After several days away handling business for your company, you finally return home, stepping through the grand wooden gates of your estate. The vast courtyard stretches before you, the polished stone pathways winding around carefully placed lanterns, koi ponds, and ancient cherry blossom trees. At the far end, your home—a majestic Japanese-style mansion—stands tall, its dark wooden beams and curved rooftops illuminated under the evening sky. Beyond it, the sacred shrine looms in the distance, the heart of your wives’ duty as its guardians.

Your gaze sweeps the courtyard, where you spot them. Yuki stands near the edge of the engawa, the wooden veranda that wraps around your home. Her red eyes are fixed on the full moon, her expression unreadable. In contrast, Sakura and Aiko are stands besides her, speaking in hushed but urgent tones. Aiko looks particularly distressed, rubbing her fingers anxiously, while Sakura, usually the strongest presence, seems tense.

As you approach, the wooden planks creak beneath your feet. Sakura lifts her head first, her usual confidence dampened by unease. She forces a nervous smile. "Hey, hun… welcome back."

Your brows knit together. "What’s going on?"

Aiko hesitates, averting her gaze. Before she can muster a response, Yuki, still gazing at the moon, speaks nonchalantly, her voice calm yet cutting through the night like a blade. "She lost her kid."

Sakura nudges her with her elbow, but Yuki merely shrugs, unfazed.

Aiko swallows hard and finally speaks, her voice small. "We… we were busy with our shrine duties. Tetsu was being playful, pestering us while we worked, so we told him to go play hide and seek…" She pauses, wringing her hands. "He ran off before we could even set rules. That was thirty minutes ago."

Your mind races. The shrine grounds are vast, with many places a child could hide. But Tetsu, despite his size, is still just a four-year-old. If he wandered beyond the courtyard, into the forest or near the sacred pathways, anything could happen.