Sen Getsusa yawned and pushed open the bedroom door.
A slightly old brown teddy bear plush hung on the door, the small bell around its neck tinkling as the door opened and closed.
This was a gift from her father on her birthday.
"Are you up?"
Yemi Keiko, wearing an apron, was facing away from the girl, rhythmically chopping something.
The morning light spilled in through the green-painted wooden window.
"Yeah, Mama, are you making breakfast?"
"Sandwiches."
Sen Getsusa:...I'm doomed.
Yemi Keiko turned her head and smiled at Sen Getsusa, her round eyes blinking, looking exceptionally young.
At the dining table, the girl's father was holding up a newspaper, idly scanning it.
"I say, aren't you going to dress up a bit today?" Mori Toda lowered the newspaper, revealing weary eyes. "Sigh, don't always wear sportswear."
Sen Getsusa tilted her head up and puffed out her cheeks at her dad to show her determination. "No, Papa, I'm starving!"
"As soon as you wake up, you're like this. Who was it that said they wanted to lose weight during dinner last night?"
As they spoke, the man folded the newspaper and made a'shh' gesture toward the girl—
Then, he stood up stealthily. Amidst the sound of Yemi Keiko chopping vegetables, he hunched over and reached for the sliced ham on the kitchen counter... "Cough, that won't do, Tsukisa.
Mama prepared sandwiches today,
and they'll be ready soon."
The man muttered to himself while passing the white porcelain plate filled with ham to Sen Getsusa.
The father and daughter exchanged it carefully, occasionally stealing glances at the back of the mother, who was focused on preparing the bread.
'Eat quickly!'
Her father squinted, pinched a slice and stuffed it into his mouth, then gestured wildly at his daughter—the two of them looked like a large and small squirrel.
'Mama started cooking again?'
'Yeah, so please make sure to act like it's delicious in a bit!'
The handsome man pressed his hands together and bowed to Sen Getsusa. His comical expression made the girl grin as well.
"Have you two had enough yet?"
Sen Getsusa:... Mori Toda:... Yemi Keiko stood with her hands on her hips, looking at the whispering father and daughter with a mix of annoyance and amusement.
In the plate behind her were two clumps of red and green mixed mush, with a few slices of bread haphazardly stuck on top... sandwiches.
————
"Are you nervous?"
Sunlight streamed through the glass at the entrance, baking the floor until it was warm. Stepping on it barefoot, the heat surged from the soles of her feet into her heart.
As the family of three got dressed and prepared to head out, Mori Toda suddenly asked.
"Nervous?"
Sen Getsusa looked at her parents in confusion; they were the ones who seemed a bit nervous.
"Thinking that we're about to meet Tsukisa's biological mother, I'm still a bit nervous..."
"What's there to be nervous about? That's Tsukisa's mother."
Yemi Keiko pinched her husband, her small white teeth bared fiercely. "Don't put too much pressure on Tsukisa."
After saying that, the woman leaned down and gently hugged Sen Getsusa:
"It's okay, Tsukisa.
Papa and I will always be by your side."
Not long ago, as the couple who had adopted Sen Getsusa, they had received a letter from the girl's biological mother.
After much deliberation, the couple still believed it was best to let Sen Getsusa decide for herself.
Whether to leave or to stay.
After all, the other party had come looking for her now because she wanted Sen Getsusa to follow her and leave Japan... Inside the restaurant, the lighting was romantic and dim.
Four people sat around a table in a private room.
The Mori Toda couple sat on one side, while Sen Getsusa and her 'new' mother sat on the other.
The divide was clear.
The woman had golden curly hair and emerald eyes. Her attire and grooming all reflected an elegant temperament.
She turned sideways, looking at Sen Getsusa with joy.
"My dear... I've finally found you."
"Have you been doing well?"
Seeing Sen Getsusa hesitate to speak, the woman chuckled softly. "Oshtur, call me Oshtur, or... Mama."
The woman's enthusiasm was a bit much for the girl to handle.
Sen Getsusa murmured a few words and shook her head. "I want to ask, why did you... back then..."
At the mention of what happened back then, the middle-aged woman's expression became apologetic. "I didn't abandon you, Tsukisa."
"You were lost..."
In the woman's charming eyes, memories surfaced. "We waited in Japan for half a year, went to the police station and elsewhere countless times—"
"I remember, on the street where you went lost, your father and I covered it with missing person posters back then."
"They were all photos of you."
Oshtur tentatively stroked Sen Getsusa's black hair. "Your hair is very much like your father's."
The woman then carefully tapped the corner of her eye—Sen Getsusa's eyes, like Oshtur's, were slightly downturned, carrying a hint of allure and enchantment within their feminine grace.
"This part is like me."
She lowered her hand and said wistfully, "Your father passed away in a car accident three years ago. Before that, we even asked insiders to conduct a large-scale screening of children born during those years."
"But still, we found nothing."
"We couldn't find you, my dear..."
"We couldn't find you, my dear..."
Sen Getsusa suddenly thought of the issue regarding her gender.
When she was picked up as a Child with a bald head... right, was her identity filled out as male?
The melodious sound of a violin rose and fell slowly.
The table was covered with dishes, but none of the four had any appetite.
"My purpose for coming this time..."
Speaking of her purpose, Oshtur was hesitant. "Tsukisa, I hope you..."
She glanced inconspicuously at the Mori Toda couple opposite her, then turned back to gaze into Sen Getsusa's eyes.
The woman looked somewhat sorrowful, her eyebrows drooping as she spoke in a dejected tone, "After all, you are the only family I have left now."
The Mori Toda couple kept their heads down, not saying a word.
Though they were equally reluctant to part with Sen Getsusa and their love for the girl was not a bit less than Oshtur's, they... were not Sen Getsusa's biological parents.
Everything had to be decided by the girl herself.
The lights in the Western restaurant were dim, and a man in a suit was playing the violin not far away.
Sen Getsusa's slender green nails ran across the tablecloth.
She reached out and gripped the dinner knife, the sharp blade reflecting the girl's cold eyes in the light.
"So that's how it is."
Sen Getsusa's upturned lips parted slightly. "Read my surface memories... did you?"
Amidst the confused expressions of her adoptive parents, Sen Getsusa curled her lips.
"Do you enjoy prying into other people's privacy that much?"
As the black-haired girl stood up, a heart-palpitating aura suddenly erupted from the center!
In her eyes, which were usually like a calm lake, there seemed to be an endless sense of intimidation and upheaval. Her silk-like ink-black hair began to flutter without any wind!
In the coffee cups, the black tea rippled. The plates clattered against each other, and the lights flickered.
With the violent fluctuations of Spell Power, the entire Western restaurant trembled frantically!
Everything fell into chaos.
It was like an invisible hurricane preparing to shatter everything around it.
Oshtur looked in astonishment at the daughter she hadn't seen in years—
The other party coldly tucked her hair behind her ear, holding the dinner knife diagonally across her chest.
Then, under a multitude of incredulous gazes... she swung the knife!
The woman's head soared into the air!
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