mamoritai | f. megumi

一

an: the book slightly follows both manga and anime

italicized means flashback

"Is this...the right place?"

"We are in the correct address, yes."

Eighteen year old Nanami Kento stared at the old, three storey adoption place that stood old yet tall behind a black iron gate. Closing his eyes before letting out a soft sigh, he walks the earthy ground path that lead him through the large oak front door.

"May I help you?" A female staff spoke to him, lips red and eyes darting up and down at him.

"I'd...like to adopt a child." Nanami replies, one hand clutching onto the strap of his body bag and the other shoved inside the pockets of his pants.

The female staff slowly nodded her head with her mouth slightly parted. Nanami didn't know what kind of facial expression is she making - was it disappointed? or skepticism? He'll never know.

"Follow me" is all she says before turning around.

Through the distorted and grisly walls of Hopeful Mother Orphanage Home and Children's Clinic clad in his Tokyo Jujutsu High uniform, the female staff is telling him how this orphanage home used to be an apartment from a wealthy man who's children suddenly disappeared, soon himself after them. He wasn't much interested in the story, he was rather focused on the dilapidated interior. Although he has his lips shut out of respect, he couldn't help but think that the place isn't exactly the perfect living environment for a child - wooden floors creaking and sounded like it would collapse any day, unappealing painted walls and and dim lighting in the bathrooms.

If it wasn't for Yaga, Nanami would never step foot in a place like this. Seeing as work is work, therefore, he has to finish his business here and get out. But first, he needed to look for a little girl with blonde hair and dark yellow colored eyes. With his head slightly looking down at every child who looked back at him with wide, curious yet hopeful eyes, Nanami scanned each of them, looking for her.

"Have you found the perfect one?" The same female staff that looked like in her early twenties with bright red lipstick suddenly stood beside him and asked. She leaned her thin body on the wall as she shot a quick glance at the children. "Seeing you here gives them a tiny bit of hope that you'll take them away and give them a new life."

A soft sigh escapes his lips before walking away and heading to a different room. The female staff following him from behind. "What kind of child are you looking for?"

As Nanami stopped by another room and checked to see if she was there, she wasn't.

"I'm looking for a little girl with blonde hair and dark yellow eyes. Her name is Momoka." Nanami informs her and the female staff just stared at him with her eyes slightly wide.

"That's odd." She mumbles to herself. "Momoka is one of the first children that came here when the orphanage was newly built. The other children who came here with her have already been taken." She informs him, pocketing her hands inside her coat. "Follow me."

Again Nanami follows her, going over a flight of steep, creaky stairs and away from the noise of the other staffs and children. On the third and last floor of the house, on the furthest room of the hallway, the female staff opened the door. Inside, a little pink tent house is situated in the middle of the room, piles of picture books and toys scattered around. As Nanami slowly walked closer and unzipped the door door of the tent, a pair of dark yellow eyes stared right back at him.

The two of them stared at each other before Nanami extended a hand out for her to take. Momoka slowly extended her hand out and instead of placing her little hand on top of his, she pointed at something behind him.

"Swirly swirly" she mumbles, pursing her lips into a thin line and tears almost brimming her eyes.

Nanami turned his head around and was amazed at how a four year old girl could already see curses. Following where she was pointing, there was indeed a black fungus looking curse inside the room, now Nanami understood why she was hiding inside the tent. She was hiding from a grade 4 curse.

Turning his head around to face her again, Nanami used his cursed energy to exorcise it. He couldn't help but find her shocked expression an adorable one.

"Nothing to see now, is there?" He tells her. When the curse was gone, Momoka broke into a wide smile and placed her hand on top of his.

. . . . . . . . . . ♡

"Akiyama Momoka is a peculiar child. There are days wherein she'd play with the children and some days where she doesn't. You really don't know what goes on inside her mind, but she likes playing card games." As the female staff continues to babble about Momoka, Nanami had his head turned to the side and watched Momoka playing cards by herself on the floor, laying them out and categorizing them per composition.

"There's a four year old girl in Hopeful Mother Orphanage House in Kanagawa that is reported to be able to see and feel curses." Yaga spoke to him, holding onto a report that was printed by one of the auxiliary managers. "I'll leave her care to you, Nanami."

"Based on her files, she used to reside in the island of Honshu. Her parents loved to hike until one day they never returned. It is also reported that they were last seen trekking Mount Mizugaki in Hokuto City in the Yamanashi prefecture, a few hours outside of Tokyo. A day later, the local authorities sent her to us." The female staff smoothed the documents in her hands before sliding it over to Nanami. "That's pretty much everything about Momoka."

Nanami subtly nodded his head and pushed down the retractable of his pen, etching his signature perfectly above the printed line.

"I'm glad that I'm still here and able to see Momoka finally getting a proper home." The female staff spoke again, turning her head to take a look at the little girl still playing cards on the floor.

"I hope she likes Tokyo."

. . . . . . . . . . ♡

With her knees propped kneeling on the passenger side seat and hands placed on the window, Momoka stared at the facade of Tokyo Metropolitan Curse College. The lush green leaves of years old trees, traditional Japanese architecture and the several statues of deities, shrines and torii gates gracing the sides and front.

As the car stops, Nanami was the first to come out before walking around and helping Momoka climb out of the car. Taking her little hand in his, together they walked inside the large campus of the school.

"I never got to introduce myself to you" Nanami begins to say, turning his head down to flash the little girl a small smile. "I'm Nanami Kento. And you're Akiyama Momoka from Honshu, right?"

Momoka stared right back at him before slowly nodding her head.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but you need to understand two important things for now." Nanami says, climbing one stair at a time to guide Momoka.

"First, this will be your new home." Nanami says, turning his head to look at the front where Yaga stood with his arms crossed behind his back by the top of the stairs of the main building.

"And second, from this day forward, you are now Nanami Momoka."

edited: 111922