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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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmm9adwKzNg
"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—27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhFB8HvCcSZ
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyBtnrGihQ
No crying, no resistance—27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLXliNJfwQZ
He just stood there, silently staring into the crowd below the stage.
That gaze was beast-like.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8vhEtIw2St
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8gQW567IKS
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“Papa…”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmi3JLbG3Ea
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—27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2iSPEGSYVz
Yet it pierced the softest part of his heart.
He thought of his wife—her body had weakened ever since Suzuran was born.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARRuutJM6p
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—27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZmmU2X28n
A defense mechanism etched into his very bones.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIfVZswjIXV
Like a beast caged too long, no longer trusting any outstretched hand.
"Hi, I’m Suzuran!"27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYZF8viuTtS
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpmbgTK8OS
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!”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjIMICU4XcD
Suzuran said earnestly, her tone pure and unaffected,27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡubUyOohGNH
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1O1rOp15UU
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4gJY52s4cs
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR2Os5Qt2hY
She wanted it to feel like sharing.
“Will you be my friend?”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK76dkiPfxE
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcSJxi34Flh
Everyone’s really nice to me, but still… I really want a real friend.”
He said nothing—27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbCFjk4n5xL
But the next moment, he took the sandwich and devoured it,27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNF1IzGCgH
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?”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr9loK3iEFo
She said with a laugh, opening her little backpack wider,27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgN9J0qZNX
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcrGgiUF4w
“Then what’s your name?”
The boy answered in a hoarse voice—27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrwOCN8aGxv
his first time ever speaking to her, his first words in this new life:
“…My mom… called me… Kouichi.”
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