A heart-wrenching howl erupted from Katakura Hayabusa’s throat. Almost everyone in the house heard the sudden cry, and even the building’s alarm system was triggered, buzzing loudly. Gao Sijin and Yu Qingxue hurried to the foyer and saw Katakura Hayabusa.
“Ah, sorry.” Katakura Hayabusa turned back, glanced at the gathered crowd, and grinned like a vicious wolf. “Just vocal training. No need to make a fuss.”
The maids whispered among themselves. Having learned about Katakura Hayabusa’s past, most now understood the reason behind his howl, and they cast sympathetic and understanding glances his way.
Only one person remained unaffected by the outburst—his younger sister, Kazue. Her small body didn’t even flinch. She just stared at him quietly, completely devoid of emotion, like a living statue.
“Who’s she?”
Gao Sijin noticed the girl in tattered clothes, her body filthy. Even from a distance, he could smell the sour stench unique to garbage heaps.
Yet Gao Sijin didn’t show any disgust. Instead, he felt sympathy for this girl he’d never met.
“She’s his lost little sister, Kazue,” Yu Qingxue whispered. “Apparently she was sold to a country called P and lived horribly.”
Gao Sijin instinctively wanted to approach Kazue, but Katakura Hayabusa blocked his path and glared at him.
Right. The reunion of siblings shouldn’t involve strangers.
So Gao Sijin stopped and let Katakura Hayabusa approach the girl first.
Though they didn’t share a language, Gao Sijin could tell that Katakura Hayabusa must care deeply for that girl named Kazue.
“Kazue, do you remember who I am?”
Facing the warm, friendly, blond young man, Kazue seemed utterly unable to understand.
The silence was like a hand gripping the throat, suffocating.
“Ah, it’s okay. Even if you don’t remember, it’s fine. I’m your big brother Hayabusa. Didn’t you used to say you loved your big brother Hayabusa the most?”
Katakura Hayabusa knelt on one knee in front of her, making sure his eyes met hers at the same level.
But the girl just blinked dryly, her expression unchanged.
She looked completely broken. The things in her eye sockets felt less like eyeballs and more like glass marbles.
“Katakura, now that you’re here, why not stay for dinner before you leave?” Tsukiyuki Rio approached the siblings with slow, graceful steps. “By the way, the Tsukiyuki Clan has the best doctors in all of Tokyo. Maybe they can help Kazue recover.”
Katakura Hayabusa squeezed Kazue’s small hand.
“Alright, Tsukiyuki. I’ll leave it to you.”
He didn’t know if laughter would ever bloom on Kazue’s tender, flower-like face again. He didn’t know what inhuman treatment she had suffered in that foreign land. He didn’t even know if her mind could ever heal.
But Katakura Hayabusa knew one thing: in the future, if anyone ever dared to lay a rough hand on his sister again, he would kill them.
He stood up and dialed his girlfriend’s number.
“Hey, Miyo. I’m thinking of adopting a kid—a girl. Don’t worry, I’m not cheating on you. She’s five years younger than me. Yeah, yeah, I know adopting a child is impulsive, but I have to do it.”
“Stop nagging. Money isn’t an issue, and I’m not asking for your opinion—I’m telling you. Got it? She’s my little sister who went missing four years ago. If you can’t accept her, we break up. No big deal.”
“Forget it. Next time I’ll bring Kazue and we’ll talk in person. I’m hanging up.”
After ending the call, Katakura Hayabusa transformed instantly, like a Peking opera actor. His demeanor became gentle and kind. Even the delinquent rolling tongue he usually spoke with turned soft and warm, as if coaxing a child.
“Kazue, let’s go play in the living room, okay?”
Kazue remained expressionless.
Maybe her cognition had already broken, leaving her unable to process the situation before her.
But Katakura Hayabusa didn’t lose patience. He took his sister’s hand and led her toward the living room.
Despite his bleached-blond hair and the rough, brawler’s aura from years of fighting, Hayabusa was extremely cautious and gentle with this sister.
“Rio, that kid is Katakura’s sister, right?”
“Mm. But not by blood. They share no parents or biological ties.” Seeing Gao Sijin approach, Tsukiyuki Rio gently took his hand. “By the way, Gao-kun, would you be interested in watching a performance soon?”
“What performance?”
“You’ll find out when the time comes. I believe that performance will give you plenty of inspiration. The reason I ‘kidnapped’ you to my side was to pull you out of your boring, mundane life and thrust you from dull normalcy into fascinating abnormality. That way, Gao-kun can write even more interesting stories with his pen.”
Tsukiyuki Rio kissed Gao Sijin on the cheek and pulled him by the hand further inside.
Gao Sijin was completely baffled by the performance.
Now the character design art was finalized.
After that, they just had to wait for the official publication of Gao Sijin’s book at the end of the month.
At dinner, Kazue crouched on all fours on the floor, holding a bowl in her mouth like a dog.
Katakura Hayabusa tried to lift her off the floor and guide her to a chair, but Kazue kept dropping back down again and again, as if terrified of sitting at the table and eating like a human. She even screamed loudly, tears streaming, the sound piercingly shrill.
Kazue had been completely domesticated into a dog, forgetting she was human.
“That damned old man…”
She jumped off the chair and landed on all fours, eating rice from her bowl like a dog, as if only this way could she feel safe.
Gao Sijin wanted to stand and help her up, but Katakura Hayabusa stopped him.
Then Gao Sijin witnessed something astonishing.
Katakura Hayabusa, a person with human reasoning, set his own bowl on the floor, got on all fours like his sister, and ate from the bowl.
In that moment, he seemed to have forgotten all human civilization and rules.
He even imitated a dog’s bark.
“Woof woof.”
For the first time, Kazue looked in his direction.
Then she immediately lowered her head again and ate silently.
Katakura Hayabusa stayed right there with her, not caring at all about his dignity or image.
If becoming a dog could put his sister at ease, then he was willing to abandon his pride. But if anyone ever made her cry again, his fangs would tear out their throat.
Katakura Hayabusa vowed deep in his heart that he would never let his sister feel pain again.
He suddenly felt as if Aunt Keiko was behind him, watching him and Kazue with a face full of warmth and relief.
