The rain hadn’t stopped for days in the small Japanese town, Miyama.
Gray skies pressed low over narrow streets, as if the world itself was tired of watching what happened inside one broken home.
Inside a small house at the edge of the town, an eight-year-old girl sat quietly near the corner of a room.
Hina Takahashi.
Her small hands were folded in her lap.
Her eyes stayed lowered, as if even looking up might cause trouble.
The sound of heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway.
Then—
CLANG.
A glass bottle hit the floor and shattered.
Hina flinched.
Her father stood there, swaying slightly.
His breath smelled of alcohol.
His eyes were red, not from tears—but from anger that never seemed to end.
“You’re still sitting there?”
He shouted.
“Do you think this house runs itself?!”
Hina didn’t answer.
She never did.
That silence made him angrier.
“I asked you something!”
She shook slightly, but words refused to come out.
Her father stepped closer, voice rising again and again, filling the room with sharpness.
Every sentence felt like it was cutting the air around her.
Hina’s eyes lowered further.
Not because she didn’t care, but because she had learned that looking at him only made things worse.
Finally, something inside her snapped with fear.
She stood up quickly, took a step back—
And then turned and ran.
Out of the house.
Barefoot.
Into the cold streets.
The rain hit her face as she ran without direction.
She didn’t know where she was going.
She only knew she couldn’t stay there.
Not even for a second longer.
Her small feet splashed through puddles until she reached a quiet corner near an empty street.
That’s when she saw them.
A group of children.
Older than her.
Stronger than her.
They noticed her immediately.
“Hey, isn’t she the weird kid from that house?” one of them laughed.
“She looks dirty,” another said.
Hina stepped back slowly.
But it was too late.
They surrounded her.
Her eyes met the eyes of those children.
A wave of emotions flooded her senses.
Cruel amusement.
Malice.
Words turned into laughter.
Laughter turned into pushing.
Her small body stumbled as someone shoved her shoulder.
“Say something!” one boy mocked.
Hina stayed silent.
That made them bolder.
Something cold and wet hit her head—
Trash.
She froze.
Another push.
Then another.
Her vision blurred, not from pain—but from fear she couldn’t understand or explain.
She didn’t cry loudly.
She couldn’t.
Only silent tears mixed with rain on her cheeks.
“Leave her,” a voice suddenly said.
Everything stopped.
The group turned.
A boy stood a few steps away.
He was taller than them, about ten years old.
Calm.
Steady.
His black hair was slightly messy, and his eyes carried something strange—
Not anger.
Not fear.
Just certainty.
“Go away,” he said again, voice firm.
One of the bullies scoffed.
“And who are you supposed to be?”
The boy took one step forward.
“I’m her protector.”
Silence fell.
Then laughter.
“Her protector?
You?”
But they didn’t get the chance to continue.
The boy moved.
Fast.
One punch landed cleanly on the leader of the group.
Not overly strong.
But enough.
Enough to break their confidence.
The others hesitated.
And that hesitation was all it took.
“Forget it,” one of them muttered.
“He’s crazy.”
Within seconds, they ran off, leaving only silence behind.
Only Hina remained.
Standing there.
Still shaking.
Still small.
The boy turned toward her slowly.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then he walked closer.
“Are you hurt?” he asked softly.
Hina didn’t answer immediately.
She couldn’t.
Her eyes were still wide, lost somewhere between panic and confusion.
“…I’m okay.”
She finally whispered.
The boy crouched down slightly so he could see her face.
“I’m Ryu Hoshino,” he said.
“Just call me Ryu.”
She stared at him.
At his eyes.
Her power activated.
She sensed his emotions.
No hatred.
No disgust.
No judgment.
Just… warmth.
It felt unfamiliar—
Almost dangerous in its kindness.
“I… I’m Hina Takahashi,” she said quietly.
“You can call me Hina…”
Ryu smiled a little.
“Nice to meet you, Hina.”
A strange silence followed.
Then, slowly, something inside Hina loosened.
Just a little.
For the first time, she didn’t feel completely alone.
Days turned into weeks.
Weeks into months.
Ryu kept showing up.
Sometimes near the river.
Sometimes near her school.
Sometimes just walking beside her without saying anything.
At first, Hina barely spoke.
But Ryu never forced her.
He simply stayed.
One day, sitting under a tree, Hina finally spoke.
“Why do you always come here?”
Ryu looked up at the sky.
“Because you look lonely.”
That simple answer made her quiet again.
After a pause, she asked, “Do you… not get tired of me?”
Ryu shook his head immediately.
“No.”
“Why?”
He smiled slightly.
“Because I decided it already.”
Hina blinked.
“Decided what?”
Ryu turned to her.
“That I’ll be your protector.”
His eyes met hers.
His emotions flowed into her senses.
Protectiveness.
Concern.
Warmth.
Her heart skipped.
Not because she understood—
But because she didn’t.
Nobody had ever said something like that to her before.
One day, Hina went home a little later than usual after meeting Ryu.
Hina stepped inside quietly.
And then—
The bottle shattered again.
Her father was there.
Angry.
Loud.
Everything after that blurred into fear.
A cut.
Pain.
Hitting.
Voices she couldn’t understand anymore.
But even in that chaos, one thought stayed in her mind—
Ryu…
Back in the present, in an alley in Tokyo—
Hina gasped.
Her eyes snapped open.
Her mind raced with fragments of the past.
Her heart was pounding.
And the emotions of the present crashed back into her like a wave.
But the past… had already changed something inside her forever.
And somewhere far away—
Ryu Hoshino was still searching for Hina Takahashi…
End of Chapter 2.
I hope you’re enjoying my novel.
>_< Thank you for reading my novel.✨