Ayashi no Ceres

On a day that should be filled with cake and joy, Aya Mikage and her twin brother Aki are instead made to spend their birthday at their grandfather's mansion. Rather than a surprise party, they're met with the grim faces of the Mikage clan. There's only one present--and what's in the box will change Aya and Aki's lives forever.

Visions assault Aya, and blood erupts from wounds on Aki's body. Instead of rushing to their aid, the Mikage clan looks upon Aya with disgust. With Aki torn away from her, Aya finds herself staring down the barrel of a gun--with her own father holding it.

With her life suddenly in shambles, Aya doesn't know where to turn, and the answers given to her by her new allies are bitter indeed. Meanwhile, rather than kill Aya, Kagami hopes to study her powers, and the first experiment is staged when Aya is given an unhappy reunion with her mother.

Ceres, the celestial being, awakens and reveals the reason the Mikage want to kill Aya--and it might have something to do with Ceres wanting to destroy the Mikage first! Afterwards, Yuuhi struggles with his feelings, and Aki experiences otherworldly problems of his own.

Despite the warnings, Toya brings Aki to the Aogiri house. While Aya is overjoyed, Ceres is anything but. The reason lies in Aki's awakening memories, and the scars he gained on the night of the twins' sixteenth birthday.

Still lost, with no clear path forward, Aya follows Toya in hopes of finding answers. Instead, Kagami forces her into a locked room so that he can have a little chat with Ceres.