The girl was momentarily stunned by his sudden, exaggerated reaction, but she still began introducing the refrigerator beside her to Broly.
“The fridge keeps things cold—it preserves food.”
However, she clearly couldn’t explain much more, so she quickly took out a cake from inside and handed it to him.
“This is cake.
It has cream on top—it’s chocolate-flavored.
You can try it.”
Broly leaned in, sniffing the item in her hands from side to side.
Perhaps catching a strange, appealing scent, his eyes lit up.
He grabbed the cake—still wrapped in plastic—and stuffed it straight into his mouth.
“You can’t eat that!”
Young Sakura was startled.
She quickly set the plate aside and reached out, grabbing the plastic wrap at his mouth, trying to pull it out.
She succeeded—and failed.
The plastic wrap tore apart, and she lost her balance, falling backward.
Fortunately, Broly reacted first, grabbing her hand and pulling her back upright.
“Be careful,”
Broly said clumsily.
“The plastic…”
Sakura pointed at his mouth.
Broly pulled the plastic wrap out, the sweet taste of the cake lingering pleasantly.
“Is there more?”
he asked, licking the cream off the plastic.
“No.
There’s only pudding left—strawberry flavor.”
Sakura shook her head and took out a strawberry pudding from the fridge.
This time, she explained in advance that the outer packaging couldn’t be eaten, so he didn’t try to swallow it along with the container.
“This is good too.
Is there more?”
The two strawberry puddings were quickly finished, but Broly was still unsatisfied.
His eyes practically glowed as he stared at the fridge.
From this strange box, the “wife” beside him had already taken out two kinds of delicious things he had never eaten before.
“That’s all.”
“Then what’s that?”
“That’s meat—ah, but it’s raw.”
Broly didn’t care whether the food was raw or not.
He picked it up and started biting into it.
Raw meat didn’t have the sweetness of cake or the bouncy texture of pudding, but it had the familiar taste of flesh.
It wasn’t particularly great, but as always—compared to Vampa spiders, this was a delicacy.
“What about this?”
“That’s an egg—wait, you have to crack the shell first!”
Young Sakura tried to stop him, but Broly had already stuffed an egg into his mouth.
As he tried to swallow it, it got stuck in his throat.
Without hesitation, he punched his own throat, shattering the egg inside.
He smacked his lips a couple of times.
The fluid texture, somewhat like spider eggs, wasn’t to his liking.
His attention quickly shifted to the colorful fruits nearby.
Asking “What is this?” over and over, he shoved anything that smelled even slightly appealing into his mouth.
This even included a box of lemon-scented deodorizer.
Half of Broly’s small body was practically inside the fridge as he rummaged through everything, edible or not.
His tail swayed back and forth behind him, showing his excitement.
It was only then that young Sakura noticed something different about the boy.
Watching the long tail swaying in front of her, curiosity got the better of her, and she reached out to grab it.
The moment his tail was seized, Broly’s body jolted.
He quickly turned around and pulled it back, asking,
“What are you doing?”
“Is that a real tail?”
“What else would it be—fake?”
For Saiyans, the tail is a sensitive spot.
Without proper conditioning, grabbing it can render them unable to fight.
Although Broly had somewhat overcome that weakness, his tail was still sensitive.
On Planet Vampa, aside from his father, no one had ever helped him train that weakness—and he had long grown used to the way Paragus grabbed his tail.
Being grabbed by someone else now—even lightly—still made him react.
“Hey, why don’t you have a tail?”
As he spoke, Broly glanced downward at the girl.
Sensing his gaze, young Sakura instinctively turned her body and raised her leg, using her hands to cover herself.
This exposed her backside from the side, and upon seeing that she had no tail, Broly asked in surprise.
“How could a human have a tail?”
“How could a human not have a tail?”
[Ordinary humans don’t have tails.
Only Saiyans do.]
A new piece of information surfaced in his mind, stopping the hand that had been about to check for a tail that wasn’t there.
“So, you don’t have a tail.”
Broly looked at her with a hint of pity.
“What kind of look is that?”
Sakura felt uncomfortable under his gaze.
“You’re jealous that I have one, right?
Since you gave me so much good food, I’ll let you touch my tail.”
As he spoke, Broly held out his tail toward her.
Looking at the fluffy, gently swaying tail, Sakura couldn’t help but feel tempted.
She reached out to take it.
“What are you two doing?”
A voice suddenly interrupted them.
Wearing pajamas, Shinji stood at the kitchen doorway, unable to comprehend the scene before him.
His adoptive sister and an unfamiliar little boy were standing naked in front of the open fridge, seemingly exchanging something.
“I’m letting her touch my tail,”
Broly answered seriously.
“He was hungry, so I brought him here to eat,”
young Sakura explained nervously.
Touching tails?
Eating?
What kind of nonsense was this?
At his age, Shinji was still innocent.
He didn’t understand what his sister and the strange boy were doing—but he did understand one thing.
“Sakura, this is your friend, right?
But even if he’s hungry, you shouldn’t bring him into the kitchen like this.
And you—my sister’s friend—do you always visit other people’s homes without wearing clothes?”
The young “Second Master” questioned them like a proper older brother.
“My clothes were destroyed,”
Broly immediately answered.
“And you, Sakura?”
Shinji turned his gaze toward her.
“I… I didn’t have time to put mine on.”
Her clothes were still in the worm pit, but she had been so eager to escape that nightmare she hadn’t thought about them.
Now, facing her adoptive brother—the only other person in the Matou family who treated her somewhat kindly—she shrank back slightly.
“I’ll go get dressed right now.”
She ran off, leaving Broly alone in the kitchen.
After Sakura left, Shinji’s gaze shifted to Broly.
More precisely—to the tail swaying in his hand.
“Is that tail real?”
He walked around behind Broly, staring at how it connected to his spine in astonishment.
“Do you want to touch it too?”
Broly asked generously, seeing his curiosity.
“I’m not touching something that weird!”
the young master replied proudly, raising his head.
Though, admittedly, the fluffy tail did tempt him.
“Are you my sister’s old friend?”
he asked.
“Friend?
No—she’s my wife,”
Broly replied while munching on an apple.
“What?!
Sakura is already married at her age?!”
Shinji was shocked.
“Married?
What’s that?”
Broly asked in return, as no information about marriage appeared in his mind.
“Don’t you even know what marriage is?”
“Why would I need to know?”
“Then how did you make my sister your wife?”
“There’s information in my head that told me so.”
Broly answered honestly.
Young Shinji couldn’t understand it—but he was deeply shaken.
“Is there anything else to eat here?”
Broly asked bluntly.
He had already finished everything in the fridge.
Young Shinji: “…”
Only then did he notice the complete mess inside the refrigerator.
“Who exactly are you?
How did you break into my house and trick my sister?”
When young Sakura returned, she saw her adoptive brother questioning Broly.
“My name is Broly.”
He introduced himself again.
“A Crystal Palace appeared.
There were lots of line-like things around me, and then suddenly, I was here.”
With his limited vocabulary, Broly could only give such a vague explanation.
“I didn’t trick anyone.
Those bugs tasted good—but the things in this ‘refrigerator’ taste even better.”
Broly licked his lips.
He still wasn’t full—low-energy food required him to eat more.
“I get it—you must be a thief.
You tricked my sister into opening the door, and then tricked her into bringing you in to steal food.”
Young Shinji came to what he thought was a reasonable conclusion.
“A thief?”
Broly frowned.
The word triggered something in his mind.
But the information that surfaced told him it was a negative accusation.
“You won’t give me food, and now you’re slandering me.
Do you want me to kill you that badly?”
A killing intent arose in young Broly.
It was pure—simply the instinct to eliminate anything harmful to himself.
It was a wild instinct he had developed on Planet Vampa.
There was no malice behind it—just the natural urge to destroy anything that posed a threat.
The moment that pure killing intent appeared, young Shinji was frightened and collapsed onto the ground.
Meeting Broly’s indifferent gaze, fear welled up uncontrollably inside him.
It was like a weak creature being stared down by a powerful predator.
His instincts screamed danger.
“My brother didn’t mean that.”
Perhaps because Shinji was one of the only two people in the Matou family who treated her well, young Sakura stepped forward to defend him.
Seeing that it was the girl who had given him food, Broly’s hostility quickly faded.
He immediately turned back to asking her for more food.
Sakura hesitated.
Even including her as an adopted child, there were only five people in the Matou household—the food in the fridge was everything they had.
“But I can take you out to eat.”
Seeing Broly’s disappointment, Sakura suddenly thought of something and said it.
“Then what are we waiting for?”
As long as there was food, Broly had no objections.
He urged her on.
“But you need to put on clothes first.”
Sakura added.
“But I don’t have any clothes.”
Broly frowned, troubled.
“It’s fine.
You don’t have any—but my brother does.”
Sakura looked toward Shinji, who was still on the floor.
“Huh?”
He made a small, confused sound.
He wanted to refuse.
But when he met Broly’s gaze, he didn’t have the courage.
“You’re a good person too!”
Now that he had clothes and food to look forward to, Broly was in a great mood.
He had already forgotten the unpleasantness from earlier.
“Brother Shinji, I won’t be coming back.
Please tell Uncle Kariya for me.”
The terrifying grandfather was already dead—there was no reason for Sakura to stay in the Matou household anymore.
She just wanted to leave this nightmare-like place.
But before leaving, she didn’t forget to inform the people who had treated her kindly.
“Sakura, come here for a moment.
I have something to ask you.”
Young Shinji didn’t dare speak in front of Broly.
He pulled Sakura aside and whispered:
“Were you threatened by that guy with the tail?
If you were… then just go along with him for now and keep him calm.
I’ll tell Father and Uncle to come save you.”
Even as a child, Shinji was still Shinji—he didn’t dare step forward himself.
“I wonder where Grandfather went… If he were here, it’d be better.”
Sakura: “…”
“I wasn’t threatened.
On the contrary, Brother Broly is a good person.
He saved me.
I’m free now—I won’t come back.
And Grandfather… don’t mention him.
He’s a bad person.”
“How could Grandfather be a bad person?”
Shinji wanted to argue further, but Broly’s impatient voice called out:
“I’m dressed.
When are we going out to eat?”
“I’m leaving now.
I won’t talk anymore.”
“Wait.”
“What is it, Brother?”
“Do you have money?
You need money to eat outside.”
Sakura: “…”
She was only five—how could she have money?
“Here.
This is my allowance from Father.
Take it.”
Shinji opened his piggy bank, took out all the coins, and handed them to her.
“But this is your allowance…”
“I’m your brother—even if only by adoption.
Isn’t it normal for a brother to protect his sister?
I can’t protect you right now, but giving you money is the only thing I can do.
You have to keep that dangerous guy under control.
I’ll tell Father and Grandfather so they can come rescue you.”
Sakura hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping herself.
In the end, she said nothing and accepted the money.
“I’m really not being threatened.
You don’t need to have anyone come save me.”
Only as she was leaving the Matou house did she repeat it once more.
“I know, Sakura.
You have to stay alive!”
Shinji replied solemnly, clearly having imagined his own version of events, leaving Sakura at a loss for words.
After they walked some distance away, Broly looked at her curiously.
“Are you in some kind of danger?”
“No.
My brother just stubbornly thinks I’ve been kidnapped by you.”
“Kidnapped?
What’s that?”
Broly was confused.
The fragmented memories from his past life would occasionally surface in his mind, but if he couldn’t understand them, they would quickly fade.
So most of the time, he behaved like an ignorant child.