Chapter 57: Komichi Kazue
Kazama put the Sparklence in his backpack, calculating that although he couldn't use it temporarily, in the future it would be a great gift for Kaguya.
Then he returned the Rat Talisman to the Book of Seals to maintain Kerberos's activity, and brought this toy to Kamimizu City's Tomoe District to search for The Move card he'd seen on his phone earlier.
Just strolling onto the street, Kerberos suddenly twitched its nose, keenly catching a familiar magical scent.
"Hey! Kazama!"
"At that intersection ahead, I think I smell something kind of familiar."
"Where?"
Kazama's steps paused slightly. This lucky? Running into a Clow Card right after going out?
Then he looked in the direction Kerberos indicated.
By the sidewalk at the street corner, a little girl in a pink dress crouched alone, holding a tree branch and aimlessly drawing circles on the ground.
She looked only five or six years old.
In her arms was a rabbit plushie missing one ear.
Though it was now late autumn morning with bone-chilling cold in the wind, she seemed completely oblivious, just huddled there softly humming an incomprehensible nursery rhyme.
Not far from her, two middle-aged women carrying shopping baskets stood beneath a utility pole, examining the child with undisguised sympathetic looks while gossiping in lowered voices.
"Ah! It's Kazue-chan!"
Kerberos recognized the child at a glance.
"Kazama, look—that's the Kazue-chan from the park last time! She gave me a piece of super delicious cookie back then! Look, she's still there... huh? Why's she alone? Where are her parents?"
Hearing Kerberos's words, Kazama also recalled.
A few days ago when he'd been wandering the nearby park with Kerberos scouting locations, he had indeed seen this child.
Back then she'd been held by a young couple's hands, smiling more brilliantly than the sun.
At the time, Kazama had been sitting on a bench eating bread when this child ran over and handed a cookie to Kerberos, who'd been playing dead.
Kerberos had been so happy it nearly spoke on the spot.
He'd thought it was just a chance encounter—
But now the girl seemed to have suffered some disaster.
Kazama inconspicuously moved closer a few steps, standing by a vending machine pretending to select drinks while perking up his ears to eavesdrop on the women's gossip.
"...Look at that child—she came out again."
"Don't the welfare home people supervise her? Such a small child squatting alone by the main road—it's so dangerous."
"Supervise? How? I heard as soon as she wakes up, she runs here. They can't hold her back. Sigh, who could have imagined? A perfectly fine family—gone overnight."
"Really tragic."
The woman in red clothes clicked her tongue in sympathy.
"That thief was absolutely insane too. Stealing was one thing, but when discovered, he actually used a knife. The couple died on the spot—blood everywhere."
"Exactly."
The other woman chimed in, eyes full of pity.
"This child was lucky at the time—sleeping too deeply to hear anything. Later that thief ran away, but not long after, police followed the trail and caught him."
"And you know what? After investigating, police discovered that thief was actually the perverted serial killer from that dismemberment case in the alley! Several lives on his hands!"
Hearing this, Kazama froze for half a second.
The other woman was also curious: "Ah, really? I heard police still haven't found the culprit in that dismemberment case? Did the thief confess himself?"
"How could he? That guy keeps crying injustice. But police later found the victims' wallets in his house—case closed."
The women shook their heads with more sighs.
"Just feel bad for this child. I heard she's been sent to some welfare home now? But this child's stubborn—always sneaking back here, saying she's waiting for her parents to come back. Those words make me want to cry."
"Waiting for what... they've already been cremated. Last time someone kind-heartedly tried to persuade her, but she said... her parents said her singing voice was the most beautiful. As long as she sang here, they'd hear and come find her... sigh, such a foolish child."
The light turned green.
The two women carried their baskets, lamenting life's unpredictability while contentedly exchanging this firsthand intelligence as they leisurely crossed the street.
Kazama stood in place, his expression showing not a ripple.
Just his shoulder suddenly transmitted a wet sensation.
"Uwu..."
Kerberos had somehow climbed onto his shoulder. That mouth usually only used for eating cookies was now drooping, those black bean eyes filled with tears.
"Kazama... she's so pitiful..."
This toy sniffled like a water pump.
"That day, she was smiling so happily... how did it become like this?"
Kerberos sniffed, voice carrying obvious tears.
"Kazama, let's help her, okay? Look how pitiful she is, all alone there..."
Kazama glanced at it.
"Help? How?"
"Use The Illusion card to create a fake scenario where her parents are still alive, let her live her whole life in fantasy? Or should I go break that thief already in jail out and kill him once for your catharsis?"
"No... not like that..."
Kerberos clutched his hair, somewhat incoherent.
"I mean we could at least adopt her. One more mouth to feed isn't unaffordable. Your place is so big anyway, and you're bored living alone. I could help take care of her too—play with her."
Kazama sighed.
"I'm telling you—have you read too many fairy tales?"
"With one sentence from you, can you really change someone's life? Don't take yourself so seriously, Lord Seal Beast."
"In this world, there are tons of people more miserable than her. Every day people die, every day orphans are created. Africa's still having people starve to death, the Middle East is still at war—why don't you go save the world?"
"This kind of cheap sympathy serves no purpose except moving yourself."
"Besides, we came to find cards, not to play saint. If you're really that compassionate, how about I toss you to her right now? She likes you anyway—perfect companion."
"You..."
Kerberos was choked speechless.
"Let's go. Still have business to handle."
Kazama didn't want to continue this meaningless topic.
However, the girl who'd been immersed in her own world seemingly sensed something and suddenly looked up.
"Ah..."
"Big brother?"
She recognized him.
Even though they'd only met once, even though Kazama barely spoke to her that day—
But this child's amazing memory let her instantly lock onto this person who'd appeared in her happy memories.
The girl happily clutched that dirty rabbit plushie and rushed over, grabbing Kazama's sleeve.
Now Kazama had no choice but to stop.
He looked down at that small hand gripping his sleeve and adjusted his expression, pretending ignorance.
"..."
"Oh, it's you. Why are you staying in a place like this? Aren't you cold?"
Kazama's tone was so flat no emotion could be detected.
But Komichi Kazue didn't catch the subtext. She looked up at Kazama, showing a brilliant smile.
"Because I'm waiting for Mommy and Daddy!"
Komichi Kazue blinked, then asked:
"Big brother, did you see them?"
"Daddy and Mommy said we're playing hide-and-seek. As long as I sing here and sing beautifully enough, they'll hear and come find Kazue."
She pointed at the empty park entrance behind her—that place that used to be her whole world.
"But... I've been singing for so, so long."
"My throat hurts."
"My tummy's hungry."
"But they still haven't come back."
She looked at Kazama, those big eyes finally filled with a thin layer of mist.
"Big brother, you were here before too... did you see where they went?"
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