding shoulder and cradled Eon in her lame arm. The oversized sword clanged emptily as it hit the ground, with Toko closely following suit. The other Duras split itself into three more entities and all took a menacing step forward in deadly synchronization.

"No."

The one word command came out in a snarl, and even the Duras at their low levels that were supposed to have been beyond all comprehension, paused at the venom heard there. He stepped between his dearest companion and the enemy faction that wished for nothing more than to tear him apart. The boy registered no reaction from himself or the others as the Duras imploded.

He hadn't seen himself take the shots. He hadn't heard himself scream, though he had the ability to hear everything if he so chose. He only saw his sister lying in a pool of her own blood. Only heard the once steady voice of her heart falter into a fading murmur. He fell to his knees and cradled Toko in his arms, willing his own life force into her as his reason and his heart splintered in the wake of her retreating presence.