The boy didn't cry.
Not when the cold rain soaked through the thin, torn cloth wrapped around his body.
Not when Koji lifted him from the pile of garbage behind the narrow back street.
And not even when he was carried into a stranger's home.
He simply stared.
Silent. Calm. Watching.
"Who is this child?"
Koji stood frozen at the doorway, rain dripping from his hair and sleeves. In his arms, the small boy looked far too light… and far too quiet.
His wife stepped closer, confusion written all over her face.
"Why did you bring him home?"
Koji hesitated.
His eyes dropped to the boy's dirt-stained face. Up close, the child looked even thinner than he first thought. But what unsettled him most… was the boy's expression.
No fear.
No panic.
Just those strangely steady eyes.
"I… I don't know," Koji admitted softly. "I found him behind the garbage house in the back street. He was alone."
Still, the boy did not react.
No crying.
No struggling.
Nothing.
Koji swallowed.
"We don't have a child," he said quietly. "Maybe… maybe we should adopt him."
His wife's expression wavered as she looked down at the small figure.
Her heart tightened despite herself.
"But what if his real parents come looking for him one day?"
Koji closed his eyes for a moment.
When he opened them again, his voice was gentle—but firm.
"We'll think about that later. For now… let's save him."
Slowly, carefully, he reached out and placed his hand on the boy's messy hair.
"From today on," Koji said warmly,
"your name is Nobu."
The boy said nothing.
But for the first time… his fingers twitched slightly beneath the cloth.
Eight Years Later
Time passed quietly.
Nobu grew into a bright, cheerful boy with a gentle heart and an easy smile that could melt anyone's mood.
Koji raised him without regret.
Without doubt.
To Nobu, there had never been another father.
One afternoon, the crowded market buzzed with life.
Vendors shouted over each other.
Children laughed.
The smell of grilled food filled the air.
Koji walked beside eight-year-old Nobu, carrying a small bag of groceries.
Then—
Nobu suddenly stopped.
His eyes widened.
"Dad!" Nobu pointed excitedly toward a toy displayed in a shop window. "Look at that!"
Before Koji could respond—
Nobu ran.
Straight into the street.
A loud horn shattered the air.
Koji's heart dropped.
"NOBU!!"
Time seemed to slow.
The truck was too close.
Too fast.
Koji didn't think.
He ran forward with everything he had and shoved Nobu out of the road.
For a split second, Nobu turned back with a bright, innocent smile.
"Dad, look—"
BOOM.
The world went silent.
Nobu hit the ground hard, his small body trembling.
"…Dad?"
Koji didn't move.
Blood slowly spread across the road beneath him.
The noise of the market faded into distant ringing.
Nobu crawled forward, tears blurring his vision.
"Dad… please get up…"
His small hands shook as he grabbed Koji's sleeve.
But Koji never moved again.
Lost and Alone
The market was far from home.
Nobu had never walked these streets by himself before.
Left.
Right.
Every road looked the same.
As the sky darkened, fear slowly swallowed the warmth in his chest.
Step by step, his feet carried him into unfamiliar territory… until the lively streets gave way to a narrow, shadow-filled alley.
And there—
Sat a boy
He looked about six years old, perched casually on a broken wooden crate as if he owned the place.
The boy glanced up.
Then smiled.
"Hey," he said easily. "You look lost."
Nobu wiped his wet eyes with his sleeve.
"I… I can't find my home."
The boy hopped down from the crate.
Up close, his smile softened slightly when he noticed Nobu's trembling hands.
"My name is Beru," he said.
Then, after a brief pause—
"Stay with me. At least for today."
One day turned into a week.
A week turned into a month.
And in the shadows of that forgotten alley…
Two abandoned boys formed a bond.
A bond strong enough to survive blood.
Betrayal.
And a future neither of them could yet imagine.
But neither of them knew…
This was the moment their fate quietly began to change.
And once it did—
There would be no turning back.