It had been three days since Harumi moved in, and somehow the house finally looked a bit more… "organized."The sun was slipping behind the hills, painting the sky a soft orange, when Harumi decided it was time for her first big mission in town:
grocery shopping.
With a wrinkled little list in her pocket — rice, milk, soy sauce, bread, and "snacks so Izumi won't complain" — Harumi walked with determination, despite the back pain that moving had gifted her.
The small market was on the next street, with a window full of fresh vegetables and a tiny bell on the door that went tlin-tlin! every time someone walked in.The kind of market that only existed in cute slice-of-life anime.
Harumi narrowed her eyes, dramatic.
"Ugh… my heart. I'm literally living my own slice of life."
Without Izumi beside her pointing out her clumsiness and household disasters, she could almost pretend to be an actual responsible adult.
A homeowner.A rice buyer.A person who compares prices.
She grabbed a basket and wandered through the aisles, humming softly like she was the main character of a musical only she could hear.
"Shampoo… soap… towels… OH MY GOD WHAT KIND OF PRICE IS THIS?!"She flipped the package around, offended."Is this a towel or a luxury artifact?!"
A few shoppers glanced at her from the corner of their eyes, amused.Harumi laughed awkwardly.
"Okay, yeah, VERY small town. Everyone silently judging me… and they're right."
She reached the sweets section and froze in front of the colorful shelves.
"Pocky. Izumi will literally exile me if I don't bring her some."
She grabbed three boxes at once — and then something small bumped into her leg.
Harumi almost threw the boxes in the air.
"AH! I'M BEING ATTACKED!!"
But it wasn't an attack.
It was a child.
A tiny girl with messy red braids, tear-filled eyes, dirt on her cheeks, and the saddest expression in the universe — hugging Harumi's leg like the world was ending.
"U-Um?! Oh no—no no no—"Harumi crouched so fast she almost fell over."H-Hey! What happened?! Oh god, what do I do?!"
The girl sniffled, holding onto Harumi's skirt as if it were a life raft.
"H-Hey… uh… what's your name?" Harumi asked, panicking politely.
"M-Mei…" the girl whispered.
"Hi, Mei. I'm Harumi. Do you… want a pocky?"She showed the box like it was a sacred healing item.
The girl took one timidly, and her crying slowed.
That's when a low voice echoed through the aisle:
"Mei. I told you not to run."
Harumi looked up.A boy approached — maybe eleven, maybe twelve.Hard expression.Suspicious eyes.Clothes dusty and worn.
He didn't look like a kid.He looked like someone who had grown up too fast.
He grabbed his sister's wrist firmly.
"Let go of her," he said flatly.
Harumi blinked."Hey, wait— she was just scared. You don't have to be so—"
"We don't need help," he cut her off, cold as stone."Let's go."
But Mei refused to let go of Harumi's skirt, clinging tighter, eyes pleading.
"I think… she likes me," Harumi offered, trying to lighten the tension in the candy aisle.
The boy snorted.
"Tch… are you gonna pity us too?"
Right then, a store employee approached — an older woman with an apron, a grumpy expression, and the patience of a potato.
"You two again?" she snapped with her arms crossed."I told you not to wander around here! You scare the customers!"
Harumi widened her eyes.
"You know them?"
"Know them too well," the woman muttered."Their mother disappeared ages ago, no one knows where she went. These kids just cause trouble. Best not to get involved."
Harumi blinked once.Twice.Three times.
The words didn't match the cute little market with a doorbell sound.Her blood boiled.
She looked at the boy — so guarded, so quiet, so full of walls — and at Mei clinging to her.
And she was suddenly furious.
"Excuse me — 'decent people'? They're just kids!"
The woman choked on her own indignation.
"You're new here. You don't know the situation."
"Which is exactly why I'm asking politely," Harumi said with a smile."A politeness you don't seem to be using right now."
The employee walked off, offended.
Harumi crouched again.
These children… Are they abandoned?In this cold?What am I supposed to do?!
"You and your sister… are you hungry?" she asked gently, pretending not to be panicking.
The boy looked away.
"I told you, we don't—"
"Great!" Harumi clapped her hands. "Then let's go."
"…What?"
"Let's have dinner together. This is not a request. It's a command."She pointed her thumb behind her."My house is close. And it has plenty of space!"
Mei tugged her brother's sleeve.
"Takeru… fried egg…"
He sighed.His sister's eyes were shining with hunger.
"…Fine. One meal. Then we leave."
Harumi's grin could have powered the entire town.
"Perfect! And no dramatic thank-yous, please. I'm shy."
At the register, the store owner shook his head.
"Lady… you're gonna regret this. Those two only bring trouble."
Harumi lifted her grocery bag like she was raising a heroic banner.
"That's okay! Trouble can be solved with food and affection!"
She walked out with the groceries in one hand and Mei's tiny hand in the other.
Takeru followed behind — silent, stern…But there was a flicker of something.
Curiosity.Or maybe just hunger.
Either way, he stared at Harumi like she was a riddle he couldn't solve.
And Harumi — completely unaware — had just changed their lives.
And her own.