Countless stones pelted her body, leaving her swaying on the verge of collapse. Her bloodstained white robe had already been torn by shards of glass thrown by the crazed residents nearby...
She turned a blind eye to it all.
She simply walked from one side of the crowd to the other, crossing half the street. Everywhere she looked, there were either people cursing and condemning her like everyone else, or groups huddled in the back, silently saying nothing...
Unprecedented disappointment filled Yurina Takishiro's cross-starred eyes, and she began to question herself.
Just as she was about to fall completely into despair, slender arms parted the crowd at one side of the road. A little unfamiliar girl, covered in dust but with bright eyes, hugged a large bright-yellow umbrella to her chest. She lowered her head, weaved through the rain of stones, and ran to Yurina Takishiro.
Yurina Takishiro stopped walking.
Bang—!
The umbrella ribs sprang open. The bright-yellow umbrella unfolded like a sturdy curtain, shielding Yurina Takishiro from behind.
This umbrella blocked the stones flying at her from behind and helped shield her from the blade called malice.
Holding the umbrella handle, the little girl looked up at the tall, blood-covered youth. Though fear still lingered in her eyes, she resolutely stretched out her tiny hand and offered the handle to Yurina Takishiro.
"Big Sister White-robed God, this umbrella is for you!"
Yurina Takishiro froze where she stood.
Her eyes gazed at the little one below her. After a long while, a smile bloomed across her pale face.
She smiled with joy, happier than she had ever been. Like a child who had found a beloved toy, her eyes brimmed with delight, and the gloom that had clouded them moments ago vanished in an instant.
...She had found it.
"Every