(A/N) See chapter labeled disclaimer to see said disclaimer.

~O~

The past is the past and can never be changed.

We forget the past to forget our regrets,

But even now, so many years gone

I can still remember my beginning song

~O~

Life Count: 1

"What-What did you say?" a soft, feminine voice asked, an underlying tone of steel causing the messenger to flinch.

The grown man stuttered from his place kneeling before the young woman. "I-I'm sorry Oujo-sama, but t-they came out of nowhere! T-There was n-nothing that we could do!" the man cried, reduced to a nervous wreck before the glacial stare of the family's young mistress.

"Are you telling me," the girl's voice hissed out, "that 7 of your so-called 'best men' failed to stop a measly group of 14 grunts sent by the Red Raven Group to kidnap MY LITTLE BROTHER?!" she shouted in fury, rising from her seat on the tatami mats.

"We're sorry Oujo-sama!" cried the man along with his 7 subordinates as they bowed down in shame before their leader's eldest daughter.

"Silence you idiots! I will not accept any of your pathetic excuses! Gather the fighters! We have Ravens to hunt tonight!" she declared, a fire burning within her emerald eyes.

"D-Demo Oujo-sama! Your father has taken half our men to take over the neighboring prefecture! We don't have enough men to go against the Raven main house!" one of the men nervously protested.

"Idiot! If you had done your job correctly, then I wouldn't have to do this in the first place! The Red Ravens are not known for their kindness towards hostages. My little brother could be killed by the time Father returns! If you will not follow me...I will go retrieve my brother on my own," she declared solemnly. The gathered men before her quickly rose up in protest. Their Oujo-sama may be harsh on them, but she is a precious member of their family, who had saved their lives more often than they can count.

"...I will go with you Oujo-sama. My life is indebted to you," a voice suddenly said amongst the various protests. Everyone's eyes immediately locked on to the young man that spoke up.

Kitsugi Isobu, a young man who's life the young mistress had saved during a raid when she was just 8 years old. He had been able to join the family due to her word, and for that he would forever be in her debt.

The young mistress slowly descended from her raised platform, her black and silver embroidered kimono trailing behind her. She stared him in the eyes, "You will likely die Isobu, even then, do you still wish to follow me?"

"Hai," he responded with no hesitation.

"...Very well. Ren," she called out to one of the guards around the room.

"Hai Oujo-sama?"

"Go gather my weapons and have one of the maids prepare my clothes. I am going hunting tonight," she smirked.

"Right away Oujo-sama!"

~O~

It was a bloodbath.

Even with only two people, the Chimera Group's Oujo-sama of only 17 years of age was a monster on the battlefield, and paired with her notorious right-hand man, the duo was unstoppable.

The air was filled with screams as the two tore their way through the enemy's defense, killing man after man with only the thought of getting back her precious little brother.

"Isobu! To the left!"

"Hai Oujo-sama!"

The two ran towards the cells in the back of the base, and when they reached the last room, they were met with a horrific sight. There dangling by his wrists was a young boy of perhaps 7 years, blood and tears staining his face as his eyes stared dazedly at the cell door. His light grey yukata ripped and stained red from the wounds across his body, and on the floor, a semi-transparent liquid could be seen almost as if he had been r-

"Hajime! No! What have they done to you? Baby brother? Please no!" the young mistress rushed forward, dropping her tanto to the ground with no regard for her safety.

She shakily cupped her little brother's cheek and sobbed in relief when she felt light breaths across her fingers. She pressed her forehead against his and cried silent tears of pain, regret, and anger.

Isobu silently removed the sash used to hold his katana to his back and draped the fabric across the back of the silent child. He made quick work of the chains holding him up and gently wrapped him in cloth before handing him over to his sister.

"...H-Hinako-onee-sama...?" a raspy voice broke the silence.

Hinako tightly grasped her little brother's body, "It's okay Hajime, onee-sama is right here. I won't let anyone hurt you again. Never again..."

A weak smile broke through the grime on the child's face, "...A-Arigato...onee-sama..." he mumbled before falling unconscious.

The young girl wiped away her tears, a steely glint in her eyes as she carefully placed her younger brother in the arms of Isobu much to his confusion.

"Oujo-sama?"

"Isobu, this is an order from the eldest daughter of Chigoku Arato, next Head of the Chimera Group-"

"Oujo-sama?"

"-you are to take Hajime back to the main house-"

"Oujo-sama?!"

"-you are not to engage with any enemies as we go-"

"Oujo-sama please!"

"-I will clear the way so that no one will harm you two-"

"No, this is madness!"

"-Your top priority is Hajime's safety and well-being-"

"Stop this nonsense! Oujo-sama!"

"-You are not to turn back for me until Hajime is awake and healthy once more-"

"NO! Hinako-oujo-sama!"

"-YOU ARE TO TAKE CARE OF MY LITTLE BROTHER IN MY PLACE! Please...Isobu...please..." she pleaded the other, tears streaming down her face.

Isobu shook his head in denial, "No, Oujo-sama! Listen to me! We can get out of here, ALL of us! There is no need for you to sacrifice yourself!"

She shook her head, a sardonic smile on her face, "We won't. Listen to me well Isobu. I knew. I knew that one of us would not make it back, but it must be me! You are not strong enough to combat all of these men by yourself. The only chance I have of bringing my brother home safe, is if I fight."

The sound of feet pounding above their heads interrupted the two. Hinako glanced about nervously, the first sign of nerves she has shown in a long time. "Isobu listen to me. Tell Father that no matter what, Hajime MUST be the one to take of the family. There are letters on the desk in my chambers for my family and for you. When you get back, you are to make the arrangements for my funeral, and only after can everyone read the letters. Do you understand? Isobu do you understand!"

"...Hai Oujo-sama," he muttered, bangs shadowing his face.

A small smile twitched to life on the young mistress's face, "Good, good, now I want you to promise that you will look after my brother. He is a kind soul, he won't easily be suspicious of people. I need you to be his closest ally, the person he turns to when he has doubts, but above all he will need another sibling. One to replace the spot that I will leave behind. Can you promise me this?"

"...Hai Oujo-sama."

"...Then it is time," she whispered, placing a gentle kiss on her brother's forehead and another on his cheek. She hesitated briefly before softly kissing Isobu's cheek as well. "For good luck...and as a thank you," she whispered, breezing past the stunned man without a second glance back.

~O~

That night, October 31, 18XX, the Red Raven Group was eliminated. The Chimera Group lost their young mistress, but immortalized her legacy as the Silver Beast, passing down her story to each and every following generation. No one would forget Chigoku Hinako, who laid down her life to save the life of her brother.

Isobu never forgot the promise he made to his Oujo-sama and stood by Hajime as he grew to be the leader his sister always knew he would be one day. He was Hajime's lead adviser and the closest thing to a sibling he had after his sister died. On Isobu's 87th birthday, he passed away much to the grief of many, but the family continued to prosper.

However, unknown to the family, Chigoku Hinako's spirit did not simply pass on and disappear as they thought. No, it would appear that the forces that control their world and the many others that existed alongside them decided that there was something to note about her.

~O~

"Oho? What's this?" an echoing voice resounded throughout the black void in which a single brightly glowing silver orb drifted.

"What is it Sister?" another voice, this one significantly deeper, asked.

"Look here Brother, such a fascinating spirit!" she, or rather we assume it to be a "she", exclaimed in delight.

"...You are right Sister, but what is it You plan to do?" he asked cautiously.

"Nothing at all Brother Fate! I am simply...giving the heroes a helping hand," she snickered.

"Sister Death! You know that reincarnation is not within Your realm! It is the domain of Father Balance to decide which souls are worthy of rebirth!" Fate boomed in anger.

"Oh shush now Brother! Father has had this one lined for reincarnation long before it passed, why do You think I appeared so quickly after its passing?"

"...You have Father's blessings to claim this soul as one of Yours?" the voice asked dubious.

"Not to make one of mine, but to act as a catalyst, a protector, for those little mortals with Your prophecies hanging over their heads," Death admitted.

"But why? There is no reason for the heroes I have chosen to succeed to fail unless I will it so. Had they needed a protector, I would have supplied one by this time."

"...We are not sure, but Life and I have sensed a disturbance. Your heroes are beginning to lose their shine, and no matter the interferences We have tried and speculated, Wisdom has informed us it would be for naught. Wisdom has given Us a solution: send the humans a protector. But it cannot be any protector, their soul must resonate with Us, with Life and with Death, or We have been told it would fail. This soul is the only one to resonate so perfectly with Us. It must be this one!"

"Why has no one informed me? I am Fate! This lies within my domain! What gave You and Sister Life the right to interfere with my domain! If these heroes are too weak to handle the destiny I carved for them, then it was their fate to die! I refuse to allow a mortal to change the fates that I have derived!"

"SILENCE FATE!" Death bellowed, an overwhelming pressure seemed to surround the entity known as Fate, as even without a physical form, Death reaches everyone and everything. "Know your place imbecile! A Power of the worlds you may be, but you are lesser in strength and dominion than Life and Death! WE ARE THE ONES TO SERVE DIRECTLY UNDER BALANCE! And you dare question my authority to interfere with your domain when I have the blessing of Father Balance and Wisdom!?" Death berated the other as her powers began to sap the strength from Fate.

And just as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

Death cast aside the entity known as Fate with a disdainful scoff and moved closer to the floating silver orb, the closer she got, the more physical her being became. Soon instead of a swirling mass of power and dark space, stood a tall towering figure with a black cloak hanging from her shoulders and pure white hair spilling from her head and into the depths of the cloak. Death held out a pale, bony hand towards the orb and allowed a small smile to appear as the orb gently landed in her palm.

Extracting a thin pure white chain from her robes, Death carefully wrapped it around the soul, "Perhaps it is unfair to send this one back to the living when this one has just passed, but Death is fair and shall grant this one a boon. This one shall never pass from life by another's hand until this one is ready to pass on to the next world. This one's death shall never cause this one pain, so I have said it, so it shall be."

However, while Death had meant this to be a gift and not a curse, Fate, who had heard Death intone her blessing, used his own powers to twist the gift into curse to spite the stronger Power. While the soul would never feel pain from its death, it cannot die unless it take its own life. It cannot die by natural causes, by disease, by torture, by any other means other than by its own hands. Should anyone ever discover this, they could torture the soul for hundreds of years, but it would never die, never fade, and never see their passed loved ones in the afterlife.

Death bestowed a gift.

Fate turned it into a curse.

And now the protector is damned to an eternal life of misery.