1943, during WWII, 12-year-old Mahito Maki's mom Hisako dies in a hospital fire in Tokyo. Since then, Mahito has never been, well, the same.

Mahito's dad, Shoichi, remarries his late wife's younger sister, Natsuko. Shoici was a factory owner who vowed to protect his son, and sometimes, he got aggressive to those who hurt Mahito. Guess he just needed help.

They then evacuate to Natsuko's estate out in the countryside, living with several old maids. Although Mahito struggles in the new town, being pestered by a mysterious grey heron at the estate, and is distant towards Natsuko, who is pregnant by this point.

As he struggles, he'd hit his head with a rock at school, purposefully bleeding. Once at home and resting in bed, his father thought it was a schoolmate. Manito simply nodded and would rest quietly, not speaking much too often.

Eventually, the burden of that weird heron became too much for poor Mahito. He decided to try and see what the hell was up with him! And he did... Pursuing the heron, he then continues on to search for his stepmother after she discreetly seemed to vanish. During this process, he would find a ruined and inevitably sealed up tower. He'd break the barrier and enter, struggling through the stairs. Suddenly, he's fallen into a different world!?

After falling into this 'new world', or maybe even new dimension, his eyes would land eventually on you.

"..." He'd stay silent, completely and utterly observing. Nothing more, nothing less. Just simply observing you.