Unto Darkness, Starlight

For there is no friend like a sister in calm or stormy weather; to cheer one on the tedious way, to fetch one if one goes astray, to lift one if one totters down, to strengthen whilst one stands.

- Christina Rossetti

THIS IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN MYSELF AND MATHISMAGIC FROM THE DOS DISCORD!

Note: This is a crossover between Silver Queens' Dreaming of Sunshine Universe and I am a Child of this House/I Belong to House Castiello Manhwa.

You should be able to follow this without much help, but in case you haven't read one or the other of these niche fandoms:

Summary of Dreaming of Sunshine: The main character, Shikako, is reborn from our world into the world of Naruto. She is Shikamaru's twin sister, of the Nara clan, so she can manipulate shadows. She also has a connection to the god-entity Gelel, which she communes with from a stone she wears as a necklace, and whom she can find by following music she can hear.

Summary of I am a Child of this House: Estelle is a reborn woman from Korea who was horribly confined and abused by her mother. When her father- the terrifying Duke Castielo - learns of her existence, she is quickly brought into his household, and educated as a Lady, while also slowly unravelling the secrets of her Family's line, of magic, and of the country itself.

Chapter 1

If anyone had told Shikako a few years ago that she would be reborn after dying at an old age, she would have probably started laughing. She was so ready to finally rest. But here she was again, in a new body. At least this world wasn't the life-and-death struggle of her previous life. Well, she didn't think it was. Anyways, it was hard to get a sense of this world, when she spent most of her time as a toddler locked in a chest in her own mother's room.

Well, at least she still had a twin. Blonde-haired and pink-eyed, her twin was a sweet girl who seemed just as aware of the world as Shikako. Imagine her surprise when she realized that her sister was just like how she used to be in her past life; a modern-day woman reincarnated into another world.

Luckily, since this was not Shikako's first time falling into a fantasy world, she wasn't surprised by this sort of thing and adapted quickly. Compared to her last life, in the world of Naruto, this world so far had been much less deadly. In the world of Naruto, she nearly died as an infant during the Kyuubi attack, the first of many near-deaths she would experience. After years of stressing over the end of the world and dying by a crazed near immortal Uchiha, Shikako felt almost peaceful in this new world.

'Yes, being locked up in this box sucks but at least I have my sister with me.' Snuggling closer to the sleeping toddler, Shikako smiled as her sister held her hand tighter in her sleep.

"Sister, I'm hungry." Rubbing her sister's back, Shikako cursed their so-called mother for the third time that day. That wretched woman had been locking them up longer and longer, constantly forgetting to bring them food or let them out to go to the bathroom.

"I'm sorry, Sis," Shikako replied, petting her soft hair. It was so soft and silky, despite the fact that they hadn't washed in a couple of days. Even in this cramped box, her hair seemed to shine in the faint light seeping through the cracks in the lid. It wouldn't surprise Shikako one wit if her sister had a kekkei genkai for perfect hair.

Soft hands reached out and clasped Shikako's face, pulling her into snuggle as her sister began to softly cry.

"My stomach hurts," she whispered, muffling her sobs in Shikako's neck, "I want out."

Clutching her sister back, Shikako felt her heartbreak at the sound. The sound of a door slamming open, and a screeching voice swearing up a storm made them freeze in shock.

The latch of the box was fiddled with before the lid was ripped open and an angry woman with beautiful golden hair sneered down at them.

"Ugh, you two reek. Get out and clean yourselves up, I will not have you wretched brats tainting my clothes with your stench."

Red nails clawed at their bodies, as she threw them out of the box and onto the floor. Her heels clacking, as she walked towards her closet and began tearing some beautiful dresses into shreds.

"Ugh, these are worthless. What was he thinking?! As if these cheap things could pacify me?!"

Crawling onto their knees, Shikako and her sister slowly toddled their way towards the bucket of cold water by the corner. Pulling their clothes off, Shikako glared as she realized her sister had some faint marks from their 'mother's' nails.

"Why aren't you two done cleaning yourselves yet?! Hurry up!" Pulling her sister into an embrace, Shikako barely managed to save her from being hit from a flung heel.

Using a questionable looking rag, they quickly washed and redressed. Once their mother had inspected them, she threw some pieces of bread and cheese at the ground before them before flaunting out the room.

"Think it's safe to eat?" Her sister asked, carefully reaching down to grab the cheese and bread.

"It looks a little stale," Shikako remarked, carefully pulling a piece off. They only had a few minutes to eat before their mother would return to lock them up again for the rest of the afternoon.

Finishing their meagre meal, Shikako stood in front of her sister and began to sing as they stretched.

"I woke up in the morning and saw the mountain there, it was a common sight that drove me to despair."

Her sister, now familiar with this song, began to sing the second line, " If I tip my head right back, and say my prayers to the sky, If I reach into the blueness, will I soon learn to fly?"

Shikako's mother from her last life, her real mother, Yoshino Nara, had taught it to her to help her remember her daily stretches. Now, Shikako had taught it to her sister. It's one of their little secrets, something they need that their new 'mother' can't take away. Even so, they continue through the song quickly and quietly, so they won't be discovered.

Not even a minute after they had finished the song, did they hear the sound of heels getting louder. The woman burst into the room, still sneering at the twins, before digging her claws into their arms and locking them away again. They could feel her moving the box out onto the balcony, the wind seeping through the cracks and making goosebumps appear on their skin.

Wincing at the nail marks on her arms, Shikako reached out into the darkness for her sister's hands.

"Sis? Let's practice a bit more, 'kay?"

Shikako could sense her sister's smile as her golden hair moved in a nod.

"Okay, first is Tori. Remember you have to cross your fingers like so and…"

They practiced all twelve hand signs for the rest of the afternoon, doing them over and over till their fingers cramped and their hands felt a little raw.

"Hey, Sis". Shikako's sister whispered in her ear, as she tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in.

"Yeah?" She whispered back, feeling the slight hesitance in her sister's voice.

"Do you think our daddy knows about us?" Her sister's pink eyes almost glowed with hope, as a stray sunbeam peeked into the box.

"...I doubt it." Shikako muttered, looking away with a sigh, "That woman has been hiding us for years, I don't think he would know unless she can make some money out of it." Having children isn't good for her business, after all.

Turning towards her sister, Shikako gently brushed the too long strands away from her gaunt looking face.

"...Do you think he would want us then? If he knew about us?"

Shikako held back a sigh, her sister's fondest wish was having a family again. She had spent days talking about how great her past life's parents were and how happy she was to have Shikako as a sister in this one. Yet, a small part of her couldn't help yearn for a parent to love and support them here.

Not willing to crush her innocent dreams, Shikako gave her a small kiss on the forehead.

"...Yeah. I think he would."

The days had been steadily growing colder, and the woman had gotten into the habit of leaving them longer and longer outside on the balcony. Some days, Shikako worried they would freeze to death, huddling into her sister's warmth as the air stabbed their skin like knives.

Today had been particularly bad. The winds were especially harsh and the sky had been rumbling with thunder for about an hour. The storm would bear down on them soon, and they would be helpless before the elements. If the temperature didn't drop enough that the cold took them, the water that would seep into that cracked lid of their chest might drown them. Shikako didn't know how, but she knew one way or another, they had to get out of this chest.

'It's going to rain, we have to get inside.' Shikako thought, trying to make the cracks in the lid bigger with her hands, and encouraging her sister to do the same.

Rain began to fall and quickly dripped into their chest and onto them. The bottom of the box was sturdy and had recently been fixed by that thrice-damned woman's current lover. The wind howled as lightning crackled and streaked across the sky, allowing for Shikako to see the wide, terrified eyes of her sister stare back at her from her corner of the box.

"Sis, I'm scared."

"Don't give up, keep trying to get those cracks bigger," Shikako ordered, hiding her growing fear with fierce determination. The minutes seem to crawl as the water slowly started to pool at their feet, steadily rising as the storm grew louder and wilder.

"The water is rising! Sister!"

Taking a deep breath, Shikako reached out and grabbed her sister's hand.

"We're going to be okay. Keep trying!"

Letting go, Shikako began wildly attacking the walls, trying to tip it or do some kind of damage. Her weak, three-year-old body was too malnourished to put any force into it and her nails were bleeding from trying to pry the wood open. The pain didn't even register. Shikako felt more than heard her sister panicking behind her, time was running out.

Sounds started to fade away as Shikako began to hear her own heartbeat grow louder in her ears. The water was now reaching their waist, and her sister's screams felt muffled by the roar of the storm.

'When had that much water gotten in?' she thought, vaguely noticing it start to turn pink due to her bleeding hands. Her sister sobbed and choked in fear behind her, crying out for that woman to let them out and that they didn't want to die.

Feeling her body turn numb, Shikako slowly looked behind her at the sound of a splash. Her sister had tripped and briefly went under water before popping back up again.

"Sister! HELP!" she sobbed, reaching out towards Shikako with red looking hands. She looked so small like that, hair drenched and plastered against her head, her wide, terrified eyes taking up most of her face, unable to keep from letting loose heartbreaking sobs

'No...this can't be happening.' Shikako thought, allowing herself to be pulled into a hug as her sister cried into her shoulder. 'I was one of the generals of the fourth shinobi war, I was feared among the other ninja villages for my seals. I should be able to get us out of here.' Her sister's body was so weak in her arms, as she trembled with fear.

'Why…? After living through all that, why can't I save her? Why aren't I strong enough to save my little sister?!' Shikako mentally screamed, clutching her back as tightly as possible.

The water was reaching their necks now, forcing them both to get onto their tippy toes and push their faces as close to the lid as possible.

Fear drenched them more than the rain as the box shook with the force of the wind and the wood groaned at the pressure of the rising water. Yet still, the blasted thing refused to break open.

'No, this can't be the end!' Panicking completely now, Shikako slammed her fists against the lid, distantly noticing her sister start to do the same, 'No! We won't die here! We WON'T!'

A strange yet familiar feeling bloomed at the centre of her body, responding to heed her will. The feeling slowly made its way up her arms and into her fists as she pounded against the lid. Darkness spread from her hands, startling her sister into silence and creeping into the cracks of the lid. With great effort, Shikako willed the darkness — the shadows — to pry at the cracks, physically feeling the strain of the effort.

Slowly, the darkness squeezed the wood, making it groan ominously as the whole thing shook. Shikako felt her sister grab her head and push them both underwater as the lid broke into small dangerous pieces.

Tipping the box over, the twins fell harshly onto the cement floor of the balcony as they choked and sobbed in each other's arms. They clung to each other for several minutes, the storm fading away, just relieved that they were alive. Shikako's muscled screamed to her in agony as she gently unlocked her arms from her sister's embrace. Her body felt heavy and drained of energy, yet the next crack of thunder reminded her of their continued danger.

They weren't going to drown anymore, but they weren't safe yet either. They never would be, if they stayed with this woman. They needed to get out of this storm, and away from this house.

"We have to leave, we can't stay here anymore," Shikako muttered, leaning heavily against her sister's warm body.

"W-where would we go?" she trembled, clutching Shikako in a side hug, as they hobbled towards the door. Going onto her tippy toes Shikako reached out a weak hand towards the door handle.

"Anywhere...it doesn't matter." Anywhere would be better than staying with that vile woman, even if it meant they were on their own. She weakly strained and stretched but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't reach that door handle.

Her vision flickered for a moment, as exhaustion began to set in her body. They were running out of time, soon Shikako would be too weak to move and they'd be trapped in this hell for who knows how much longer. Centring her mind, Shikako reached inside of herself to that spot where that power had flowed from. Already she could tell this energy was very low, but for the sake of her sister, Shikako would push herself to use it one more time.

"-ister? Sister, can you hear me?!"

"...Don't worry, we're going to get out. I promise." Darkness flowed from her body once more and crawled up the wooden door. Her sister yelped in fright and her grip grew tighter. The shadows wavered for a moment, as Shikako's concentration flickered in pain before she recentered herself.

Slowly, it crawled and wrapped itself of the door handle, before turning it and opening the balcony door. Keeping herself focused, the shadow reached towards the other door across the room and managed to unlock it before fading away.

Feeling faint, Shikako nudged her shocked twin towards the exit, they were so close she could almost taste their freedom.

"Sister wha-" Reaching out with a trembling hand, Shikako gently placed a finger against her sister's lips.

"Shush, escape now, questions later."

The lightning illuminated them, as they wobbled out the room and into freedom.

End of Chapter 1