Hanazono Karin has been in Human Trafficking for over four years now, at the age of nine her cruel aunt had given up with beating Karin and just gave up, sending her out onto the streets where a man found her and dragged her to the auctioning house. Karin is thirteen now and is on the verge of losing her sanity, her only treasured possession is kept hidden at all times, a ring her mother had given her before she died. She was locked up in her cell, when the guard named Kippei came to get her ready for the auction.
"Alright Missy, lets hurry up you know the boss don't like to be kept waitin."Kippei said, he grabbed Karin by her wrist and dragged her into a dressing room and shut the door after leaving her in it. Karin rubbed her wrist and looked at the outfits to choose from, going straight to the dresses, Karin found a beautiful black dress that had long sleeves and went down to her knees, as soon as she had finished putting it on, Kippei burst into the room.
"Done, good now let's go."He grabbed her wrist again and this time dragged her onto a circular stage that was pitch black, he grabbed a chain and fastened it onto her ankle so she couldn't run off. Kippei hurried off the stage and the lights came on, making Karin visible to the crowd, quickly and quietly Karin put her mother's ring on, it always helped to calm her when she stood before all the perverted men there. An announcer started to state Karin's information and the starting price.
"Let's start at $10,000."The announcer said, Karin brought her hand up to her face and brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face, the stone in her ring glinted in the light.
"$20,000!"A boy with black hair and glasses said in the back, he looked no older then 17, a young girl with black hair and another boy with light brown hair stood next to him. Everyone else was silent, the announcer started the countdown.
"Going once….going twice….sold to the young man in the back!"He said enthusiastically, Kippei came back onto the stage and unchained Karin; he grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the boy.
"Here….and do not bring her back….it was not a pleasure to meet you Karin!!"Kippei almost growled at them, he pushed Karin towards them and stalked off. Karin stumbled and was caught by the light brown haired boy.
"Ahh….Gomen!!"She said backing away slightly and bowing respectfully.
"Don't worry about it, you are family now!"The boy said. "My name is Karasuma Kirika; this is my brother Karasuma Kirio and my little sister Karasuma Himeka."
"It's nice to meet you, I'm Hanazono Karin."Karin said happily while straightening up.
"Well now that we know each other, let's head home."The girl named Himeka said, Karin nodded, the boy named Kirika grabbed her hand and held it like a brother would, Kirio did the same with Himeka, and together Karin and Himeka held hands. The sun was setting when the four reached a rather large house, Karin stared at it in awe, Kirika had to tug at her slightly, but that small move caused Karin to jump and flinch away.
"Ah, Gomenasi…."Karin said when she realized what she had done.
"Ah, no Karin its okay, I'm sure it wasn't intentional, and I should be the one to say sorry."Kirika said with a slight smile, Kirio and Himeka had already headed inside.
"Hey you two coming in or are you going to stay out here all night?"Kirio said poking his head out the door.
"Coming Nii-San….coming Karin?"Kirika said and he held his hand out to Karin who gratefully took it.
"Yes, thank you Kirika!"Karin said happily as Kirika led her inside the house, shutting and locking the door after they were both inside. Karin looked around in awe again. "Sugoi, this place is huge!"
"Karin-Chan, you get to sleep with me in my room tonight, until Nii-San can go out and get some things for you, but he's already enrolled you into their school, isn't he amazing!?"Himeka said happily.
"Really Himeka?"Karin asked happily, she looked over at Kirio. "Thank you so much for taking me in Kirio…."
"It was no problem, and you can call me Nii-San if you want….but Kirika wanted to tell you something, I'm going to go put Himeka to bed, Kirika will you show Karin the way when you two are done please?"Kirio said, Kirika nodded and Kirio took Himeka's hand and they both walked around the corner into a hallway.
"What did you need Kirika….?"Karin asked.
"Karin, I know you're new to the family, and this family has several secrets, I'm going to tell you mine now, and Kirio will tell you some secrets tomorrow after school…."Kirika started. "Well….Karin….I'm actually a girl…."
"EHHHH!!!!"Karin said in shock. "Kirika you're not a boy….?"Kirika shook her head.
"No….but I am a boy to the others at school, so do not tell anyone okay?"Kirika said desperately.
"Okay….but when we are at home can I call you Nee-San, or when it's just the family?"Karin asked and Kirika nodded. "Yay!"
"Now let me show you to your temporary room, we are all going out shopping tomorrow after school so you can pick out what you want!"Kirika said with a smile, she gently and slowly grabbed Karin's hand, but Karin still jumped slightly.
"Ah, Gomen Nee-San…."Karin said.
"Don't worry about it Karin, now follow me please!"Kirika held Karin's hand and led her to the hallway that Himeka and Kirio had just gone down moments before, Kirika stopped at a double door that was black with red roses as the design, and she knocked on the door softly.
"Come in."Himeka's voice came from the other side of the door, Kirika and Karin stepped in and saw Himeka sitting in a king sized bed with black sheets and Kirio reading a story to Himeka.
"So you know now Karin?"Himeka asked.
"Yup, I know about Nee-San!"Karin said with a smile.
"Nii-San….let's let them get some rest, Himeka hasn't been feeling well lately remember, and Karin has school tomorrow."Kirika said to Kirio who nodded and stood up from his spot on the floor.
"Karin come, you'll sleep here…."Himeka said patting the space next to her.
"Umm…."Karin said, she looked down at her black dress and looked back up, Kirika was handing her a set of pajamas.
"Here, these will be a bit big, but they'll do for the night right?"Kirika asked.
"Mm, thanks Nee-San!"Karin said as she took them.
"The bathroom is right through there…."Himeka said while pointing to a door inside her room, Karin nodded and opened the door, she walked in and locked the door and quickly changed into the black flannel pajamas, she stepped out and shut the door behind her, she crawled into the bed with Himeka and smiled at everyone.
"Thank you so much for taking me in, they were going to…."Karin looked down and couldn't finish her sentence.
"Don't worry about it Karin….you are safe now and nothing can hurt you here, I'll tell you everything tomorrow after shopping so you don't feel like an outsider okay?"Kirio said while patting Karin's head, he looked down at her ring. "Keep that ring close to you okay?"He said before kissing the top of her head, he then and went and did the same to Himeka before leaving the room.
"Goodnight Karin, Himeka…."Kirika said before turning off the lights and shutting the door. Karin looked over at Himeka and sighed softly.
"Goodnight Himeka!"Karin said softly while lying down.
"Goodnight Karin!"Himeka said also lying down, within minutes both girls were fast asleep.
'Where am I? Nee-San, Nii-San, Himeka....where are you guys?!?!'Karin called out, she was in the middle of a ghost town and it was really starting to scare her. Karin started walking down the street and heard someone run behind her, she twisted around. 'Very funny guys, you can come out now though, jokes over!!'Karin called out again, fear radiating from her voice. She took another step forward and Kippei grabbed her and dragged her to what looked like the town square, he threw her down onto the hard ground causing scrapes to appear on her. Karin sat up and looked around, she saw Kirio, Kirika, and Himeka tied together and not breathing, blood trickling out of the corners of their mouths.
'HIMEKA, NEE-SAN, NNNNIIIIII-SSAANN, WAKE UP!!!!!'Karin yelled, Kippei stepped closer to her, a knife in his heads, he started to swing it down, it was an inch away from her scalp when suddenly he vanished.
"Karin, Karin wake up!!!!"Himeka was shaking Karin to try and wake her up, Karin's eyes bolted open but she seemed to be in shock. "NII-SAN!!"Himeka called out, Kirio and Kirika both ran into the room obviously panicked.
"Himeka what's wrong?!"Kirio asked.
"Something's wrong with Karin, she was having a nightmare and I tried to wake her up, her eyes opened but she won't respond!!"Himeka said sounding extremely worried, Kirika walked over to Karin and leaned over her.
"Karin….Karin wake up please…."Kirika said, she gently placed her hand on Karin's cheek. Karin blinked once and then twice.
"Nee-San, Himeka….?"She said slowly sitting up. "Nii-San….?"Karin suddenly burst into tears, Kirio sighed in relief and sat on the bed next to Himeka, Kirika pulled Karin into a tight hug.
"Shh….it's okay Karin it was just a dream."Kirika said repeatedly to calm the young girl down. Karin pulled away from Kirika and wiped her tears away missing most of them.
"It's okay I'm fine!"Karin said with a smile plastered to her face, Kirika wiped away the remaining tears.
"Are you sure, because we could stay in here for the rest of the night?"Kirika said and she looked over at Kirio who nodded.
"Yeah we'll stay the night here tonight, Himeka, Karin get closer to the middle."Kirio said, Karin and Himeka shifted over until they were both in the center of the bed, Kirika laid down next to Karin and Kirio next to Himeka.
"Kirio you forgot to turn off the lights…."Kirika said sleepily, Karin looked over at her and saw that her eyes were already half shut, a smile on came onto her face when she saw Karin looking at her. Kirio sighed and got up to turn off the lights, he then crawled back into bed, Karin laid down and brought her knees up to her chest, she started shaking slightly.
"Karin its okay….nothing can hurt you now…."Kirika said while pulling Karin close to her, she wrapped an arm around the young girl in a protective manner.
"Thanks Nee-San….goodnight…."Karin whispered softly before falling asleep, soon after her Himeka was asleep as well. Kirika and Kirio both sat up.
"Nii-San….I think Karin was mentally scarred….we'll need to look into it, it would help if we could learn more about her."Kirika said while looking at Karin.
"You're right Kirika….but let's wait until she's settled in before starting to question her."Kirio said before laying back down again and falling asleep, Kirika fell asleep soon afterwards.
The next morning Kirika and Kirio woke up to find themselves the only ones in the room, they both bolted out of bed and ran around the house, they met each other in the dining room and they both heard laughter come from behind the door that led to the kitchen, they both barged in causing Karin to scream in surprise and causing Himeka to laugh at Karin's reaction.
"Himeka it isn't funny, they really scared me!!"Karin complained.
"I'm sorry Karin, but your face when they barged in…."Himeka doubled over from laughing, Karin started pouting and turned to the stove where a few pots and a frying pan sat.
"Umm….what are you guys doing?"Kirio asked.
"Well we woke up and you were still sleeping so we decided to make breakfast for you, I was just about to come and wake you up!"Himeka said happily.
"But Himeka you don't know how to cook…."Kirio said.
"No I don't, but Karin does!!!!"Himeka said happily while looked at Karin who was buttering a slice of toast.
"Really….it's nothing, Nee-San, Nii-San you should get ready for school though!"Karin said. "There done!!"Karin pulled off the apron she had been wearing to reveal her school uniform.
"Where did you get that Karin?"Kirika asked.
"Oh….this….Himeka said she had an extra in her closet, so she's lending it to me today! Isn't it pretty!?"Karin said happily, Himeka nodded. Kirika had to admit that the black dress looked excellent on the girl. "Oh you guys can grab a plate, I already ate!"Karin said, she moved to the side to reveal three plates each filled with pancakes, eggs, waffles, and onigiri. Karin sat at chair and pulled her hair into a single ponytail with a hair tie that had a black rose on it. Within the next ten minutes everyone but Himeka ate and got ready for school, well Kirika and Kirio got ready, Karin and Himeka just talked about the things they were going to buy after the three got back from school. Finally Kirio and Kirika walked into the kitchen in their boy uniforms and with their bags.
"Were off Himeka, be careful until we get back okay?"Kirio said while Kirika and Karin said goodbye and walked outside.
"I'll be okay Nii-San….like always!"Himeka smiled and waved goodbye to them, shutting the door and locking it when they had gotten out of sight.
Karin was excited to be going to school, even though she hadn't been to school in four years, Karin was unusually bright and was going to be able to keep up with the students her age. The three walked into the school and Karin instantly bumped into somebody, both people falling to the ground, Kirika and Kirio were a few steps ahead of her and stopped when they heard someone fall.
"Ahh….I'm sorry!!"Karin said standing up and wincing slightly.
"Are you okay?"A blonde boy with beautiful blue eyes to Karin.
"I'm fine, are you okay?"Karin asked and the boy nodded.
"Do you go to our school? I haven't seen you around and it's the second semester."The boy said.
"Yes I just transferred here, my names Hanazono Karin!"Karin said with a smile, Kirika coughed slightly. "Oh….sorry, it's Karasuma Karin!"She smiled again.
"I'm Kujyou Kazune….wait did you say Karasuma?"The boy named Kazune asked and Karin nodded and brought her hand up to face to brush a strand of hair out of her face, the ring glinted in the light. "Let me see that ring!"Kazune said while grabbing Karin's ring, Kirio and Kirika both ran back to Karin quickly but were too late, Karin screamed in fear and pushed Kazune away, she backed away but tripped and fell, she looked up at Kazune with pure fear in her eyes.
"S-stay away from me!!"She almost yelled and Kazune looked confused.
"Karasuma what did you do to her!?!"Kazune asked obviously enraged for some reason.
"We adopted Karin yesterday….she's been in human trafficking for over four years! I didn't do anything to her!"Kirio said while Kirika was trying to calm down Karin.
"Human….trafficking?!"Kazune said. "Then why does she have that ring!?"He asked.
"My mother gave it to me before she died; it's the only thing I have left except for an old photo!"Karin said quietly as she was being helped up by Kirika, she looked past Kazune and looked in shock. "Himeka what are you doing here? I thought you were staying home?"Karin asked a girl who looked just like Himeka.
"Ahh….Kazune-Kun do we know her?"The girl said.
"No Himeka you don't know her…."Kazune said. "Karin this is my sister Kujyou Himeka….Himeka this is Karasuma Karin…."Himeka nodded and stepped forward to Karin.
"It's nice to meet you Karin!"She said while holding out her hand, Karin slowly placed her hand in Himeka's in shook it.
"It's nice to meet you too Himeka-Chan…."Karin said, Himeka looked down at Karin's ring.
"Ahh….Kazune-Kun is Karin the Goddess we've been looking for?!"Himeka asked while walking back to Kazune.
"I think so Himeka…."Kazune said while looking at Karin.
"Kujyou shut up! We haven't told Karin anything, leave her out of this!!"Kirio said protectively, he placed his hand on one of Karin's shoulders, Kirika's hand on the other shoulder, they both started to walk into the school.
"Karin can I please see that ring!?"Kazune asked, Karin stopped and looked back at the boy.
"No, you may not….stupid boy…."Karin said, the wind blew strongly and a piece of paper flew out of her bag and landed by Kazune's feet, he picked it up and realized it was a photo. Suddenly it was snatched out of his hands by Karin who slapped him and walked back to her new siblings.
"Kazune-Kun are you alright?"Himeka asked.
"I'm fine Himeka….but that photo is the same one I have…."Kazune said before walking into the school with Himeka.