That day.
A house at the foot of the mountain.
"Mommy, I caught two frogs today!" the little girl told the woman with a touch of pride.
Hearing her words, the woman played along. "Wow, Kanon-chan was amazing today!"
"Of course! I saw them about to eat a snail, so I pounced and caught them. Hehe."
"Then you really were amazing, Kanon-chan. You even saved the snail."
"Hehe, not really!" the little girl said shyly.
"Mommy, Mommy..."
Before the little girl could finish, the woman interrupted her. "It's getting late. Time for bed, or you won't be able to get up tomorrow."
Hearing this, the little girl could only reply with some reluctance, "Okay, but I'm going to catch frogs again tomorrow."
"All right, all right. Catch frogs, catch frogs..."
As she spoke, the woman put out the kerosene lamp, returned to the bed, and lay down beside the little girl to sleep.
The night was as black as ink, silent and deep.
All was quiet inside the house. Mother and daughter slept nestled together, their breathing gradually growing steady and deep.
Outside the window, summer insects chirped softly, as though performing a peaceful nocturne.
A bright moon hung high in the sky, giving off a cool, clear radiance, like a brilliant jewel set into the night sky.
Moonlight poured down like water over the dense forest, as though draping the entire world in a veil of silver.
Beneath the moonlight, the forest took on a mysterious, dreamlike atmosphere that stirred an involuntary yearning.
Just then, a thin figure appeared on the path leading to the house.
His footsteps were light, as though he feared waking the sleeping mother and daughter.
The figure drew closer and closer, finally arriving before the house.
The sound of rustling beside her woke Kobayashi Kanon from her deep sleep.
She opened her eyes, pushed herself up from the bed with both hands, and rubbed her bleary eyes.
The kerosene lamp inside the house had been lit again, and her mother sat facing a young man.
The man had silvery-white hair, every strand meticulously combed and gleaming with a cold luster.
His skin was so pale it was almost translucent, seemingly without a trace of blood. Dressed in pure black robes, with blood-red pupils, he looked indescribably eerie.
For some reason, Kobayashi Kanon felt a little frightened. She looked at her mother. "M-Mommy, who's this man?"
The woman turned toward Kanon, forcing a smile onto her face as she said shakily, "Kanon, this is Mommy's friend. Mommy has something to discuss with him. Go to town first..."
Kanon turned toward the open doorway. "B-but it's still dark outside."
The woman did her best to suppress the fear in her heart and make her words sound as steady as possible.
"It's all right. The moon is very bright tonight, and town isn't far from here. Hurry along!"
Only then did Kanon notice that her mother seemed to be trembling slightly without stopping. She finally began to sense that something seemed wrong and glanced at the man again.
The man seemed to notice Kanon looking at him. He turned toward her with a smile, opening his mouth as though to say something, only for the woman to interrupt him.
"No... you can't hurt her. I agreed..."
Hearing the woman's words, the man turned toward her and smiled. "Don't worry. As long as you don't struggle, I won't chase her."
His words seemed to reassure the woman considerably. She turned to look at Kanon, who was still standing blankly beside them, and suddenly screamed hysterically, "I told you to go, so go! Go!"
"Mommy..."
Kanon seemed frightened by her mother. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face as she stood trembling in place.
"Go!" At another shout from her mother, Kanon rushed out the door.
Inside the house.
Seeing that her daughter had finally run away, the tears at the corners of the woman's eyes finally spilled over. She raised a hand to cover her mouth, terrified that her daughter, who had only just run outside, would hear her crying.
Kobayashi Kanon ran toward town. She needed to find someone to save her mother, and she searched her memories for every face she could remember.
Someone strong. I need someone strong.
One figure after another flashed through her mind. Suddenly.
The image of an old man who had carried wild boars down from the mountain to town several times lingered in her mind.
"Yes, yes, I need to find that old man. He can beat wild boars, so he must be able to beat that man too."
"That old man always comes down from the mountain, then runs back up in the afternoon."
"I can't go to town. Up the mountain. I need to go up the mountain."
Kobayashi Kanon hurriedly stopped, changed direction, and ran toward the mountain.
A long time passed.
On the mountain path, Kobayashi Kanon ran helplessly. The tears on her face had dried into streaks. Her once-clean clothes were covered in dirt, as she had fallen several times along the way in her haste.
She could barely run anymore. In the end, she was only an eight-year-old girl. After spending her energy all day and getting little rest that night, her strength was nearly exhausted.
Looking at the seemingly endless woods ahead, she felt despair well up in her heart, and her dried tears began flowing once more.
"Is anyone there...?"
"Is anyone there...?"
"Please! Anyone, please save Mommy..."
"Please!"
"..."
As expected, Kobayashi Kanon's cries vanished like a stone sinking into the sea, receiving no response.
Of course. It's so late, and I'm in the woods. How could anyone answer?
Despite these thoughts, Kobayashi Kanon's footsteps did not pause for even a moment. She kept running resolutely uphill with all her strength.
Time passed, second by second. After she had run for who knew how long, there was suddenly a sharp crack. Kobayashi Kanon stepped on a loose stone on the mountain path, instantly lost her balance, and fell helplessly toward the ground.
Kobayashi Kanon had no time to react. She could only squeeze her eyes shut instinctively and wait for the pain to come.
Yet what she expected did not happen. Instead of crashing onto the hard, cold ground, Kobayashi Kanon fell into a warm, broad embrace.
Utterly astonished, she slowly opened her eyes and looked up. A boy with ink-black hair and deep eyes was looking down at her...
"Where's your home?"
Hearing that faintly despairing cry, Teiichi's heart jolted, and a sense of foreboding rose within him.
He immediately sprang out of bed, quickly dressed, and hurried toward Master Shoma's room.
After entering the room, he picked up a spare Nichirin Blade without hesitation and deftly slung it behind his back.
Then he pulled the wooden door open hard and sprinted toward the voice like an arrow loosed from its bow.
Before long, a small figure faintly emerged in the woods a short distance ahead.
She was struggling to move, running uphill one step at a time. Every step looked unbearably heavy, as though she might collapse at any moment.
Endless exhaustion and helplessness were evident in her swaying figure.
Suddenly, the little girl lurched forward as though she had tripped over something. Then her whole body began to fall...
"Hiss..."
"Wind Breathing, Fifth Form: Cold Mountain Wind!"
As the words fell, Teiichi raced forward like a gale, reaching the little girl in the blink of an eye.
He nimbly crouched and caught the little girl just before she fell.
Teiichi met her eyes and asked with concern, "Where's your home?"
Kanon seemed startled by Teiichi's astonishing skill, but she quickly recovered and stood up. Rather than answer his question, she said through sobs:
"Big brother, a really strange man came to our house. I don't know why, but Mommy suddenly got angry and told me to run!
"Do you know an old man with graying hair who wears blue-green clothes and sometimes carries a wild boar to town?
"Can you help me find him and ask him to hurry and check on my mommy?"
From the little girl's description, Teiichi knew she meant his master. After all, no other families lived on this mountain. He said, "He went somewhere else. He isn't home."
Hearing that Master Shoma was not home, Kanon's eyes instantly lost all their light. She stood frozen in place, muttering to herself, "N-not home? Then is Mommy..."
Looking at the little girl, who seemed to have lost all hope, Teiichi hurriedly said, "Don't worry. He's my master. I can do what he can. Where's your home?"
At Teiichi's words, hope immediately rose in Kanon's eyes again. She answered at once, "Right at the foot of the mountain... just keep going down this path, and you'll get there."
Teiichi frowned slightly and pressed on. "Then is your mother the only person at home?"
The little girl nodded and said softly, "Yes. Mommy said Daddy went somewhere very far away, so Mommy and I are the only ones left at home, depending on each other."
Hearing this, Teiichi's eyes dimmed, and he silently lowered his head to look at the little girl.
She ran all the way here from the foot of the mountain alone? If there's no one else at home, then I'm afraid...
Seeing Teiichi lower his eyes slightly, Kanon thought he did not want to save her mother. Her heart, which had begun to settle, rose into her throat again, and a trace of despair and helplessness showed in her eyes.
"Big brother, please, will you save Mommy? Please..."
Kanon's voice shook with sobs as she voiced her deepest plea to Teiichi.
Tears welled in her eyes, as though they might spill at any moment.
She clutched the hem of Teiichi's clothes, terrified that he would turn and leave.
Looking at the pitiful little girl pleading desperately before him, Teiichi felt something tremble faintly within his heart.
Ever since transmigrating, Teiichi had spent most of his time with Master Shoma and seldom interacted with anyone else, leaving him with a constant sense of distance from the world.
Even when facing his master, he sometimes felt that his master was merely an NPC there to help him learn Wind Breathing.
Only now, looking at the little girl pleading desperately before him, did Teiichi feel for the first time since transmigrating that they were all living, breathing people too. A faint ripple stirred in his heart.
Teiichi worked to rein in his surging emotions, took a deep breath, and gave the little girl an incredibly gentle, warm smile before saying softly:
"Don't worry. I'll do everything I can to save your mommy."
As soon as he finished speaking, Teiichi turned around and crouched with his back to the little girl. He gently patted his broad, sturdy back, signaling for her to climb on.
"Okay." Kanon knew this was no time to be shy and quickly climbed onto Teiichi's back.
Once Kanon was securely on his back, Teiichi stood and headed swiftly down the mountain.