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-------------------Yuji Pov--------------------
"This is Kou's house!"
Entering what looked like an abandoned pharmacy, Kou spoke up, flashing a proud smile as he turned to look at me. I immediately noticed an old mattress next to the counter, understanding that this was where the girl slept.
I couldn't help but frown with an angry expression. There was no justification for allowing the presence of a place like this, where children were born and forced to survive in such a hellish way. In this place, it was kill or be killed, and this did not only apply to adults.
With a sigh, I calmed my expression, leaving my anger in the back of my mind as I turned my attention to the little girl, who at this point, was looking for something in a bag.
When she told me she wanted to follow me, I couldn't do much as she immediately grabbed my hand and guided me as she said she would show me where she lived. I didn't do much to stop this as the little girl seemed very happy, making me feel bad at the thought of rejecting her... Besides, I needed a considerably safe place to stay.
One of the first things that struck me about her was her age. She looked very small for an 11 year old girl, resembling 8 year olds, not 10 year olds. I concluded that this was due to malnutrition, as this did not seem like a place with good quality food.
From what I had seen, eating rats would probably be like receiving a blessing, for although it was an animal that carried more diseases than I could imagine, it was still a piece of meat.
"Here!" Suddenly, Kou exclaimed as she pulled something out of the bag, drawing my attention to her as she walked toward me quickly.
"This is Kou's teddy bear! His name is Kalber!" Raising a small teddy bear for me to see, she spoke with an innocent smile on her face.
This made me realize that despite living in such an environment, she was still a sweet and innocent child, her nature still childlike, even with eyes too mature for a child, which I couldn't help but notice. This caused a gentle smile to appear on my lips.
"It's a pleasure, Kalber." I greeted the teddy bear in a childish way, receiving a strange look from the girl.
"Uh... Why are you greeting Kalber? He can't talk."
Hearing his answer, I smiled nervously while scratching the back of my neck.
"Oh, sorry." That had not gone the way I had imagined.
With a nod, returning to her childish smile, the little girl walked over to her mattress, sitting down as she placed the teddy bear beside her.
Looking around again, I noticed the lack of any sign that someone else lived with her, and immediately understanding what this implied, I decided not to ask where the girl's parents were, since the chance that they were dead was enormous, and I didn't want to bring bad memories to the little one.
Walking over to her, I picked up the dirt from the floor with my foot and sat down in front of her, watching her play with her teddy bear.
Honestly, I was still confused by the girl in front of me. After having lived so long in a place like this, she should have learned never to trust strangers. Luckily, I was not one of those maniacs.
'Just thinking about what those bastards would be capable of makes me sick to my stomach.'
Letting out a sigh as I pushed these thoughts out of my mind, I turned my attention back to Kou, the little girl still focused on her toy.
I spent a few seconds watching her play, a question arising in my mind that I didn't stop myself from asking.
"Kou, why did you say you want to follow me?" I asked. I really hadn't heard a justification for the girl's words since she dragged me along without my being able to say anything.
The moment I asked, I watched her freeze for a second, then go back to playing with the teddy bear, completely ignoring me.
'It's never that simple.' I sighed. 'Very well then.'
'Observe!'
[Status]
Name: Kou Rikuko
Age: 11
Strength: E
Durability: D+
Resistance: E+
Speed: D
Intelligence: B
Potential: XXX
[State]
Hopeful/Comfortable/Happy/Assured.
Kou feels comfortable around you, happy for your presence in her home. After seeing you confront the men at the bar, she regards you with respect, hopeful that you can bring her freedom from the hell she lives in.
Despite seeing you almost in a divine light, she can't help but be afraid, but not of you, but of the idea of you abandoning her after her sleep.
.
Reading her state, I sighed as I frowned. At least she didn't look like she was going to become some kind of Setsuna to me, so I wouldn't worry about her emotions. But for a child to put so much faith in a stranger was shocking, to say the least. The girl was putting her hopes that I could save her from her life in that place. Of course, I wouldn't mind doing that, but I couldn't just take her out of that place, especially at that moment, since I was also imprisoned for a month. The most I could do was to keep control over that area of the district, after all, I was strong enough that most of the maniacs in the place were not a problem, so I should be able to exercise dominance over the place.
Looking at the window of the pharmacy, I realized that night had already come. I could think about it the next day, currently, I needed to rest in order to be prepared for the next day. I should at least map out the district and find out who the strongest people were, so that I wouldn't be caught off guard when facing any of them.
"All right, Kou, I'm going to sleep now." Resting my back on the counter, I crossed my arms as I relaxed my body. "If you need anything, wake me up. Good night."
The little girl didn't answer, just looking at me while nodding in agreement. I wouldn't share a bed with her, since I really wasn't familiar enough with her for that, and I didn't want to cause any misunderstandings. I would be training in my sleep, so comfort was not something I cared about anyway.
Closing my eyes, a few minutes passed in silence, my mind not taking long to enter training mode when I found myself in the middle of an arena.
As I fought against various opponents, I couldn't help but feel something wrap around my torso, this getting my attention, since while I was fighting, I hadn't been involved in any ground combat.
'Is something happening outside my mind?' I wondered.
Coming out of mental training, I opened my eyes to see the dark pharmacy, my eyes not taking long to get used to the darkness.
'Uh?' Turning my gaze downward, I widened my eyes as I saw two small arms wrapped around my torso, Kou hugging me while breathing calmly, a small happy smile on his lips.
I cracked a gentle smile at the sight of her, stroking her head affectionately.
'Children...' Closing my eyes again, I let out a sigh as I let sleep catch up with me. 'I never learned how to deal with them.'