Suddenly, a voice rang out, slurred and hoarse, heavy with the scent of alcohol. In that voice was a trace of surprise, a flicker of recognition, and something else, something unplaceable, wavering between clarity and confusion, familiarity and an aching strangeness.
The little girl froze as she heard it. Her body trembled slightly. Her breath caught, became ragged and heavy, as though someone had gripped her chest and squeezed.
She stood stiff as stone.
Seeing her tense up, Kyouno instantly turned, eyes narrowing with suspicion and vigilance as she looked toward the source of the voice. There—
Was a man.
He was tall and lanky, but his body was frail and thin, like a shadow on the verge of collapse.
The once-blue coat he wore was now barely recognizable, crumpled, filthy, stained with murky brown smudges as if it had been dragged through mud and grime.
Each step he took landed unsteadily, as though the ground beneath him were too soft to hold. He staggered forward, swaying side to side, sometimes nearly toppling over, only saved by grabbing onto the nearest lamppost or wall.
But more than anything, it was the man's face—
His complexion was flushed, his forehead beaded with sweat, as if he had just emerged from a long and burning fever. His eyes were half-lidded and bloodshot, glazed over, darting in random directions with no anchor in reality.
Unkempt facial hair sprawled across the lower half of his gaunt face. He might have been in his early twenties, yet he looked worn, like a middle-aged drifter, hollowed out by time and intoxication.
Kyouno's eyes widened, her entire body stiffening in high alert.
Because for some reason, just one fleeting glance at that face stirred something deep within her, a creeping feeling from the pit of her soul.
Was it… unease? Fear?
Like a reflex rooted in instinct, she immediately shifted into a defensive stance, ready to strike at any moment should this stranger prove a threat.
But before Kyouno could make a move—
Yumiyo's voice trembled into the air. Fragile, shaking, on the verge of breaking.
"P…Papa…?"
The word drifted as softly as a passing breeze, yet it struck Kyouno like a thunderclap, leaving her frozen where she stood.
Papa…?
That's right—
Yumiyo… still had a father.
At first, a flicker of admiration bloomed in her chest. And perhaps, too, a pang of envy.
That couldn't be helped. Since the moment she was born, Kyouno had never once known a father's embrace.
Mom used to say he had died the day Kyouno first cried into the world. After that, she slowly stopped speaking of him, dodging questions like one trying to erase a ghost. As if she wanted her children to forget a man who had never truly existed.
And yet… how could Kyouno forget?
How could she not yearn, not ache, after growing up under the pitying eyes of others, branded as a child without a father?
How could she not feel the sting, watching other children be lifted into strong arms, comforted when they wept, resting their heads against a warm shoulder that felt like home?
Such was her childhood. And even as she grew, that emptiness never faded. When she heard Yumiyo speak of her living father, Kyouno tried to suppress the feeling. But she could never fully deny that quiet tightness in her chest, that slow-burning envy she couldn't extinguish.
She… had lost everything. And that girl, at the very least, still had a father to call out to.
Can you blame her, for feeling jealous?
But now—
As she saw the trembling in Yumiyo's eyes as they gazed at that man, Kyouno felt something shift within her.
Something was wrong. Terribly wrong!
And then, before Kyouno could even react, the man staggered forward, right up to the little girl.
And then, before the small, frozen body, a shadow suddenly moved—
"Smack!"
A sharp, cracking sound rang out, ripping through the air already thick with suffocating tension. And by the time Kyouno realized what had happened, a vivid red mark had already bloomed on Yumiyo's pale cheek, burning like fire searing flesh.
The girl had just been… slapped by her own father?!
Not just any slap—
A brutal strike, one that sent her head whipping to the side and her tiny body reeling, nearly collapsing to the ground.
For the little girl, the whole world tilted. A deafening ring filled her ears. Her vision blurred.
It took everything in her to keep her legs from giving way.
And then, before she could gather herself, a bellow cracked like thunder:
"You wretched little brat! You stupid bitch, do you even know what the hell you have done?!"
The scream echoed through the room, laced with vile curses that made Yumiyo's entire body jolt.
Her breath hitched, caught in her throat like invisible hands were tightening around it, choking her with every unhinged hiss.
His voice, coarse and cracked, carried with it a venomous intent no father should ever possess.
"Papa… I… I didn't… I didn't do anything…"
Her fragile voice barely left her lips, only to be ripped apart . . . by a second, savage strike:
"SLAP!!"
This time, it split the air like lightning.
Kyouno screamed inside.
Her eyes widened. Her fists clenched. But she still hadn't reached in time.
The man, eyes bloodshot and stinking of alcohol, growled like a cornered beast:
"Ungrateful little bitch! I raised you, and this is how you repay me?! You went against little Himeko, my boss's precious daughter. You even dared to hurt her?!"
"Because of you, I almost lost my damn job! Do you even get that, huh?! YOU PIECE OF TRASH!!"
This time, Yumiyo's cheeks flamed crimson, scalding like boiling water.
Tears welled in her eyes, on the verge of bursting.
And yet—
She bit her lip, trembling, refusing to let them fall. Her voice came out shattered, gasping between staggered breaths:
"Papa… I....I didn't mean to… It wasn't me… It was Himeko… she said you… that you were… a thief… she…"
"SLAAAAAAAAAAPPP!!!"
The sound echoed through the still air, sharp as a blade, searing like wounds carved deep into flesh.
A merciless slap, unyielding, devoid of compassion, stripped of all traces of familial warmth.
Yumiyo stood frozen in place.
"P...Papa... why... why would you...?"
"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!"
The man roared, cutting her off with a voice so venomous it tore through the air. Passersby began to stir with unease, their faces clouded with pity and indignation, yet none dared to interfere.
And he? He remained unmoved. His eyes full of scorn, he hurled words like daggers, straight into the child's heart:
"What the hell are you thinking, you disobedient little brat? You dare spin lies to slander a sweet, innocent girl like Himeko?! Is that what I raised you for?! A thankless, wicked thing who brings disgrace to my name?!"
The words struck deep, so deep her heart seemed to stop.
"You....you... don't believe me...?" - Her voice trembled, vanishing into a broken sob. One last plea, reaching for the faintest flicker of light in the suffocating dark.
But the reply came—
And it was nothing short of an axe cleaving her soul in two:
"Believe you? What a joke. Why the hell would I trust a filthy little troublemaker like you?"
And then, he went on, with the most venomous words Kyouno had ever heard.
"A cursed child like you... Why were you even born? You should've died in your mother's place."
The words fell like a guillotine. And as they did, the world shattered behind Yumiyo's eyes.
Her pupils widened, contracting as if struck by lightning. Her breath caught, rapid and shallow, like something sharp was lodged in her throat.
Her chest tightened, squeezed by an invisible fist.
Her knees gave way, her tiny frame trembling like a tree battered in a storm.
Pain. Overwhelming pain.
Inside and out.
From skin to bone, from breath to soul.
As if she were being ripped apart on every level of her being.
"You bastard...!"
Kyouno screamed, unable to take it anymore. Her hand rose, trembling with fury, gathering magic for a strike born of righteous rage.
But then—
Her eyes met Yumiyo's. And the spell dissolved.
That look... that gaze soaked in tears and agony.
No hatred. No plea for help.
Only silence.
Only unbearable sorrow.
The light that once shimmered there, shattered, reduced to dust.
What remained was a single, silent prayer:
Please. Don't.
Don't strike him. Don't do anything.
Even if it hurts... please, just let it be.
Kyouno froze.
Without a word, Yumiyo turned away. Her steps staggered, knees threatening to buckle, and then, she ran.
Ran through the wind and the watching crowd.
Ran as if stopping would make her shatter into pieces.
"Hey! YOU DAMN BRAT! WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!"
The man's voice thundered behind her, but Yumiyo didn't look back.
She just kept running.
"GO ON! GET LOST! AND IF YOU LEAVE!!DON'T YOU DARE COME BACK TO BURDEN ME AGAIN!!!"
As soon as the man finished speaking, he staggered away, muttering vile curses under his breath.
The surrounding crowd, seeing that the drama had ended, began to disperse as if nothing had ever happened.
All that remained—
Was a maiden, frozen like stone, her gaze deep and unfathomable.
...