A Secret Unraveled (Completed)

Prologue

When I was four and a half years old, I had what seemed to be the best life any child could have...

 Up until that day that is...

I remember cowering at the opening of an alleyway and quietly sobbing to myself not knowing where to go or what to do. 

Out of the hundreds of pedestrians, only one stopped to check on me.

"Excuse me, do you need help? Are you lost?"

I didn't look up, but I shook my head and wiped away my tears. The person crouched down to talk to me at eye level.

"Well, a little girl such as yourself shouldn't be here all alone. Do you not have a home to go back to?"

I nodded, tears started streaming down again when he said 'home'.

"Since you don't have a place to stay, would you like to stay with me?" I slowly looked up at the owner of the voice. It was a young man in a casual suit with violet eyes and slightly unkempt hair.

"I promise that I will take good care of you." He smiled warmly and held out his hand.

I observed his expression, then brought my gaze to his hand, contemplating his offer. 

Hesitantly, I reached my hand out and held onto his. His hand was warm and gentle like his smile. I didn't realize how tall he really was until he stood up.

The journey home made me anxious and filled my stomach with butterflies. When we got there, the butterflies increased tenfold and my heart kept crashing against my ribcage.

Once he unlocked the door, we were greeted by a strawberry blonde boy. He looked my age, if not, may be slightly older. I was startled by the presence of the younger boy, so I hid behind the man. The boy looked at me curiously.

"Good evening Gakushuu, how was school?" the man asked the boy, who I now know as Gakushuu.

"School was fine, but who's that behind you?" He tilted his head to the side to get a better look, which resulted in me backing up further behind the man.

"I found this child on the street, so she'll be staying with us." Gakushuu's father explained.

"Pardon my manners, I nearly forgot the introductions." He came down to my level again to make himself less intimidating, "I'm Gakuhou Asano, but you can call me Uncle Asano, and that boy there is my son, Gakushuu. What's your name?"

"M-my name is Shiniko Kuroshira...'' I stuttered quietly.

"Nice to meet you, Shiniko. I hope you can call this place home." Gakushuu nodded in agreement. "Now that introductions are over, I'll show you around the house, give you a bath, and then we'll have dinner." Uncle Asano said as I nodded.

After the short tour, we went back to the bathroom. "Now that you know where everything is, I'll get the bath started. Would you like me to help you?" Uncle Asano asked and I shook my head.

"Alright then, just be careful. Since you're hurt, come to the guest room I showed you after you're done and I will bandage those wounds, ok?" I nodded.

"There's the towel right there and the pajamas are over there. Be careful now, and enjoy your bath." He pointed to the basic amenities before shutting the door as he left.

After my bath, I went to the guest room as instructed.

"Just in time. Come here, I'll help you put some bandages on." Uncle Asano had a first aid kit ready.

I went over and took a seat on the edge of the bed. He started to inspect and bandage up as much of the visible wounds as possible.

"There we go, that's the last of them. Now, let's go eat dinner," he said as he got up to put the kit away.

When I entered the dining room, the food was already on the table and Gakushuu was waiting patiently for us. I sat across from Gakushuu, and Uncle Asano took the seat at the end of the table.

As we were eating, Uncle Asano asked, "I never got to ask, but what happened before I found you?"

I froze for a second before answering in a whisper, "I don't want to talk about it..."

The rest of dinner was filled with silence. It didn't bother me, but Uncle Asano would make small talk with us. I didn't say much though.

After dinner, we put all the dishes in the sink for Uncle Asano to wash; then, I went to the washroom to wash up before bed. When I came out, I accidentally bumped into Gakushuu.

"S-sorry," I apologized quietly while looking down.

"It's alright, it's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too... Um, I'm gonna go to bed now, good night." I said quickly and hurried back to the guest room.

"Good night," I heard him say as I was leaving.

I flopped onto the bed after closing the door.

Today was exhausting like any other day, but now I have a place to stay... The man and boy, no, Uncle Asano and Gakushuu are really nice. I hope I can call this place home someday...

This was my last thought before I drifted off to sleep.