Ring, ring! Ring, ring!
In a single-family home in Saitama Prefecture, the house phone suddenly rang.
"Tsumiki, get the phone."
Lying lazily on the couch with a bucket of popcorn in his arms, a spiky-haired
"Geez, Megumi, you're so lazy!" A black-haired girl with a ponytail looked at her younger brother's slouched posture and couldn't help but complain.
"You're closer to the phone," Fushiguro Megumi replied without taking his eyes off the screen.
With no other choice, Fushiguro Tsumiki got up and walked to the small wooden table where the house phone was placed. Picking up the receiver, she spoke in a sweet voice, "This is the Fushiguro residence. May I ask who's calling?"
"Hmm? A girl's voice? Isn't this Fushiguro Toji's number?" A young man's voice came through the receiver.
"Oh, so you're looking for Mr. Toji? Please hold on a moment."
"Mr. Fushiguro! There's a call for you!"
Sizzle!
The sound of stir-frying vegetables filled the kitchen, accompanied by rising steam. A tall, muscular man with black hair was cooking.
Wearing an apron, Fushiguro Toji turned his head with a puzzled expression. "Huh? For me? Who is it?"
"Ah, I forgot to ask," the girl admitted sheepishly, sticking out her pink tongue in an attempt to play cute and get away with it.
"You forgot to ask?" Fushiguro Toji raised an eyebrow before turning his focus back to the food in front of him. He replied indifferently, "Ah, whatever. It's probably some useless telemarketer. Just ignore it."
Is that really the case…?
Tsumiki put on an awkward yet polite smile while secretly complaining in her heart.
These two really are father and son, huh…
Technically speaking, the man in front of her was now her father too. But since she wasn't used to calling a man she barely knew "Dad," she had been addressing him as "Mr. Toji" instead.
Thankfully, Toji didn't seem to care what she called him, which was a huge relief for Tsumiki.
Toji had suddenly returned one day.
Originally, it had just been Megumi and Tsumiki living together. But a little over a month ago, Toji had shown up out of nowhere, claiming to be Megumi's father and saying he was going to take him in.
Tsumiki still clearly remembered that day.
As the evening approached, a tall, muscular man with black hair stood in front of the cheap apartment where she and Megumi lived.
The two siblings, who had just returned from school, looked up at the unfamiliar man with confusion.
Megumi was about to ignore him and head straight inside, but Tsumiki, being the kinder one, stepped forward and asked, "Excuse me, do you need any help?"
As soon as she got closer, Tsumiki caught a strong scent of blood coming from the man. She immediately recoiled, coughing from the stifling smell.
"Ah, this should be Fushiguro Megumi's place, right?" Toji didn't seem to mind. He simply pointed at the small apartment as he asked.
Megumi had also caught the strong scent of blood. His expression changed as he quickly pulled his sister behind him, shielding her. Then, he spoke warily, "I'm Fushiguro Megumi. What do you want with me?"
Toji crouched down, leaning in closer to get a good look at the black-haired, spiky-headed kid in front of him. After observing for a while, his face finally lit up with realization. "Ah, yeah, I didn't get it wrong. You're definitely him."
After confirming his son's identity, Toji casually dropped a bombshell that left the two kids completely stunned.
"Megumi, I'm your old man. Pack your things. You're coming with me."
Megumi looked utterly baffled.
"Huh?"
He hadn't seen his father in years. He had long forgotten what his father even looked like. There was no way he could accept such a shocking claim just because some random black-haired man said so.
The little boy frowned, pouting as he said, "Are you kidding me?"
"Kidding? I have no reason to lie to you." Fushiguro Toji spread his hands and spoke bluntly. "To be honest, I almost forgot I had a son like you. I originally sold you to the Zenin family for a billion yen, but I changed my mind. So I came back to take you. That's all there is to it."
"You should have noticed by now that you're different from that little girl beside you, right?"
The black-haired man pointed at the spiky-haired boy and said, "You have the Zenin family's inherited technique imprinted on you. Even if I don't want to admit it, you do carry the Zenin blood—just like me."
Fushiguro Megumi's eyes narrowed sharply before he pressed his lips together.
Even though she didn't fully understand what was being said, Fushiguro Tsumiki gathered her courage and stepped out from behind her younger brother. Hesitating, she asked, "If you really are Megumi's father, then… you must have left with my mom, right?"
Megumi's mother had passed away early on. After that, his father married her mother, which was why she took the Fushiguro name. Then, those two irresponsible adults ran off together, abandoning both children to fend for themselves.
"Huh? Your mother?" Fushiguro Toji scratched his head. After thinking hard for a moment, he simply gave up.
"No idea. Don't remember."
There was only one woman he could still recall. That short-haired woman's face and voice, even after all these years, would occasionally resurface in his mind at unexpected moments.
"I won't deny that I'm a bastard. But an even bigger bastard beat me up and told me to come back and raise you. That's the only reason I'm here now."
He looked down at Fushiguro Megumi and, on closer inspection, realized just how much they resembled each other. He also saw traces of Megumi's mother in the boy's face. It was like someone had taken half of each parent's features and put them together.
"So, what do you want to do?" Toji shoved his hands into his pockets, speaking casually. "Come with me, or get sold to the Zenin family?"
Without getting the answer she had hoped for, Fushiguro Tsumiki fell silent, quietly sneaking a glance at the spiky-haired boy's expression.
She knew that Megumi's decision would determine both their futures.
After a brief pause, Fushiguro Megumi finally lifted his head, looking seriously at the black-haired man who called himself his father.
"What about Tsumiki? If I go with you, will she be happy? That's what matters most."
"Well, it's definitely better than you being sold to the Zenin family." Toji grinned.
And so, Fushiguro Megumi and Fushiguro Tsumiki began living with Fushiguro Toji.
Of course, for the first few days, the three of them had to squeeze into a cheap rental apartment. When asked why, Toji simply said, "Some dirty money still needs to be collected. Give it a few more days."
At that moment, Tsumiki was sure of one thing—Megumi's father was definitely trouble.
Normally, even if someone did have dirty money, they wouldn't tell their family about it!
And when Megumi directly asked about it, they found out that the money had come from robbing a cult's hideout.
Megumi immediately felt relieved.
…
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