Present time ;
Melancholia playground ;

“I canʼt believe it. Were mama and papa really that cool?” Shin laughed as the boy muttered in disbelief, as if he fully understood the whole story.

“Maybe.” she tapped Nakaruʼs nose with a teasing smile. “Who knows, I might have never told you the whole truth.”

The little bluenet pouted at the remark. Of course, Shin understood the frustration, but because he was still a child, he should only see things in his point of view and not try to delve deeper in things he could not yet understand.

She knew telling him things would invite consequences in the future, but she knew how to play her cards right. Nakaru was an exceptional child, it wonʼt be long until heʼll learn the ropes. But, for now, sheʼll let him enjoy his childhood.

“Fine. Maybe Iʼll ask them someday.” The brunette ruffled Nakaruʼs hair at the response.

“Shin onee-chan!” a boy about Nakaruʼs age or a year older exclaimed rather excitedly, his apricot hair and midnight eyes shining he ran to the two under the glimmering sun.

“Oh, great timing!” Shin clasped her hands together, pleased. “Nakaru, Iʼd like you to meet one of your aunts and unclesʼ son. Get to know each other for the time being, ne?”

The newcomer 'examined' Nakaru from head to toe as if trying to see if the bluenet was worthy of an introduction, like a child born from an aristocratic background would do before smiling once again— an action which made the usually behaved Nakaru raise his brow at.

“Hello there! I am Alistair Lemercier-Ifrikia. I am widely known as Alistair, but Shin onee-chan calls me Alice, so you could call me that too. I am pleased to meet your acquaintance.”

'He bowed. I mean, 'pleased to meet your acquaintance' and bowing in a princely manner, who would do that?' Nakaru thought to himself, but shrugged.

“Nice to meet you too, Alice. Iʼm Akabane Nakaru, but I prefer being called Naru.”

Shin noticed a flicker of sadness in the childʼs eyes, and it seemed that Alistair saw it too.

“You seem sad, Naru. Why is that?” asked young Alistair.

The bluenette smiled sadly as he shook his head. “Itʼs nothing. Meeting you just reminded me of my best friend, Hiro. Papa told me they were leaving because of auntieʼs last wish.”

Alistair nodded in sympathy, but then pulled Nakaru and Shin into a hug, smiling brightly. “Then Iʼll be your new best friend! Thatʼs alright, right Shin onee-chan?”

“I think itʼs all up to Naru, Alice.”

“Eh~ You wonʼt let me be your new friend, Naru?”

The adult sweatdropped at his persistence. Just then, her attention was caught by a small figure obviously standing out as it hid behind the only tree outside the fences due to its scarlet hair. Shin saw it peek towards them, but immediately hid its face again when her golden eyes meet with its azure blue ones.

“Well who do we have here? Alice, Naru,” she called out to which the boy heeded.

“Yes, onee-sama/ What is it, Shin onee-chan?”

“Would you care to find out whoʼs been watching us behind that tree?”

—・—

“I-Iʼm sorry!”

The three of them was taken-aback by the intruderʼs response. Turns out, the one who was watching them was a child— a scarlet haired and azure eyed orphan who resided in the small alleyway beside Melancholia.

“I didnʼt mean to go near your place! Please donʼt hurt me, ojou-sama!” the little girl spoke in hushed tones, her knees trembling as she looked down as if she had done an unforgivable sin. “I promise Iʼll work for you! Iʼll work hard everyday! Please donʼt hate me anymore! Please donʼt send me back to Tai Hen-sama!”

“Hush dear. Weʼll never hurt you, okay?” Shin caressed her hair in a soothing manner, while Alice and Naru embraced her from behind. “It looks like youʼve been to a horrible place. Donʼt worry, youʼll never go back there again.”

“Really, ojou-sama?” the redhead asked with a hopeful expression.

“Yep! Now stop crying, okay?” the girl nodded, wiping her tears.

“My name is Alice,” Alistair started as he broke the hug. “That one over there is Naru, and Iʼm his new best friend.”

Nakaru crossed his arms and glared playfully at the latter. “Who said I agreed to that?”

“Eh~”

Needless to say, Shin was perplexed. Aside from the fact that the girl clearly ran away from an orphanage and got sold to a pervert pedophile, the girl resembles a lot like Karma and Nagisa. She might have to let them know about this phenomenon. Seriously though, sometimes she doesnʼt know what was happening to her life anymore eversince she met the gang. But one thingʼs for sure, she wonʼt ever trade it for the world.

“Now, we never knew your name.”

The small girl looked up shyly and muttered, “Karuna.”

“Ne, Naru.” the said boy looked at Shin, who was wearing a euphoric expression. “Remember when I said maybe you could find a little sister too while you were at it?”

“Yes?”

“Well you might have just got one.”

—・—

Three months later ;
Akabane Manor ;

KARMA

“Akabane Nakaru, you come back here this instance!”

I could hear their bickering going on from upstairs to the kitchen.

“Papa, help me! Naru clearly lost the game, so he must do the dare!”

“But 'pa! I donʼt want my face to become Runaʼs personal sketchpad!”

I just shook my head in disbelief while proceeding on cooking breakfast. True enough, the house couldnʼt get any livelier ever since we took young Karuna into our home.

If we didnʼt know any better, Karuna could have easily been our lost child due to the uncanny resemblance to Nagisa and I. But that didnʼt hinder the fact that we loved her as one of our own, and we would do anything for her to have her best life, especially Naru.

“Now now, what is the matter?” a gentle voice emerged from the living room.

The two immediately behaved themselves. “Nothing, mama.”

“Come on, you two. Could you kindly prepare the table for breakfast?” Nagisa smiled as the two obliged.

My wife is really unique. She could use her charm to make everyone do what she wants them to do and nobody would suspect a thing.

“And you,” she muttered in disbelief, facing me as she dropped her calm facade. “I canʼt believe you just let them bicker like that so early in the morning! Their voices could wake up the whole neighborhood! And youʼre supposed to be the father of this family.”

Scratch that. Sheʼs terrifyingly unique. And thatʼs exactly why I love her.

I flashed a lopsided smile while pulling her for an embrace, my chin resting on her shoulder. “Iʼm sorry, Nagi-Nagi. Forgive me?”

She sighed in frustration. “Ugh, why canʼt I ever say no to you?”

“Because you love me, of course,” I said, smiling triumphantly. Nagisa just rolled her eyes in response, but an amused smile rested on her porcelain face.

Just then, a rustling of utensils interrupted the moment.

“Can I be the first to say, EW?! Why were we blessed with such cheesy parents again, Runa?”

“Hey, I actually find them very sweet, Naru.”

Kids.

One moment theyʼre shouting their lungs out, then the next thing you know, theyʼre conspiring against you.

“My naughty beloved children, clean up,”

But unknowingly, they became my pillars. The light in the darkness that kept me from being happy with Nagisa. The reason for my endless triumph against my misery. And the ones who saved me from that unending abyss.

I will give them everything I never had when I was all alone.

I will keep them safe from our past rendezvous,

even if it meant keeping things from them.

I will never trade them for anything.

I will love them unconditionally,

and keep them from going into the darkness I once belonged.

And I promise this, even after death.

【 e n d. 】