Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
----------
"Elder! Ririka went into the city to find food and she still hasn't come back!"
A small girl with black hair and glasses looked up at the kind-faced old man beside her, worry plain on her face.
"Is that right? Did you go look for her?"
"We tried, but we couldn't stay in the city for long, so..."
The gentle smile on the old man's face dimmed. Something ached quietly in his chest.
He already knew. Ririka had most likely run into trouble. He knew better than anyone what happened to these children when they went into the city.
But there was nothing he could do. Everything he had went into keeping them fed and alive.
"I see."
"Do you think Ririka's in trouble?"
"No way. She's tough, she'll come back!"
"She probably just got held up somewhere!"
None of the children wanted to believe it. They couldn't afford to. Too many of their companions had gone into the city and never come back. All they could do was keep telling themselves it would be different this time.
"Are you talking about a girl with a brown hat and black hair?"
Aihara Enju was sitting on the ground with her arms around her knees. She looked up at the group.
"You've seen her?!"
"Is she okay?"
"Enju, did you see her?!"
The children pressed forward all at once, eyes wide and urgent.
Enju looked at all of them watching her and answered plainly.
"I saw her earlier. She was picked up by the police for stealing. But Rentaro told me someone got her out."
"He didn't say who."
The relief that broke through the group was immediate and loud.
"She's okay! I knew Ririka would be fine!"
"We can breathe again!"
Matsuzaki didn't share in the relief. Not fully.
Enju said someone had rescued her, but that didn't tell him much. He had seen too many people over the years who offered help with one hand and something far worse with the other. People who used kindness as bait.
'I hope whoever found her is actually good. I hope heaven hasn't completely abandoned these children.'
He looked out at them, clothes worn through, doing their best to keep living in spite of everything, and said nothing.
"Clang, clang, clang!"
A knock rattled up from the manhole cover.
"Someone's there!"
"I'll check!"
A girl with pink hair sprinted to the entrance, lifted the manhole cover one-handed, and peered down at the young man standing below with an umbrella.
"What do you want?"
"I'm with Civil Security. I'm looking for this child."
Satomi Rentaro pulled out a photo and held it up.
The girl studied it for a moment.
"Never seen her."
"I'd still like to ask the others."
She tossed the manhole cover aside and stepped back.
"The Elder's here too. Come in and wait."
"Thank you."
She led him inside at a cheerful trot, calling ahead as she ran.
"Elder!"
Rentaro followed her down the passage. In the faint light at the end of it, he made out the old man and the cluster of children around him.
"Are you the Elder?"
"That's just what they call me. My name is Matsuzaki." The old man's voice was unhurried and warm. "I look after these children. I try to teach them how to manage their emotions, how to live among ordinary people without their eyes giving them away. The world they're growing up in is harder than it has any right to be."
Rentaro was quiet for a moment.
"If more people thought the way you do..."
He let it trail off and reached into his pocket for a photo. He held it out to Matsuzaki.
"Has this person been through here?"
Matsuzaki looked at it carefully.
"I'm sorry. I haven't seen her."
Rentaro's expression fell slightly.
"I see."
"Where will you go next?"
"I'll search the whole district. This is her hometown. I'll keep looking until I find her."
He turned to leave. Then Matsuzaki spoke again.
"One more thing. Have you seen a girl with a brown hat and black hair? She went into the city two days ago and hasn't come back."
Rentaro stopped. He reached for his phone, found the photo, and turned the screen toward Matsuzaki.
"This her?"
"Yes! That's her. Have you seen her? Is she alright?" The urgency in Matsuzaki's voice was immediate.
"She's fine. She was taken, but the person who has her now seems trustworthy. Don't worry."
Matsuzaki let out a long breath.
"That's a relief. Thank you."
"I should keep moving."
Rentaro turned and headed back up the passage. Matsuzaki watched him go, then glanced sideways at Enju, who had tucked herself into a corner.
"You're really just going to let him walk away, young lady?"
Enju kept her eyes down.
"It's fine."
"Bang!"
Heavy footsteps thundered from outside. Rentaro came sprinting back down, shouting as he ran.
"Get back! There's something out there!"
"Something? A Gastrea?! But the Monolith..."
Before Matsuzaki could finish the thought, the footsteps were already at the entrance. Something large filled the passage.
When it stepped into view, Matsuzaki forgot how to speak entirely.
Several of the girls screamed.
"A pig-headed monster!"
"It's going to eat us!"
"Elder!"
Enju was on her feet in an instant, planting herself between the creature and the children.
"I don't care what you are. Nobody is touching anyone here!"
Rentaro heard her voice and spun around.
"Enju!"
But no one was paying attention to him. Every eye was fixed on the figure in the entrance.
Then the pig-headed man reached up, scratched the back of his head, and spoke in a rumbling, surprisingly gentle voice.
"Sorry. I know how I look. I didn't mean to frighten anyone. We're not here to hurt you."
He glanced back over his shoulder.
"Looks like I should leave the talking to someone else."
"Hehe. Leave it to me."
A woman stepped past him into the light. Long black hair, a striking face, a katana at her side. She looked out at the group of children and smiled softly.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Shizu Izawa. We aren't your enemies. We came here to help."
"Aaaaahhh!!!"