𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐊𝐍𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐋𝐄𝐒

prologue

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──

IT WAS NOT OFTEN AKARI ZENIGATA WAS ALLOWED TO WANDER AROUND HER SISTER'S WORK PLACE. THE NINE YEAR OLD HELD ON TO the taller blond's shirt, unsure of the flashing lights in the brothel. After all, it was the second time she was allowed to leave the room designated for her.

Akari Zenigata was what you'd call a stubborn kid, her disposition inherited from her father and sister. She never knew her mother, nor did she need to. Her older sister provided for her as though Akari was her daughter, trying her best to never let her lack anything. Sure, the pair of Zenigata's weren't the richest on the block but they loved each other and that's really all that mattered.

Akari didn't like staying at the brothel, not because the people were bad or anything, but rather because it provided her with the constant reminder that her father would never come back for her nor her sister.

She stuck around Ken Ryuguji, someone who she appreciated for being in her life. The faux blond was just a year older than her, yet he never looked down on her or treated her condescendingly. Akari knew she was lucky she still had her sister, so she tried to make the best of what she had.

Her friendship with Ken had led her to meet what you would now call the Tokyo Manji Gang, having played a part in designing it's motif. The two didn't exactly have a sibling dynamic, finding it weird to call each other a filial figure. Akari used to crush on the older blonde, but her feelings disapitated after some time. Either that, or she assumed that to be the norm.

Ken was no angel either. He found her very attractive but never attempting to solidify any romantic sort of relationship with her. You know how you'd click with someone who you don't exactly see as a brother or sister?

Akari's life wasn't all suffering and trauma. The first two years of her very existence was the most peaceful. She'd been ignorantly living through the most blissful period of her life she'd ever get. A loving family, with a mother, father and her sister. They were your perfect family, living a life that could mirror those picture perfect stock photos.

Yet, it all came crashing down when her father suddenly passed away because of a heart attack, leaving her poor mother depressed and alone. Her sister needed to make money somehow, landing her current job at the brothel. Surprisingly, it wasn't painful or hard. All she had to do was entertain men, which wasn't a very difficult task if you tried  a little. The security was tight, no girl there would be forced into anything they didn't want and they were treated like actual human beings. Rather than the 'block of meat for public consumption' stereotypes made them out to be.

This was the next stage of her life — living as a orphaned girl, overcoming the odds of being affiliated with a gang in Tokyo and trying her best to achieve something worth her time academically. Not a very popular nor common expectation for people in the same ranks as her. She wanted to help her fellow people out of the hellish hole they lived in, make it easier to survive in the scary streets of Tokyo.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──