Tsukuyomi strode through the halls of his shrine, smiling amiably at the passing shinki, who, in respect for their master, bowed in greeting. He almost seemed to glide over the marbled floor as he approached the balcony, where he controlled the moon and the tides.

Because of the immense time and effort needed to maintain the passage of the moon, Tsukuyomi often left the job to his shinki, only checking on the status of the moon ever so often to ensure that everything was in order.

From the balcony, he could view the moon and the stars, and gaze over the wide expanse of ocean that he controlled. In the far west, he could also catch a glimpse of the sun, his sister's domain.

"Basking in the moonlight, I see."

A familiar presence slid beside Tsukuyomi, and he turned to face his regalia. "Ah, Koriwa. Hard at work as always." The edges of the Moon God's lips quirked up in playful banter.

Koriwa only laughed. "Don't worry, Tsukuyomi; I'm always here to manage the moon so that it doesn't implode on itself when you oversleep and forget about it."

Tsukuyomi grinned but suddenly sobered, eyes scanning Koriwa's figure. "There's something I need to tell you," he began.

"Not a love confession, I hope?" Shushui joked, but then straitened. "What do you need?"

Tsukuyomi turned away to gaze at the pale face of the moon. "I..." Long lashes lowered. "I...Never mind."

Shunshui peered at his master and friend in worry. "You can tell me anything, you know. Is something wrong?"

Tsukuyomi shook his head. A gentle breeze danced around them, stirring up the god's long hair. Tsukuyomi startled at the wind and turned around so abruptly that Koriwa almost recoiled at the speed.

"I'm sorry," Tsukuyomi murmured, and was gone in a whisper of the wind.

Tsukuyomi stood alone within the privacy of his garden. In front of him was a large pond, reflecting the moon above. The water glittered from the light of the moon and stars, and Tsukuyomi sank onto his knees in despair.

He brushed the sleeve of his kimono down to expose pale skin and the dark, ugly bruising of blight. Tsukuyomi pressed his lips tightly together as he examined the state of the wound.

Using his hands, he scooped water from the pond and let it pour over the blight. The skin hissed as the blight met the shrine water, and some of the dark mass disappeared. The moon god sighed. The blight had first appeared a few weeks ago. Tsukuyomi did not keep many shinki; in fact, he probably had the least shinki out of all the higher gods. Tsukuyomi knew all of his shinki's names and hobbies and likes and dislikes by heart, and it pained him to call any of them out on the pretense of blighting him.

His shinki had stood by him for so many years; Tsukuyomi lacked the heart to accuse them of blighting him. This pain was his burden to bear; he would not wound any of his shinki by revealing his injury.

Besides that, he was lucky. Because of his control over the tides and water, the water from his shrine was stronger than most other shrines'. The potency of the water had helped him bear the pain and control the spread of the blight more easily.

But weeks had passed, and there was no sign of the blight stopping. Tsukuyomi's heart sped up in fear. What if one of his shinki truly was corrupted and turned into an ayakashi? The worst fear of a god was for their shinki to cross the border.

Tsukuyomi shook of these thoughts as he stood, allowing the water to slide off his pale skin in small rivulets. He needed to stay strong and stay away from doubt. He needed to trust his shinki to do the right things.

He lifted his head to gaze at the sky, his heart set. He could not show weakness in a time like this. He had faith in his shinki.

But the only that gazed back at him was the empty stare of the bone white moon.

"Brother, I see you out here more and more often. Is there something that ails you?" Amaterasu glided over to the stoic form of her brother, long red robes trailing after her.

Tsukuyomi turned and faced his sister, whose face was lit by the brilliant sun before them. "Sister," he acknowledged, before turning back to face the rising east.

"It's not often that you come here to watch me raise the sun," Amaterasu challenged, eyebrow raised in question.

Tsukuyomi scowled. "Perhaps it is because I miss you, dear sister."

"I doubt that's the case. Have you forgotten our recent argument over the decision in court?"

Tsukuyomi stayed silent, eyes scanning over the horizon.

Amaterasu sighed. "Brother, I really don't mind you coming over to watch the sun rise with me. However, if anything weighs on your mind, feel free to share the burden with me. That's what siblings are for, after all."

They stand together in silence for a few moments, bathed in the warm light of the sun, until Tsukuyomi finally opened his mouth to speak.

"Amaterasu..." Tsukuyomi leaned in close to his sister's startled face and murmured, "Don't ever forget to raise the sun."

Amaterasu raised her head to look into her brother's eyes questioningly, but he was already gone.

"Tsukikage...you know what I'm about to do." Tsukuyomi glanced over at his shinki, who stood stoically before him.

"Of course, Tsukuyomi-sama. But I will not stop you. I am your tool to do with as you wish."

"Don't be so stiff, Tsukikage." Tsukuyomi smiled a little at the reprimand, but sighed. "I'm sorry for this, Tsukikage. When I heard him call my name, I only thought of myself. I knew the other shinki would be able to go on without me, but you...you are the sword by my side. Nobody else can wield you. How could you bear it, alone?"

Tsukikage only shook his head. "Tsukuyomi-sama, you are too kind. If you ever doubted my loyalty, I would gladly give up my life to save yours."

"No. Never. I know it is not my shinki's fault that I am blighted so." Tsukuyomi allowed himself one more glance at Tsukikage's bowed form. "Enough words. Let's go Tsukikage."

"As you wish."

"Koriwa, if I ever left...on, say, and extended vacation, would you be able to manage the moon in my place?"

Koriwa glanced over at his master in confusion. "Of course. Although, if you are going to be gone for several months we may have to ask Amaterasu-sama for help in making sure that the moon is on the correct rotation every so often." Koriwa raised an eyebrow. "Are you planning on going on an extended leave anytime soon?"

Tsukuyomi shook his head and sighed, reclining in his chair. "Just wondering," he said offhandedly, he right hand unconsciously running over the sleeve of his left arm. "How are the other shinki? Any complaints?"

Koriwa's brows furrowed from the odd question. "They're fine. None of them are slacking off...all working hard, I assure you. Is something wrong?"

Tsukuyomi shook his head and sighed, content to let the room fall into silence.

But Koriwa was not satisfied. He thought back a few days, and remembered the quiet evening on the balcony. "Are you sure?" He pressed, "Is there something you need me to do?"

Tsukuyomi cast his gaze towards his pale white sword, resting beside him in its sheath. He picked it up and ran his finger of the blade.

"Are you well?" Koriwa continued, watching as his master stood almost listlessly, tired eyes fixating upon Koriwa's face.

Tsukuyomi seemed to stumble, and Koriwa almost ran over to support him, but was stopped by the moon god's words. "Koriwa...You are my most trusted shinki. Stay safe, friend."

Koriwa, stunned by Tsukuyomi's quiet declaration, wasn't able to stop the god as he disappeared in a flash of moonlight.

And only a few moments later, when Koriwa recovered from the shock, did he realize the magnitude of his friends words.

As he stared at the last place his master had stood, Koriwa could only feel the sour taste of fear and guilt curling in his stomach.

Tsukuyomi appeared in a flash of light, his sword by his side, black robes billowing from the wind. "You called?" Tsukuyomi asked flatly, grasping the hilt of his blade.

"Ah! Lord Tsukuyomi! You came!" The man before him laughed openly, waving his arms in excitement.

"Speak. You know of my blight?" Tsukuyomi leveled a flat gaze upon the man, but he was unfazed and continued to chuckle.

"Of course. Poor little Tsukuyomi, unable to reveal the blight spreading over his body because of the trust in his shinki. Can you believe that?" The man doubled over, wheezing from laughter.

"Enough." Tsukuyomi drew his sword, the moonlight reflecting off the pale blade. "Were you the cause of my blighting?"

The man snickered. "You're too good, Tsukuyomi. Already figured it out, huh? Your precious little shinki Munraito is already corrupted beyond help. He's standing before the border right now. Hm...I wonder will he cross it?"

The man moved aside to reveal the prone form of Munraito, curled up in pain. There were blights all over his body, growing from his back and spreading to his face. The shinki opened his eyes and moaned lowly in pain, and Tsukuyomi could see that one of his eyes had already changed.

The Moon God stared into the eyes of his shinki's blighted soul and sank to his knees in despair. He touched his shinki's face, ignoring the blazing pain of blight spreading to his fingers.

Munraito gazed up at his master's face, and whimpered, "I'm sorry...Please, turn away...Don't want...don't want you to see..."

Enraged, Tsukuyomi stood up, glaring at the man. "What did you do to him!?"

The man shrugged. "Oh, well, I just told him..." He leaned in close to Tsukuyomi's face, lips stretching into a mocking grin. "A god's greatest secret."

Tsukuyomi saw red. He drew his sword. He raised his arm to strike, but suddenly flinched from pain. Suddenly, his head was buzzing with pain.

"Do you finally feel it now?" The man mocked, pointing at Munraito. "He's finally turning!"

Tsukuyomi moved in to attack, but the man blocked swiftly with his own weapon. In the man's hands was a monk staff. The man flew towards the moon god and attacked in a flurry of strikes. Tsukuyomi raised his sword to block.

Suddenly, the man grinned. He twisted his staff around and hit the blade of Tsukuyomi's weapon with the flat of his staff.

And all Tsukuyomi could hear was the screaming of his shinki.

His sword was burning, and Tsukuyomi his weapon from the heat of the blade and the shock of the pain of his shinki. "What have you done!?" Tsukuyomi reached for his blade in fear.

Shink.

The end of the man's staff pierced right through Tsukuyomi's outstretched hand. The god hissed and called upon his power over the tides to manipulate water to attack the man. But Tsukuyomi could not focus. The screams of his shinki were too much to bear.

The man laughed and pulled the staff out of Tsukuyomi's hand. The god shuddered but did not move. The blight was finally taking hold of him.

"Well, I guess this is a goodbye, Tsukuyomi..." The man trailed off before smiling.

The last thing Tsukuyomi saw was the black eyes and the short dark hair and the mocking, cruel grin of his assailant before the world faded away.

The man held the boy in his hands, raising him up to bask in the light of the moon. A little girl stood beside him, peering curiously at the boy in the man's arms.

"Hmm..." A smile danced on the man's lips. "I think I'll name you...Yaboku."