The Kazari Family

Somewhere in Tokyo.

Several paper cranes flew out of an alleyway, swiftly gathering and folding together in a corner before gradually taking human form.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Yurina Kurotetsu weakly braced himself against the wall and bent over in a violent coughing fit. Every cough brought up black blood, which splattered across the ground at his feet.

His face was deathly pale.

Fighting four Oracle Envoys alone, he had suffered far more serious injuries than he appeared to have. The other wounds were manageable, but the attacks Calamity of Sickness had left within him were all devastating diseases. Compared to mere flesh wounds, these injuries were far more terrifying.

After coughing for a long time, he shakily rose to his feet, wiped the blood from his lips, and slowly walked toward the end of the alley, his eyes filled with resolve.

At the end of the alley, around the corner, a tall, slender youth in a dark teal surgical gown stood beneath a streetlamp. His snow-white hair cascaded down to the ground, and his cross-shaped starry eyes curiously examined his surroundings, filled with wonder at everything he saw.

This child... is taller than I imagined.

Yurina Kurotetsu watched him quietly, thinking to himself. But when he saw the other's thin, pale body, a trace of guilt flashed through his eyes.

That was the child he had had with Kazari Akiko, Yurina's younger brother, Yurina Takishiro.

He had waited thirteen years for this moment.

And now, he stood right before him.

Yurina Kurotetsu's heart began to race. The corners of his mouth lifted, and he could not stop himself from wanting to go up and greet him, to tell him, "Hey, kid, I'm your dad. Come home with me..."

But the moment he took a step forward, he froze mid-stride...

He