Bao_Aizawa
- Reads 920
- Votes 63
- Parts 42
Within the Hidden Kurobane Residence, laughter carried across the yard. Two children ran barefoot through the grass, their bright voices mingling with the chirps of sparrows and the rustle of small animals that trailed after them. Aiyaka's giggles rang like bells; Itsuki's shouts echoed with the boundless energy of youth. They chased one another without a care, unknowing, unburdened.
From the veranda, their parents watched in silence. Hoshika's fingers tightened around a crimson ribbon, her knuckles pale as she pressed it to her chest. Her gaze followed the children, tender but heavy with sorrow. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft, trembling beneath its warmth.
"...Do you think they'll understand?"
Akihiro's sharp profile was unreadable, his eyes fixed on their children with a soldier's focus rather than a father's ease. His arm slid around Hoshika's shoulders, steadying her even as his own silence seemed carved from stone. When he did answer, his voice was low, measured, unyielding.
"We cannot think of that now. We have to stay strong... for them."
Her tears slipped free anyway, warm against the ribbon in her hand. She brushed them away quickly and forced her voice into something gentle, something motherly.
"Kids..."
The siblings turned at once, faces bright with innocent curiosity.
"Yes, Mother?"
Akihiro straightened, his expression unreadable save for the faint weight behind his eyes. He lifted a hand, beckoning them closer. "Come here. It's time for a family meeting."
The children exchanged puzzled glances, but they obeyed, their little feet pattering against the wood as they rushed toward their parents.
They didn't know.
They couldn't know.
That this would be the last time their family would sit together.
The last time they would hear their parents' voices.
The last time their world would feel whole.