Chapter 1

Yokohama Port at night is subtly different from Yokohama during the day. The brightly lit and lively places are filled with the same feasting and materialism as in other big cities, but in the unknown streets and dark alleys, there are unusual things. The city's darker filth flows.

All dark transactions that are not disclosed take place in these alleys.

In the narrow alley, Ohashi Tomohiro used to count the bills in his hands by the dim moonlight and the sparks from the cigarette butts burning on his lips. The night gave him shelter and also gave people like them a pair of eyes that could see everything clearly in the dark. Eye.

"Huh?"

Tomohiro Ohashi raised his eyebrows and finished counting the bills he had exchanged from the trading customers not long ago and neatly placed them in his pocket. He raised his head with some pride and inhaled the cigarette that almost burned to the edge of his mouth. He took a sip, picked it up with his hand, dusted off the cigarette butt and the long ash on the ground, and crushed it with his feet.

He was not used to this kind of behavior, but after all, he was in Yokohama now, and he still had to abide by the rules. Otherwise, who knew what the underground emperor of Yokohama would do.

Maybe it was because the night was dark and a bit cold. The moment Ohashi Tomohiro was blown by the wind, he felt a little cold on the back of his neck. He shrank and looked in the direction of the wind inadvertently.

In the darkness at the end of the alley, a pair of golden eyes stared at the moonlight, watching him from a distance.

He thought it was a common night owl in the streets, and soon planned to ignore the wild cat whose body he couldn't even see clearly.

But when he was about to turn around, the wind happened to blow by, and the clouds that blocked the moon were pushed away, and the owner of those golden eyes finally revealed his true form.

"Grrr...grrr..."

Ohashi Tomohiro saw the owner of his eyes clearly, his lips began to tremble, and his upper and lower teeth collided with each other, making intermittent sounds.

He stared wide-eyed at the golden-eyed owner who revealed his huge figure in the moonlight. His breathing was rapid, his face was pale, and the back of his neck was covered in cold sweat from the goosebumps he had just blown.

"Old, tiger...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

" The still strong and powerful body has obvious muscle texture, and the sharp claws on the limbs draw a cold light when stepping on the ground.

The huge tiger head stared at Ohashi Tomohiro, and he could easily tear him apart and swallow him with just one opening of his mouth.

Ohashi Tomohiro's breathing stopped for a few seconds. Under the guidance of his finally returning consciousness, he finally knew how to scream. Then he jumped and ran away from the alley, screaming in terror that he couldn't hear clearly.

It’s just that he didn’t realize that when facing a ferocious beast, he shouldn’t turn around immediately and expose his back to the opponent. He also didn’t realize that his frightened shouts not only disturbed the ferocious beast, but also woke up another one sleeping in the corner. figure.

A pair of eyes that were as bright red as blood flowed open and looked at the frightened tiger.

"...Tiger?"

"...It hurts...it hurts...why am I here..."

The boy in ragged clothes, with short white hair and bangs that looked like they had been gnawed by a dog, covered his forehead and groaned. ·Yin climbed up from the hard and cold ground, his eyes full of pain and confusion.

"Bah, bah..." The young man reached out and patted the dust on his body, then spit out a few pieces of grass from his mouth.

The grass that he couldn't help but chew into his mouth because he was too hungry last night made the boy clearly realize that he was not a herbivore, but a carnivore, but there was nothing for him to eat at the moment.

After being kicked out of the orphanage, the boy wandered aimlessly with no place to stay or food to eat. He was so hungry that his eyesight blurred. He staggered and almost fell to the ground. However, at the moment he fell, he was supported by someone. .

Soft, warm, human body temperature came from the connected limbs, and the boy gradually gained strength.

He looked up at the person holding him, showing a confused expression.

In front of him was a girl who was dressed even more strangely than herself. She was wrapped in a gray-brown cloak. The hair color exposed from the hood was gray-white that was similar but not completely similar to her own. She was short and looked to be less than ten years old. The little girl stretched out her hand and firmly supported herself, who was so weak that she was about to faint from hunger.

"Who are you?"

The white-haired boy thanked the young girl, and then stared blankly at those bright red eyes.

These eyes...how could he vaguely remember seeing them somewhere?

It's just that...

my brain hurts when I recall the memory. I don't know if it's due to insufficient blood supply caused by overuse of the brain.

The young man shook his head violently, following his intuition to shake off the unclear memory.

"...Eri."

The young girl's voice sounded sweet, but her tone was cold and calm, coupled with the little face that didn't show much expression...

if it weren't for holding her hand His hands are still warm, and Nakajima Atsushi might think this is an exquisite and cute doll.

"I see, your name is Eri?" Nakajima Atsushi habitually smiled at the white-haired girl, looked at her clothes that were even more wonderful than his own, and couldn't help but ask, "Why are you here? ? "

I was at an unknown river embankment, and I was still dirty. At first glance, I didn't think he was an easy person to get close to.

This child's family probably wouldn't trust her to approach them.

"I don't remember."

The young girl who called herself "Eri" shook her head. Her bright red eyes met Atsushi Nakajima's purple-gold eyes with a warm glow under the setting sun, and he quickly forgot that he wanted to ask again. Something.

"Is that so..."

Looking at the white-haired girl, Nakajima Atsushi quickly came to the idea that her situation was actually the same as his own, and a feeling of sympathy arose spontaneously.

"You can't find a home..."

he said, and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"And I don't have a home at all..."

"Gu——"

Before he could say anything else, his stomach, which had been hungry for many days and was in desperate need of something to fill, suddenly growled. The hunger that had just been deliberately forgotten to the back of his mind. Suddenly madness surged.

Nakajima Atsushi couldn't help but hold his stomach, trying to save his face in front of the newly acquainted young girl.

Eri didn't pay attention to Atsushi Nakajima's belly singing about the empty castle plot, she just touched her belly reflexively.

Although she was not so hungry that her eyes turned black like Atsushi Nakajima, she felt like she was "hungry" too.

Replenishing the nutrients needed by the body is the most important thing for these two strangely dressed people at the moment.

Nakajima Atsushi originally planned to risk everything. Whether it was stealing or robbing, as long as he could fill his stomach, he didn't care what his fate would be. Anyway, he was an abandoned person and no one would feel sorry for him. .

But in front of the new little girl he met, Nakajima Atsushi quickly picked up his recently abandoned self-esteem and sense of morality.

"Are you hungry, Eri-chan too?"

Atsushi Nakajima noticed the white-haired girl's movements and naturally changed from "finding a way to fill my own stomach" to "finding a way to fill the stomachs of both of them."

"Then let's find something to eat?"

As he said this, he saw the white-haired girl raising her hand and pointing to the river not far away.

"Yes, there should be fish in the river at this time. Although there is no seasoning, it should be very fishy..."

The white-haired boy easily muttered when he was excited or nervous, but before he could finish venting, he was drawn Uri interrupted,

"There is someone in the river."

"Eh?" "

...Eh!"

The white-haired boy who realized what Eri said rushed into the water without thinking, and threw the man with only two legs toward him. The stranger on the boat practiced pulling and pulling and rescued him from the river.

The person who was rescued from the river was a tall and thin young man, wearing a brown windbreaker. His dark brown curly hair clung to his face like algae, making him look like a dank water ghost.

"... He was rescued..."

The young man seemed to have fallen into the water not long ago, and he didn't even choke on the water. He quickly woke up after being rescued by Atsushi Nakajima, but he was not grateful for the other person's saving behavior, and even had some disdain.

"I was entering the water just now. I was diving into a shark."

The young man looked at Atsushi Nakajima with a slight displeasure, and then quickly noticed the white-haired young girl behind him, and his expression changed.

"Oh, take a closer look at what a lovely lady she is. Her bright red eyes are full of fascinating magic, her soft skin that can be broken by a blow, and her hair as pure as the first snow..."

He wanted to say something else . Shi Hui was suddenly blocked in front of the young girl by the boy who had saved her just now.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault to disturb you from entering the water, but if I take action against Eri-chan, it's your problem!"

Nakajima Atsushi was already beginning to regret that he had jumped into the water to save people without hesitation.

Could it be that the person he rescued was a pervert who should have gone to heaven early?

"Oh, what are you talking about? Young man, I'm just complimenting this child... Well, she is your sister?"

The young man with black curly hair bent his iris-colored eyes, and there was something unsightly in his eyes. Understand emotions.

"Eri-chan and I just met today..."

Nakajima Atsushi subconsciously knew that he shouldn't reveal too much to a strange or even suspected perverted young man, but when faced with the other party's question, he couldn't help but answer, I even realized after finishing the conversation that I had said too much.

The young girl who had just exchanged a few words with Nakajima Atsushi was now like a robot that had been put into standby mode due to excessive use of electricity. Even the eyes looking at the black-haired young man did not show much emotion.

It's like an exquisite and cute life-sized mannequin displayed in the window.

"Well... the little girl I just met today..."

the black-haired young man repeated thoughtfully. He was about to say something more when he was interrupted by a powerful roar from the other side of the river.

"You idiot, you're not dead yet!"

Standing on the other side of the river is a young man with long blond hair and glasses. He seems to know the black-haired young man who was rescued by Nakajima Atsushi, but he seems to have a bad temper. If he looks good, I always feel that the black-haired young man will be beaten by the opponent.

Kunikida Doppo, who was considered "not very good-tempered" by Atsushi Nakajima, was kind enough to invite Atsushi Nakajima and Eri to dinner with the black-haired young man who called himself "Osam Dazai" talking to himself.

What we ate was the "ochazuke rice" specially named by Atsushi Nakajima.

The white-haired girl didn't have any objections. She just followed a few people obediently to an izakaya.

"Hey, so you just met today...Eri-chan...is this child's name, right?"

Atsushi Nakajima was very talkative as he got what he wanted. Dazai Osamu felt that he had been tricked into saying many things, including his own background that he had been kicked out of the orphanage not long ago and was penniless, and his fateful encounter with the white-haired young girl who suddenly appeared just now.

Osamu Dazai seemed to be more interested in Eri than Atsushi Nakajima. He persisted in trying to talk to the young girl who was eating tea and rice.

"According to what Atsushi said, Eri-chan doesn't remember anything else except her own name?"

Kunikida Doppo, who saw what Dazai Osamu seemed to be thinking, pushed up his glasses, "I advise you that it's best Mind your own business, the commission over there is much more urgent than looking for clues to the little girl who lost her memory."

The little girl turned a deaf ear to the noisy arguments between the two grown men and quietly ate the tea in her hand. After making rice, after swallowing the last mouthful of soup mixed with rice grains, I put down the bowl with satisfaction and let out a small burp.

She held the bowl in both hands and placed it on the wooden table. The knocking sound of the bottom of the bowl hitting the table interrupted the argument between the two.

Her bright red eyes looked at the two people who were attracted by her actions, and hesitantly turned her gaze to what looked like a knife-like mouth. Kunikida Doppo, who has always been bullied by Dazai Osamu.

"Compared to that..."

She looked at Kunikida Doppo, with a hint of doubt in her sweet voice.

"Kunikida...do you want to consider dating me?"