"Things have been pretty dull lately."
"Dull? What do you mean? Isn't it the same as always?"
"The same? I haven't found any fun in ages."
On the streets of Tokyo, a group of flamboyantly dressed young men strolled aimlessly. The leader, wearing glasses and sporting bright blonde hair with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, scanned the crowd, searching for a target.
"Maybe those rats have gotten too scared to show up."
"Yeah, it's your fault, Katsuta. You beat them too hard last time, so now they're hiding, haha."
"Shut up! Those monsters wouldn't get scared from a few hits. They're monsters!"
The blonde, called Katsuta, snapped at his companion.
Despite the apocalyptic world, there were still idle delinquents like these. Having survived by luck, they continued their thuggish ways, avoiding proper work and extorting money.
Worse, they roamed the city hunting Cursed Children for sport.
For these cowardly, powerless thugs, tormenting Cursed Children gave them a thrill. The girls' virus-enhanced bodies could withstand heavy abuse, allowing the delinquents to unleash violence without fear of consequences.
But recently, Katsuta had noticed fewer Cursed Children in the city.
His source of amusement was dwindling, he couldn't find anyone to beat up.
"Where are those rats hiding?"
He didn't dare target ordinary people, as that would draw police attention. Cursed Children were his only outlet, but their absence these past few days had him fuming.
"Are they trying to starve themselves?"
Katsuta's usual tactic was to offer food. Even Cursed Children, repeatedly beaten, would hide in fear. So, after each assault, he'd give them expired food, enough to keep them alive, as no one in the city would sell food to Cursed Children.
Thus, the girls endured his abuse to survive, accepting beatings for scraps of expired food to avoid starvation.
But lately, the Cursed Children had been disappearing, leaving Katsuta increasingly frustrated.
"Katsuta, this street's empty too."
"Tch, let's check somewhere else."
"I know a spot."
"Where?"
"In District 26. Some kid's been singing on the street, begging."
One of Katsuta's companions offered a lead.
"District 26? That's far."
"Yeah, but that kid's always there."
"Forget it. Walking to District 26 would take nearly an hour."
The group debated whether to go to District 26. Katsuta, already irritated from the lack of targets, made the call.
"Let's go to District 26!"
As the leader, Katsuta's decision was final. The others had no objections, and they took a bus to District 26.
The bus took a detour, so it took twenty minutes to reach their destination. They began searching for the singing girl.
The girl had dirty silver hair and wore tattered rags barely qualifying as clothes. She stood on the roadside, a bandage over her eyes and a sign around her neck reading: I am a Cursed Child from the outer districts.
But as they spotted her, a blonde young man in a blue outfit was crouched in front of her, talking.
"How about this? If you don't want my help, let's make a deal."
"A deal?"
"Yes. In exchange for my help, you sing a song daily for my friends. If you don't, no food. How's that?"
The blonde raised his index finger, negotiating seriously, prompting a puzzled head tilt from the girl.
"That's… all?"
"Yup, that's it. Your singing is valuable to me. From now on, you sing only for me, and in return, I'll provide everything you need. Deal?"
The girl seemed surprised, hesitating before speaking again.
"Um, I actually have a younger sister."
"Oh? Does your sister sing?"
"I'm sorry, she doesn't."
"In that case, you'll need to sing two songs a day. I'll provide for both you and your sister. Sound good?"
"If you're truly willing, I'd be so grateful. But… why?"
"Because you've got silver hair! Silver-haired girls, you know? And two of them? That's irresistible!"
The combination of a silver-haired girl and her sister was too much for him to pass up.
"Uh… I'm sorry, I don't understand. Does my hair color upset you?"
"No, no, absolutely not! I love your hair, it's fantastic!"
"I'm glad you like it."
"So, will you accept my help now?"
"Yes, thank you."
"No need for formalities. Just call me Onii-chan."
"Okay, Onii-chan."
"Great, it's settled. Come on, let's go."
This suspiciously persuasive figure was none other than Altair, fresh from his trip. After contracting the sewer girls in District 39, he'd sent them to a contract space called Gensokyo to live. Since it was empty, he'd "borrowed" Tents and materials from a storehouse, letting them build their own shelters.
Then, he began scouring Tokyo for more girls.
District 39 was now devoid of Cursed Children, so Altair moved to other districts, collecting many already. This girl was his latest find.
Altair removed the Cursed Child sign from her neck, tossed it aside, and took her hand to leave.
"Hey, you there! Hold it!"
***
Every 5 reviews and 200 power stones, a bonus chapter will be dropped.
(5,10,15, 200, 400, 600, and so on then two bonus chapters will be dropped, 1 for 5 reviews and 1 for 200 power stones, so that's 2 bonus chapters!)
And if you want to read more than 50 chapters early, feel free to visit pat re on. com / Xelenea (remove space).