"Daddy, I'm scared," a girl with lustrous black hair and a small garbage bag trembled below her father, clinging onto his wrinkled sleeve. Her large eyes were filled to the brim with glistening tears as she took in deep, wavering gulps of cold air. Pale hands were clenched tightly together, moist with apprehension.

Her father smiled weakly and took her quivering hand, "Just stay close. You'll be safe as long as you're with me." He stroked her hair softly and stood up.

"Come on, it's this way."

Pulling the little girl along as she wiped her eyes, they walked hand-in-hand from the sidewalk towards the cluster of dilapidated houses. Piles of garbage were scattered through the allies, and the wooden planks of the small shacks were rotted and covered in gnarly wall creepers. Once or twice they spotted a scraggly thing of a person hobbling through the dirt. As they walked, the houses gradually became less ruined and a little sturdier. More people could be seen strolling the paved paths. They cast questioning glances at the two but none approached them. Finally, they stopped in front of a fairly large dwelling labeled "sold".

It had two levels and seemed pretty solid, despite its weathered look. The white paint was slightly faded, but the planks held true. Dusty windows adorned each side of the house, and a rickety fence with a few stakes missing surrounded it. Weeds crawled around their ankles like prickly snakes, and dandelions grew in random patches in the dry yard.

"Here we are!" the girl's father hoisted both their bags over his shoulders. He handed the key to his daughter. She stared at the unfamiliar neighborhood, unaware of the rusty key being offered to her. As she scrutinized the other houses, her gaze was caught by a strange view.

A boy was standing at the window, half of his body obscured by a tan curtain. Their eyes met and he ducked away into the darkness of his house. She paused a bit, half hoping that he would return, half hoping that he would stay away for good. Her eyes slowly rolled to where her father was extending his arm. Her tearless eyes blinked, and she took on the look of someone slightly braver.

"You can open it."

The girl's eyes sparkled in wonder as she gently slid the key into its hole and turned. There was a soft click, and the door creaked open a few inches, unveiling a void of darkness. Her father stepped in first and switched on a light. It flickered for just a moment before chasing away all the shadows.

Cold tiles matted the floor. To the left was a sitting room, complete with two sofas and a lopsided coffee table. There was a little space to the right to store shoes and an archway leading to a soiled kitchen in front. A simple island, too grimy and covered with trash to use, separated the kitchen and dining table. The sinks had weird stains in them, but the cupboards looked fairly clean compared to everything else. Stairs to the right led to two compact rooms and a dusty bathroom.

"Luckily, the owner didn't want to move everything so, for a little extra cash, I was able to get some furniture. Unpacking won't be too hard, but I'll help you anyway," her father explained as he dragged their garbage bags up to the second level. "You can choose a room, if you'd like." The girl nodded eagerly and closed her eyes.

"Eenie meenie miney mo," she took a peek to see her small hand pointed to the left one. Her father chuckled affectionately and hauled her stuff towards her chosen room, leaving his bag leaning against the chipped banister.

The door had a long and faded, probably from hours of scrubbing, black mark extending from the right side to the bottom left corner. There was a rough bed in the left corner of the room and a scratched desk in the right. A wide window cast a ray of afternoon sunshine onto the bed, illuminating dust mites dancing through the air. A sliding closet occupied the wall to her left, and a few hooks out of her reach were nailed to the right.

After they had pack what little belongings she had brought with her into the cracked closet, she helped her father unload his things into the other room. The girl pushed a lock of stray hair behind her ear. All anxiety had left her, replaced with confidence and excitement of a completely new environment.

"Alright, this is looking pretty neat," he straightened his shirt and turned around in a circle, observing his surroundings. "Do you wanna explore the neighborhood?" His daughter nodded eagerly, hopping from one foot to the other.

"Okey dokey! Just don't go too far. A few houses away should be fine." She nodded and pranced down the stairs, sending hollow creaks echoing throughout the tiny house.

Out in the open, she breathed in a huge gulp of sweet, fresh air before skipping over to a patch of daisies outside the fence. As she crouched on the ground picking the delicate, white flowers, the crunch of footsteps caught her attention, and she looked up, squinting her eyes against the sun.

It was a boy. The same boy that she had seen in the window. He could only be about 6, a year older than the girl. His hair was an odd mix of blue, and his eyes were large, curiosity flashing through them. He squatted down next to her and watched her inquisitively. She felt her dying question climb up her throat and onto her tongue, but she swallowed it before she could speak.

"What are you doing?"

"Picking flowers for my daddy."

"Aren't you afraid of all the worms crawling through the grass?"

"No."

"Oh."

All was silent for a few moments as the boy watched her snap a daisy's stem in two. He then began to help her pick the flowers, piling them into a little stack.

"What's your name?" he shifted his feet to a more comfortable position, trying not to touch the clumpy soil.

"What's your name?" the younger girl challenged, glancing at the cute, little boy wipe his dirty hands almost desperately on his pants.

"If I tell you do you promise to tell me yours?"

"Yea," the girl continued to pick flowers.

"Okay then. My name's Ayato Kirishima."

"My name's Akumi Hayashi. Nice to meet you," she gathered her flowers into a bouquet and stood up. Ayato grinned and followed Akumi's actions, handing his bunch to her.

From within the house her father peeked in through a window in the living room. His eyes grew wide as he saw his daughter with a stranger.

"A-Akumi!" he cried, trying not to stammer. "It's time for lunch!"

Akumi beamed at Ayato, "I gotta go. But it was nice meeting you!" She turned to leave.

"W-Wait!" Ayato's cheeks flushed pink, a sign that Akumi was too young to understand. "Can I see you again…sometime?"

Akumi's face scrunched up in confusion, "Sure, I live right here."

Ayato gave a breath of relief, "Oh, okay! B-Bye!"

"Akumi! Lunch!"

"Coming daddy!" Akumi gathered her flowers and brushed off her dress before skipping through the front door.

"Daddy! I met a-" her words were cut off.

"I'm sorry, my angel, but we can't talk to people like them."

Her face melted into a sad, murky puddle, "Why not?"

Akumi's father ignored her question, "Try not to talk to them unless you have to, okay?"

"But-"

"Okay?!" he shook her shoulders in frustration. Akumi, confused and scared, began to cry. Tiny drops fell from her lashes like dew slipping off a gentle fern.

Her father paused a moment, processing what he had just done.

"...I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he hugged her in a tight embrace as she nestled her head into his shoulder. "But we have to be careful from now on. We don't want anything like what happened last time again, right?" Akumi nodded in between choked sniffles.

"I just don't want to lose you."

"…I love you daddy…"

"I love you too, my little angel. I'll always be here for you, okay? I'm sorry we have to live like this. I know it's terrible, but we can't have anyone find out about us."

He pushed Akumi away and looked at her sternly. A tinge of something Akumi couldn't understand glowing in his eyes.

"No matter what, do not let anyone find out that we're ghouls."