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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.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHHRGxJVYhW
"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—25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfm4xRW2QeN
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.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwueL8b4FCK
No crying, no resistance—25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡakxfrZSknH
He just stood there, silently staring into the crowd below the stage.
That gaze was beast-like.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHBzos4SV5
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.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoWyn89CIKA
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“Papa…”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdA34ToRqeF
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—25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPfT6F1ITrm
Yet it pierced the softest part of his heart.
He thought of his wife—her body had weakened ever since Suzuran was born.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVtIQOUgUb0
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—25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJE4TsRRlK
A defense mechanism etched into his very bones.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡycWhyY23Qq
Like a beast caged too long, no longer trusting any outstretched hand.
"Hi, I’m Suzuran!"25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkfJLvv93Lt
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.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSE8OM087rU
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!”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYGy24mIsLX
Suzuran said earnestly, her tone pure and unaffected,25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFc3UPuu6y5
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.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35ijpnE2Kk
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.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT24UQ4HKa7
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.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25TahUtndX
She wanted it to feel like sharing.
“Will you be my friend?”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTBaoSoePBG
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.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXBSKbtfX6k
Everyone’s really nice to me, but still… I really want a real friend.”
He said nothing—25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9HqJs7VcnC
But the next moment, he took the sandwich and devoured it,25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVqkk5CMp8G
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?”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPTq71fjhY
She said with a laugh, opening her little backpack wider,25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGYT3ZmP7O
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.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaOL3eQSJiX
“Then what’s your name?”
The boy answered in a hoarse voice—25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZc5T5GIRzp
his first time ever speaking to her, his first words in this new life:
“…My mom… called me… Kouichi.”
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