"What a pity, when they are still small."
"I heard they also don't have any relatives who can take care of them."
"Oh my, what will happen to them then?"
There were whispers from the people who attended my parents' funeral, but I completely ignored them.
I am now standing right in front of the coffins of my father and mother, which are currently being mourned by many people. There, together with my sister, I just stared all the way through this funeral ceremony with vacant eyes.
Absolutely no tears were shed. It was really surprising to find myself so calm at a time like this.
"Hiks, hiks, hiks, Mom… Dad…"
But, different from me, beside me Shina was crying sobbing. I could feel hers hand gripping mine tightly while wiping away hers tears with hers other hand.
Since that incident, she has been crying non-stop. I was overwhelmed enough to stop her when she found out that mom and dad were dead. She just kept whining and wouldn't leave them. But, fortunately now she had become a bit calmer.
"Don't worry, Shina. Brother will take care of you, you are not alone. Brother will always be by your side no matter what, so you don't have to cry?" I said while smiling softly.
I knelt down at eye level with my sister and stroked her head to comfort her.
"Hiks, Onii... -sama." She winced, but she also tried not to cry anymore.
Seeing that, I hugged her tightly. "You're okay, Shina. I will always be with you, I promise you will never leave you," I said, while letting the girl cry in my arms.
Then, after she cried her heart out, Shina fell asleep, I'm sure she was very tired because she hadn't slept since last night. I decided to leave the burial place to lay her on the bed first.
After that, I intend to return to the burial ground. But, while I was on my way, someone suddenly called out to me.
"Is it true you're named Riku?"
I flinched and quickly turned my body to look at the person.
"Who are you?" I asked with a sharp and wary gaze.
"Please forgive me for suddenly calling you. I was Seiji-san's friend when we were in high school, my name is Shinomiya Gorou. This is my business card if you don't believe it," said the hard-faced man with a well-built body while giving his business card to me.
My dad's friend huh...
I wasn't the least bit interested, in fact it just made me suspect him even more. I continued to stare at him with a displeased look.
"So, what do you want? If you intend to adopt us just to get money from my mom and dad's insurance, then go! You're wasting my time!" I said firmly.
There have been more than five people who claimed to be friends of my father and mother, just to get rights from my parents' insurance money.
Of course, I rejected them all. Even if they say something stupid like we're kids so we need adults to live, I don't care. I will not let trash like them touch my sister and what I have again.
"As expected of her son, you are very smart." But, when he heard that, the man wasn't bothered at all, he smiled faintly when he heard me rejecting him.
"Huh? What do you mean, geezer? I told you to go, I don't need—"
"—Please don't misunderstand me, boy. I have no intention of taking a penny of your money here," the man cut in before I could finish my sentence, he sounded very confident, but I was sure it was just a lie.
"Heh, do you think I will believe it?"
"Of course, I don't think I can gain your trust easily. But, first, why don't you look at my business card first, after that you will know that I don't need your money at all," said the man who was still adamant and gave his business card once again.
I still looked at him warily.
He's really noisy.
Do you really want our money? Should I run away, this will never end. I guess I'll accept the card, then pretend I don't know anything and leave this place.
It's better than keeping it down.
That's what I thought a moment ago. But, as soon as I saw his business card, my eyes immediately opened wide in disbelief.
"This?!" My body shaking, I frowned with a troubled face, then screamed loudly. "The leader of the Shinomiya Group, Shinomiya Gorou!" I was completely shocked.
I've heard his name inside the television station. He is one of the richest people in Japan, owning more than 1000 companies in and out of the country, with a net worth of 200 trillion yen. He is one of those who stand at the top of the world's industry.
I was completely unaware when he introduced himself because I was too wary of the people around me.
Besides, I see absolutely no trace of forgery on the card, so is it really him?
But, what was such a big man doing here? He said he was my dad's high school friend, but this is really hard to believe. I can't believe my stupid dad has a connection like this, how come he never told me about it?
Upon seeing me who was dumbfounded and hesitated, the man suddenly smiled broadly and said.
"Now you know that I don't intend to rob you? Don't worry, I have no intention of harming you and your sister either. I only have debts with your parents, so I just want to pay them," said Gorou with a sincere expression, while extending his hand towards
I was a bit wary at first, but knowing that this was a rare opportunity, I shook the man's hand after gathering all the willpower I had.
"Okay, I will be your son," I replied with a unanimous decision.
Well, after all I really need a guardian who can support our lives. I don't feel any ill will from him either, so I guess there's no problem becoming him stepson.
To be honest, I also have other options to live alone with my little sister, but that would make things all the more troublesome. This was indeed annoying, but what the trash said was true.
Small children cannot live alone without adults. So I think with this, we can start our life again in a better way.
But—
"…."
While I imagine a new life that we will live from now on.
Like a nightmare that never ends.
All that happiness was destroyed in just a blink of an eye.
After my parents' funeral ceremony was over, Shina suddenly had a terrible fever and because of that she had to be rushed to the hospital. However, all does not end there.
From what the doctor said when he examined my sister. He said hers heart had suddenly weakened drastically, and if he wasn't treated properly, his life could have been in danger.
On hearing that—
'Crack'
—I felt something breaking inside me.