Late into the night, long after the sun had gone down and most other children were tucked safely in their beds, a small girl no older than nine sat alone in the back seat of her mother's archaic and tattered car as it sped down the interstate. The bright headlights from other vehicles made her squint, which wasn't eased by the rain that was softly falling. Glancing out of the window next to her, the girl noticed her reflection. Frail, timid, and helpless were the best attributes to describe her.
The most dominating feature about her, however, was the blood-stained bandage that was poorly wrapped around her left eye.
The girl, known as (Y/n), traced her finger along a raindrop that was running down the side of her window as she listened to what appeared to be fragments of a song breaking through the static on the radio. The raindrop she traced soon found a friend and collided with it, which made (Y/n) sigh as she dropped her hand to her side. "Mama? Where are we going?"
The only response that the girl got was a swerve of the car and a slew of swears from the mouth of her mother. (Y/n) let out a little yelp that was a mix of fear and pain from smacking her head against the window. While rubbing her head, the girl decided to repeat the question, reaching out from behind the passenger's seat to touch her mother on the shoulder. "Mama?"
(Y/n) could feel her mother tense up at the touch. The girl didn't understand why, it was just a gesture made out of concern. What she did understand, however, was the emotion in her eyes. It was resentment.
Her mother snapped out of her trance, looking around wildly before glancing at her daughter in the rear-view mirror. Her face softened once she saw (Y/n) staring at her with a wide, innocent (eye color) eye, but the resentment in her eyes was still there. "I'm sorry...what did you want to ask me?" Her mother said.
"Well, I want to know where we're going...we've been driving for a very long time..."
(Y/n)'s mother sighed as she pulled at her earring that resembled the tip of a pen, remaining silent. She must've been daydreaming about something pleasant again, (Y/n) could tell by the continuous tugging. It was a movement that the nine-year-old would often catch her making, especially in the past few months. But no matter how many times the girl asked what she was thinking about or where she got the pen-tip earrings, there was never an answer.
And it drove (Y/n) insane.
The pattering of rain was the only sound that could be heard in the car. (Y/n) narrowed her eye, waiting so patiently for the answer. After a moment of silence, her mother finally began to speak, breaking the quiet atmosphere of the car. "Before you were born, there was a place that I used to go to everyday. There I met a man. A handsome, bold, reliable man who was just drowning in riches...but then, something happened that I heavily regret..."
(Y/n)'s mother glanced at her daughter once again in the rear-view mirror with no expression. The girl cocked her head to the side. "What happened?"
The rain began to pelt the car like bullets, as if the raindrops were trying to break in. The wind screamed and scraped the sides of the car. The headlights on the highway soon disappeared and the two of them found themselves driving down a road surrounded by a forest. (Y/n) went to glance at the forest, but seeing the reflection of the bandage made her turn away in disgust. Seeing that there was no response, she asked again.
"Mama? What happened to you and the man?"
All of a sudden, the car came to a screeching halt. (Y/n)'s face met the back of the passenger's seat and she grabbed her left eye, whimpering from pain. She looked up and saw her mother's face was twisted into pure anger.
"Mama? A-are you ok?" (Y/n) asked, her voice quivering from fear. Her mother only shook her head as she took a deep breath in, pressing on the gas gently.
"Look, I can't tell you..."
"Why not?"
"(Y/n), please..."
"I just want to know!"
"SHUT UP!"
The car halted once more, but this time, (Y/n) braced herself for the impact. Her mother looked directly at her, the look of anger returning to her face.
"When I say to shut up, you shut up. Understand!?"
"I-I understand...I'm sorry."
The nine-year-old retracted in her seat, bringing her knees up to her face. As badly as she wanted to start crying right there and then, the girl decided to hold her tears in. No point in angering her mother any further. Once the car started to move again, (Y/n) looked out the window once more and began to ponder where she and her mother could possibly be going on such a stormy night. Wherever this destination may be, (Y/n) wished with all of her heart that it was a place that would give her safety. A place that would make her feel happy.
A place that would help her know what it felt like to be loved.
<><><>
Good morning Morioh! The weather is warm, flowers and animals are peeking out from their hiding spots, so this could only mean one thing...spring is here!
Seated on his front porch was a man known as the Great Kishibe Rohan, whose name was known near and far for his incredible skills as an artist and his diligent working habits. Whether he was sketching pictures or snapping photos, Rohan was always looking for inspiration from the aspects of reality that he found fascinating, which could be from the tallest tree to the smallest ant. And, right now, the 32-year-old was finding inspiration in the blossoming flora and awakening fauna in his yard, sketching the beauty that spring has brought to the town of Morioh.
Here's a song to help you all catch a case of spring fever! Remember, if you ever feel a little blue, remind yourself that good things always come in this season!
April Come She Will began to play on the radio and Rohan couldn't help but hum along. For some reason, the announcer's last words continued to echo through the mangaka's mind, which made the corners of his mouth curl upward. Whatever good was to come, Rohan couldn't help but feel intrigued. Perhaps it could inspire new material for his manga?
The sound of a bicycle bell soon interrupted his thoughts and Rohan glanced up, eyeing the mailman approaching his mailbox.
"Good morning, Rohan-Sensei! Enjoying the weather are we?"
"What else would I be doing?" Rohan said as he stood up and walked over to the mailman, who handed him his mail.
"You know, I just read the latest edition of Pink Dark Boy, great job as always! But there was one thing missing..."
"And what might that be?"
The mailman looked down with a blush on his face. "Naked women. Think about it! If you sprinkled a few nudes here and there, Pink Dark Boy's sales would skyrocket!"
At this point, Rohan completely tuned the mailman out. Naked women? That was his genius idea? Not to mention the obvious pandering to make more money. In all honesty, hearing what the mailman said really ticked him off. Rohan turned around to give the mailman a scolding about how the beauty of manga wasn't in the sales, but the mangaka found that the mailman took off on his bike, shouting one final message to him.
"Well, I gotta go! Lots of deliveries to be made! I hope you consider what I said!"
Rohan rolled his eyes.
"What does he know about manga anyway?" Rohan told himself. "He's just a simple mailman who knows nothing about the genius of storytelling."
Deciding that he didn't want to waste his energy on trivial things, Rohan went to go make his way inside, but a screeching noise above his head caught his attention. He looked up to see a hawk dive down and capture a little sparrow in its massive talons, taking off higher into the sky with another shrill screech. The sparrow didn't bother to fight off it's attacker, however, as it knew of its fate and sadly accepted it.
Rohan, now disappointed that he didn't get the chance to sketch it or take a picture of the hawk, went back inside and sifted through his mail. Newspapers, bills, fan mail; it was all the stuff that he was expecting to get. Nothing out of the ordinary, he told himself. But once he reached the letter at the end of the pile, Rohan immediately took back what he said.
The writing, which was printed in bold red ink, was so poorly written that Rohan couldn't help but scoff at it. And as if he couldn't already read the chicken scratch, there just had to be a lipstick stain covering up all of the important information present on the envelope. But, as the famous saying goes, never judge a book by its cover. With this thought in mind, Rohan opened up the envelope to explore the content within.
To my sweet Rohan,
It's been quite a long time, hasn't it? 10 years, in fact. I hope you've been well. Now I don't mean to write out of the blue, but I wouldn't do so without a reason. Well, you see...it's about our daughter (Y/n). I unfortunately won't be able to take care of her for a while, due to my financial situation. Plus, she is in very poor condition, and I don't know if she's going to last any longer. Whenever you get this letter, please stop by the Morioh Grand Hotel as soon as you can. My room number is 199. I hope to see you soon!
Love,
(M/n) XOXO
...
This had to be a joke.
At first, Rohan assumed that the mailman simply grew tired of his job and decided to pull a little prank for fun. But everything seemed too...urgent to be a prank. What if there really was a little girl out there who needed his help? Also, Rohan couldn't help but notice a peculiar feeling in his gut. Of course, it was a feeling of blatant curiosity, but it was also a feeling of familiarity. The writing, the lipstick stain, the names...they were all too familiar to Rohan.
The mangaka glanced outside, watching an adonis flower sway in the breeze. He used this moment of silence to think about the contents of the letter, to contemplate what he should do from here on out. First, there was the safety of this situation to consider. What if this was a trap and he was attacked and held hostage by this woman? Or killed? Or worst of all, what if this all truly was some sort of prank and he fell victim to humiliation?
Rohan shuddered. That thought alone made him want to crumple the paper up, toss it in the trash, and forget he ever received it in the first place. But the feeling in his gut said otherwise. It was gnawing at his mind, telling him to go discover the truth behind the mysterious letter, to discover why everything felt familiar.
In the end, the feeling in his gut won.
Rohan put on his jacket, slipped on his brown leather gloves, and walked out to his car. Before taking off to the hotel, he looked over the letter one last time, his curiosity slowly consuming him with every passing second. He tried to recall meeting a woman named (M/n). He wanted to know why the girl mentioned in the letter was in such poor condition.
And, most of all, he questioned if he really was the father of the little girl named (Y/n).
<><><>
It was just a door. A simple slab of wood meant to welcome in the favorable and keep the displeasing out. So why did Rohan find it so menacing?
Rohan wanted to make a move, but the sight of the hotel door looming over him had immobilized him for some time. The previous thoughts he had from reading the letter crept up on him and he almost considered turning back. But he had a feeling that if he did, he would heavily regret it. All of the doubt that clouded Rohan's line of thought made him groan in annoyance as he lifted a gloved hand and facepalmed.
"Oh, for heaven's sake Rohan, you're braver than this! Just go!"
In a way that one would describe as dramatic, Rohan straightened his tie, adjusted his headband, lifted his hand, and...
Knock. Knock. Knock.
When the door creaked open, Rohan could've sworn that he saw something shuffle away right in front of him. However, the room's condition led him to believe that his eyes were playing tricks on him; it was ominously dark due to the curtains refusing to let a single drop of sunlight in, and a frigid breeze had swaddled his body as a mellow whirring rang inside of his ears, indicating that the A/C was blasting.
"Hello?" Rohan half-whispered as he ventured into the room to search for a light switch. Instead he found himself...falling? His face smacked the ground and he said while rubbing his nose, "Damn it, what the hell was that?"
He was answered with a gasp and a shuffling sound. Rohan, now feeling uneased, found a light switch and flicked it on. He searched for what-or in this case, who-he could have possibly tripped over.
It seemed like any other room in the hotel. In the middle of it was a bed that was made with obvious gentleness, and in front of it was a polished table with a television placed on top. There was even a fish tank glistening proudly from the scales of the fish swimming around in it to the left of the table.
What the other hotel rooms didn't have, however, was a trembling pile of stained and filthy blankets in the corner.
"Hello?" Rohan whispered as he approached the pile. With every step he took towards the blankets, Rohan felt his heart pound out of his chest and once he actually got to the pile, his heart was racing a mile a minute. With bated breath, he lifted the blankets...
Then, for the first time in his life, Rohan felt his heart break.
Underneath the blankets was a little girl that looked to be around 9 years old. If there was one word to describe her, it would be death. With sickly pale skin and a figure so frail that it could shatter like glass, Rohan questioned how the girl was even alive in the first place. Even with these features, as well as her disheveled overalls, matted (H/c) tresses, and baggy right eye, nothing was as disheartening as the bandage wrapped around her left eye. It broke his heart even further to see the girl attempt to cover it with both of her hands.
"Are...are you (Y/n)?"
The girl only trembled harder, grasping the blanket for security as she backed herself into the wall behind her. Rohan took this as a sign to back away, so he did, not wanting to frighten her any further. She did, however, answer his question.
"H-h-how do you know m-my name?" (Y/n) asked in a raspy voice, indicating that she had a sore throat and was dehydrated.
"Well, you see," Rohan pulled out the letter from his pocket. "I got this in the mail this morning, from a woman named (M/n)."
"...Mama sent that to you?"
"I guess so." Rohan then looked around in confusion. "Where is she anyway?"
"Um...I-I don't know..."
All of a sudden, (Y/n) broke down into a coughing fit, falling to her hands as she gasped and gagged in an attempt to breathe. Droplets of blood dripped from her left eye and onto the floor, which put Rohan into a state of alarm.
"Are you alright!?" But, with the wheezing and bleeding eye, Rohan honestly thought that (Y/n) was going to drop dead at that very moment. He knelt down and ever-so-gently reached his hand out to help her.
Bad idea.
"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" (Y/n) suddenly screamed. Startled at her sudden outburst, Rohan threw his hands up and backed off, watching the child scramble backwards into the corner with tears streaming down her right eye. Pressing herself against the wall while quivering, she brought the blanket up to her face as if to hide again, although the effort would be fruitless. Rohan kept his distance to let her calm down, watching the girl's breathing become even and her quivering die down. (Y/n) lowered the blanket from her face to watch Rohan's movements, but not doing so without covering the bandage with her hands.
Seeing this, Rohan proceeded to ask a question. It was a simple one, but it was one that would change (Y/n)'s life forever.
"(Y/n)? Are you ok?"
The girl looked down for a moment, before bringing her knees up to her chest. The 9-year-old sniffled before wiping the tears away from her eye, shaking her head slowly.
"Please...please help me..."
As if his heart wasn't broken enough already, hearing how dejected she sounded made it completely shatter. Rohan took a step forward, knelt down on one knee, and held out his hand to let her know that everything will be ok.
(Y/n) hesitated at first, refusing to take her hands off of her bandage. Her (e/c) eye bored into Rohan's green ones, searching for any trace of dishonesty so that she wouldn't be tricked. In Rohan's eyes, all she could find was candor and warmth. Her hands, now stained with blood, lowered from her eye and reached towards his.
"ROHAN?!?"
The slamming of a door made the two of them jump. Rohan turned to see who it was while (Y/n) ducked and covered her head, whimpering out of fear.
Standing in the middle of the door frame was the most beautiful woman Rohan had ever laid eyes on. Curly raven locks, which shone in the light, hung below her shoulders; not a single hair was out of place. Her nails were streaked with a deep red nail polish, matching the lipstick that rested on her lips. The color of her eyes resembled drops of chocolate and it seemed like they always captured beauty, no matter how awful the place or situation was. But, on the contrary, they also held a cloudy look...
The woman dropped the bags that she held to the ground in shock. Once she got a full view of the mangaka's face, she jumped up and down, squealing with joy.
"IT REALLY IS YOU! OH, ROHAN! I KNEW THAT YOU'D COME BACK FOR ME!"
"W-WAIT!"
Before he even had a chance to think or say anything, Rohan was tackled to the ground, his face being attacked by a barrage of kisses.
"GET OFF OF ME!" The mangaka shouted as he shoved her off of him. For some reason, his face felt sticky, so he wiped his cheek and noticed something red smudged on his finger. Of course. Lipstick stains.
As he stood up to brush himself off, one question was on repeat in his head like a broken record player: just WHO was this woman? Something small and golden that resembled the tip of a pen dazzled in the light next to Rohan. He picked it up to inspect it and twirled it in his fingers, soon realizing that it was an earring. It wasn't until he saw the other earring dangling from the woman's ear where everything seemed to hit him. Old memories, both good and bad, came flooding to him like a broken dam.
"...(M/n)? Is that really you?"
"In the flesh!" (M/n) exclaimed as she struck a pose. "Oh Rohan, how I've missed you so! There's so much that we need to catch up on! How's the manga business coming along? I haven't been able to read Pink Dark Boy in forever!"
While (M/n) continued to talk Rohan's ear off, he spotted (Y/n) crawling towards her mother, where she grabbed onto her pant leg and gave it a tug.
"Hey, do you mind? I'm trying to-" (M/n) then interrupted herself with a shrill gasp. "(Y/N)! YOUR EYE! SWEETHEART, WHAT HAPPENED?!?"
"(Y/n) broke out into a pretty nasty coughing fit...then her eye just started to bleed. I tried to help, but she seemed so freaked out!" Rohan explained. He noticed that (M/n) angrily darted her eyes towards (Y/n).
"Yeah, (Y/n) has a 102 fever...poor thing, just can't catch a break can you..."
"May I ask, what happened?"
(M/n) let out a sigh that was a mixture of sadness and...annoyance?
"Just around a month ago, (Y/n) was playing outside. Such a beautiful day out too, she was running around and playing without a care in the world...but, I then heard something: a horrible bloodcurdling scream! I ran outside, and saw that (Y/n) had a stake plunged directly into her eye! I immediately rushed her to the hospital, but there wasn't much they could do. So now, she only has one eye. And, you see Rohan, this is why I wrote you the letter."
Out of the corner of his eye, Rohan noticed (Y/n) giving her mother a peculiar look.
"Now, I'm not the richest woman on earth. I've always struggled with financial issues; I can't afford to buy a phone, put food on the table...(Y/n) and I were even lucky to have a roof over our heads."
Rohan hummed in response.
"So, I had to use the last of my money to pay for the hospital bills. But now, I'm as good as broke. And it's all thanks to someone's clumsiness." (M/n) said as she glared at (Y/n), who in return recoiled back slowly. Her mother then let out a sarcastic laugh.
"Oh (Y/n)! I'm only joking! Will you stop being so sensitive?" The girl could only nod.
"Hold on a minute," Rohan started as he crossed his arms, "If you're flat broke, then how did you get this room?"
(M/n) let out a rather suggestive chuckle. Flicking her hair back, she traced her petite hand down the side of her hip and licked her lips seductively.
"Why, isn't it obvious?" She cooed.
The mangaka closed his eyes and grit his teeth together, sucking in air then exhaling it, prompting (M/n) to laugh before getting back to the topic at hand.
"Anyway, Rohan, I'm asking you this favor as a friend."
(M/n) placed her hands on (Y/n)'s shoulders and pushed her towards the mangaka, as if she was trying to show off the impoverished state of the child to pluck at his heartstrings.
"Will you, the Great Kishibe Rohan, take care of (Y/n) for me?"
Rohan looked over (Y/n) one last time, questioning if he really was the father of the girl. But, in all honesty, he didn't care if he was or not. Rohan was a man of his word; if he said that he would help her, then help her he will. Besides, when he looked at her fragile state of being, he felt something emerge from deep within his bones: Rohan didn't realize it, but that feeling was his newfound paternal instinct to protect. An instinct that told him these words:
"Save her."
"I will." Rohan simply stated. "I will take care of (Y/n)."
Rohan could have sworn that he saw stars form in (M/n)'s eyes when he said that. She threw her arms around him, but Rohan shoved her off.
"YES! OH, THANK YOU RORO! THANK YOU!"
"...do NOT call me Roro again."
<><><>
After packing up, everything was settled. The three of them walked out of the hotel and towards Rohan's car, where he put (Y/n)'s luggage in the trunk. As he did this, (M/n) pulled (Y/n) aside to say goodbye, keeping in mind that Rohan was only a few feet away.
"Now (Y/n), I want you to be a good girl for Rohan. Listen to what he says and make sure to give him some space, ok? Don't annoy, or basically, be yourself TOO much." (M/n) said with a chuckle.
"Yes, Mama..."
"Oh come on, I'm joking again," Her mother lifted (Y/n)'s chin. "Ok?"
"Ok...but Mama? You never told me, who is Rohan exactly? How do you know him?"
(M/n) gave a small smile. "Oh, that's right! I should have told you sooner. Kishibe Rohan is your father, (Y/n)."
The girl looked down and squinted her eye, trying to process what her mother had just said.
"Wait a second, you told me that I don't have-"
(M/n) quickly brought her finger up to (Y/n)'s mouth, hushing her.
"Listen. I'm going to get a new job, come back for you, and we can live the life that we've always wanted, just you and I. And if you ever lose hope in that idea, always look at this."
(M/n) opened up (Y/n)'s hand to drop something inside. It was one of the pen-tip earrings. (Y/n)'s face brightened up immensely, and she allowed her fingers to curl around the earring, protecting it from any outside threats.
"This is a reminder of our bright future ahead of us. I'm going to work my absolute hardest for you and I, and when I come back for you, everything is going to be perfect, like it should be."
"...Do you promise?" (Y/n) asked. (M/n) gave (Y/n) a gentle smile.
"I promise; and do you promise me, (Y/n), that you'll take good care of this earring and never give up on me?"
"I promise, Mama."
The slamming of a trunk signaled the mother and her daughter to break apart their bond. (M/n) squeezed (Y/n)'s hands tight, partly to keep herself from crying right then and there.
"I really do care about you, (Y/n). Always remember that, ok?"
"...You really do?"
"With all of my heart."
(M/n) gave her a kiss on the forehead then turned to talk to Rohan. (Y/n) looked down at the earring in her hand.
"Like we've always wanted...I can't wait."
(Y/n) smiled.
"Oh, (M/n)," Rohan began. "If you ever want to talk to (Y/n)-"
"Or you?" She interrupted, batting her eyelashes. Rohan groaned.
"Or ME, call this number. Also, take this. It'll help you get by for a while." Not only did he slip her a piece of paper with his number on it, Rohan also gave her something that made her mouth, as well as (Y/n)'s, drop open.
"This is to help you get by for a while. Use it WISELY, (M/n). Can I count on you to do that?"
"500,000 YEN?!? Oh Rohan, you shouldn't have! Thank you! And no worries, you can count on me!" (M/n) puckered up her lips, leaning forward towards Rohan's face to exchange a kiss goodbye. Rohan scoffed and walked away from her, making (M/n) laugh as she followed him. "You haven't changed a bit, Rohan!"
"Isn't it time for you to go now?"
"Aw, what's wrong Rohan? Can't handle a widdle wove?" She taunted, continuing to make kissy faces at him. The mangaka rolled his eyes.
"Are you ready, (Y/n)?" Asked Rohan. Even though she nodded at him, the girl backed away from the mangaka. He opened his mouth to speak, but was soon interrupted.
"Rohan?"
"Yes, (M/n)?"
"Thank you...thank you so much. This means a lot to me. I know that you and I have had some rough patches in the past...but we gotta put our troubles aside for our daughter. It's moments like these,"
(M/n) looked towards her daughter, who placed her finger down on the ground to let a caterpillar crawl onto it. (Y/n) observed it for a moment, giggling at the tickling feeling on her index finger, then placed the bug on a bush so that it could reunite with its mother and father.
"That makes me realize that I should never take the things I have for granted. Oh, I'm going to miss you two so much..."
A familiar warmth graced Rohan's face. (M/n)'s slender hand cupped his cheek, and, unlike before, Rohan fully accepted her affection. In a way, he was hypnotized by her beauty, to the point where he was almost tempted to bend down and kiss her ruby lips. Almost.
"Goodbye, my sweet Rohan."
Rohan paused before replying, letting her words resonate with him. Maybe, just maybe, (M/n) really was going to improve herself? He gave her hand a gentle squeeze as it slid down his face. "...Goodbye, (M/n). Good luck out there."
And, with that, (M/n) walked off, ready to prepare for her and (Y/n)'s bright future. Rohan, now feeling an unwanted somberness, watched her figure become smaller and smaller, and just before she was gone for good, the rays of the sun kissed her earring. The light reflecting off of it was the last thing that he and (Y/n) saw of her.
Speaking of, the mangaka looked down at the girl, finding her staring at him. Her distance was kept, clear that she still didn't quite trust him. That was understandable, Rohan was even surprised that she wasn't having a meltdown. It must be traumatizing for the 9-year-old to be separated from her mother and dumped off to a complete stranger.
But Rohan was going to show her that everything will be alright.
Just like before, Rohan knelt down on one knee to her height, and held out his hand. (Y/n) hesitated once again, but this time, she fully accepted his offer, putting her tiny hand into the palm of his. A little bit of the tension that (Y/n)'s body and mind held vanished, thanks to Rohan's touch. It was warm. Soft. Safe.
"Come on, I'll take good care of you. I promise."