Prologue

1997, February 9 – Hasegawa City
2:44 AM

Hasegawa City never slept. The capital of the country never once took any nights off with vibrant buildings, bright neon signs and streets filled with all sorts of people. Regardless of if it was a Sunday night, the capital never, ever slept.

Especially in this area by the coast.

The sound of rapidly clicking heels against pavement echoed in the alleys.

"Haah... haah... haah..."

A woman with long, silver-dyed hair ran through. She wore a bright red scarf, black jeans, a white cap sleeve shirt and combat boots.

Her laborious breathing mixed with the sound of a baby's terrified screaming—the baby in her arms. Looking back, she saw that she was only momentarily in the clear, so she looked down at the bundle in her arms and rocked him gently while simultaneously getting a breath of fresh air.

"Shhh..." she whispered with a mix of fear, but overwhelming love. "Shh... Mama's right here."

"Look!" A man shouted from down the alleyway. She suddenly stopped rocking her son and snapped her head back up to see them.

The man pointed and shouted, "There she is!"

"Ngh...!" She turned the other way and started running again.

As she made it out of the alleys, before her was the beach. She was on a small terrace that went down to the beach. A good thirty meters to the left was a ferry terminal.

"God DAMMIT," she angrily hissed through her teeth as she ran down the terrace to the terminal, arriving in a rather quick fashion.

They exchanged a few words before she very reluctantly passed her son off to him. The man took her son and boarded the ferry while she stayed behind.

In the distance from the alleys she came from, there was a pissed off mob running in her direction.

As the ferry departed shortly after the man took her son, a katana appeared in her hand. The steel wasn't just any traditional steel, rather it was a very clean metal that reflected light perfectly. And since it was a full blood moon, the moon shined with a menacing red as she clenched the tsuka.

"Get strong, 

Akefumi."