"Kabuto..."
"Yakushi Kabuto?"
The boy stood there blankly, repeating this brand-new name over and over.
At the same time, he clutched the horned helmet that had accompanied him through the chaos of war.
It was the only keepsake he had left that was connected to his parents, his last remaining bond to the past.
Tiny glimmers of light gradually lit up in his once hollow, lifeless eyes, which now brimmed with unprecedented joy and hope.
His long-sealed heart seemed to be bathed in a ray of warm sunlight, dispelling the confusion and desolation that had lingered within him for so long.
Yakushi Kabuto. This new name gave the rootless, wandering boy a new place to belong.
And so, at this very moment, the boy who had lost all memories of his past was granted a new beginning.
But just then, Yakushi Nonō, whose attention had been fixed on Yakushi Kabuto, finally noticed something wrong.
No matter how his emotions fluctuated, the boy before her—Yakushi Kabuto, who had been given her surname—had slightly vacant eyes from beginning to end. His pupils were somewhat dilated, and his gaze focused unnaturally.
Put simply, Yakushi Kabuto's eyes could not focus properly when looking at things or people. In other words, he was nearsighted, and judging by how he looked, his nearsightedness was probably quite severe.
And so—
Yakushi Nonō, who was nearsighted herself, slowly crouched down, gently removed her round-framed glasses, and placed them directly on Yakushi Kabuto's nose.
"These are..."
Surprise spread across Yakushi Kabuto's face, while indescribable joy flickered in his eyes.
It was a wonderful sensation unlike anything he had ever experienced or touched before.
"They're glasses."
Yakushi Nonō's voice was soft and gentle, her eyes curving like crescent moons. "I hope the prescription suits you."
As Yakushi Nonō spoke, the