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The next morning, Hanazono Masaharu departed with Suzuran and two well-trained bodyguards, riding in an unmarked black sedan toward that nameless corner of the map—the place called Shadowtrace Alley.
“Miss, please stay close to us,” one of the bodyguards said softly.
Suzuran wore a white one-piece dress under a dark brown cloak. She stood at the entrance of the alley, gazing up at the layers of ramshackle tin houses stacked like ruins.
Broken staircases, exposed walkways, crisscrossed wires, and dripping laundry swayed above their heads—it felt like stepping into a chaotic yet strangely enchanting vertical city.
"It looks like a Lego city… just dirtier." She murmured, eyes sparkling.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvulPa0KMoY
"But it’s kind of beautiful…"
She looked utterly out of place in the noise and grime—like a swan lost in a fairytale.
Beside her, Hanazono Masaharu stood tall in a dark gray overcoat. His sharp gaze swept the surroundings while his custom leather shoes strode through puddles without a single splash.
One hand was alertly scanning the scene. The other held his daughter’s tightly, as they navigated the damp and shadowed alleyways.
The underground auction was hidden beneath the basement of a long-abandoned military hospital. The air reeked of mold, old tarp, and cheap perfume.
When the auctioneer took out a silver necklace from the display case, Masaharu leaned in slightly for a closer look.
It did resemble the heirloom his wife had once described—at a glance. But on closer inspection, the details clearly didn’t match.
He furrowed his brow and was just about to turn and leave—when Suzuran stopped in her tracks.
Her gaze had been drawn to a cage in the corner—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJBAtoVQ5W
A young boy was being led up onto the auction platform.
He looked about seven. Thin, disheveled—but with a startlingly calm pair of eyes.
Those eyes were amber, clear like caramel kissed by sunlight, radiating a strange, quiet warmth.
And because of that, the maturity and cold indifference behind those warm-colored eyes struck even harder.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8LawLUJIM
No crying, no resistance—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQPdaokSE9
He just stood there, silently staring into the crowd below the stage.
That gaze was beast-like.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡihvXK0yT2C
Like a shadow—sharp, detached, and utterly devoid of fear.
It was a look far too used to being treated like an object, too knowing for a child of seven.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68wXs1jOVY
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“Papa…”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpapVgl5fWQ
Suzuran turned and gently tugged on Masaharu’s sleeve, her voice barely audible.
“Can we… take him home?”
“…He’s not a toy,” Masaharu said, his brows slightly drawn, tone measured.
“But he’s not a thing either,” she whispered back, eyes rimmed red, but refusing to let the tears fall.
“He’s a person… and he looks even smaller than me. It’s so pitiful…”
Masaharu didn’t answer immediately. His gaze remained calm, calculating the risks and consequences.
Then—Suzuran softly added:
“…I really wish I had a little brother.”
Her voice was lonely, like a passing thought whispered out loud—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0qtwrX0fJH
Yet it pierced the softest part of his heart.
He thought of his wife—her body had weakened ever since Suzuran was born.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ40hPLqIMic
They’d never had a second child.
And this was the first time his daughter had ever said she felt alone.
After a long silence, Masaharu finally raised his hand—and pointed at the boy.
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The boy's eyes shifted toward her—coldly.
It wasn’t fear, but something deeper—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ezuAjFt9w
A defense mechanism etched into his very bones.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTlEjQe2qxK
Like a beast caged too long, no longer trusting any outstretched hand.
"Hi, I’m Suzuran!"17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVUQKALqRy
The girl spoke gently, her smile soft and her voice like a breeze.
"Starting today, we’re family."
“……………”
The boy didn’t respond, but she knew—he heard her.
He remembered it was the man who raised his hand and bought him.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwBPIbFmQ8v
And he remembered it was the girl in front of him, who tugged the man’s sleeve over and over, softly saying, “Please.”
“Don’t be scared—our family’s really nice!”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmOvrDiG6R
Suzuran said earnestly, her tone pure and unaffected,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlRodUmfKXa
as if she were introducing him to a warm new world.
“Papa is kind, Mama is gentle, we have big brothers who are bodyguards, and our butler is super warm too!”
The boy stayed silent, his eyes lowered, emotions unreadable.
As if unsure.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlRjSJWt9ch
As if silence was something he had long grown used to.
“You must be really hungry…”
Suzuran carefully opened her backpack and pulled out a sandwich wrapped in wax paper.
“Our chef—Anna—made this for me this morning. Let’s share, okay?”
She didn’t hand him the whole thing.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWhoLFWoyb
Instead, she carefully tore it in half and quietly placed the larger half into his hand.
She didn’t want it to feel like charity.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSM1brchPU7
She wanted it to feel like sharing.
“Will you be my friend?”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwS1C7hCfL
She looked up at him, eyes serious and clear, like sunlight on a still lake.
“I live in a big house… but I don’t have any friends my age to play with.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcMarVYjuVt
Everyone’s really nice to me, but still… I really want a real friend.”
He said nothing—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0N3b9Gl0p
But the next moment, he took the sandwich and devoured it,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6TDLxmvcvk
as if he hadn’t eaten in days, as if even his breath was rushing to keep up.
“Whoa—slow down! It’s okay, I’ve got more, see?”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMlFXKzl2Ak
She said with a laugh, opening her little backpack wider,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡffxGFCQDH0
as if trying to prove to him that he didn’t have to fear losing things anymore.
After a short silence, she softly asked again:
“So… can we be friends?”
The boy froze mid-bite, then slowly—nodded.
Suzuran’s eyes lit up.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOZew4eHfo
“Then what’s your name?”
The boy answered in a hoarse voice—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcenF3YNJQB
his first time ever speaking to her, his first words in this new life:
“…My mom… called me… Kouichi.”
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