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When he came back home , holding hands with a silver haired child , his six years old adoptive daughter looked confused , curious , and fascinated . the moment she heard the front door clicking open , she rushed to greet him but stopped as soon as her gaze landed on the unfamiliar child standing next to her foster father . Behind the little girl , stood a brown haired young man , effortlessly concealing his own confusion and curiosity regarding the silver haired little girl behind a mask of diplomatic grace .
Kaien cross felt a weak smile tug at the corners of his mouth as he took a step forward , gently urging the child to follow him .
The brown haired girl , despite feeling a little bit shy , could do nothing but stare at the unearthly beauty before her eyes .
Steps grounding to a halt in front of the brown haired girl , Kaien knelt down to both children's height level before he put a loving hand on their heads , sliding it down to rest at the nape of their necks as he prepared his words .
" Yuki , meet Zero Kiryuu . He will be living with us for a while . "
Though 'From now on' was the more accurate term , the young man couldn't bring himself to say the truth .
Yuki released a soft gasp at that before blurting out " He ?! "
She could not believe it . The boy had very long silver hair that could put silk to shame . It was very long it reached his feet ! He wasn't that tall but still , it was too long for a boy !
Amused , Kaien cleared his throat , alerting his daughter to the fact she might have offended the silverette and so , yuki flailed her arms around and a trail of apologies left her mouth in a haste every word come out stuttered .
The whole time , Zero looked at her as if she was some sort of an alien . Maybe she was . But he could tell she did not pose a threat . If someone did , then it was that man behind her , bearing a great resemblance to her .
If he didn't know better , Zero would have believed that pureblood and the little girl called yuki were related .
It couldn't be possible though . The girl was a human .
Fixing his gaze on the pureblood , Zero did not waver as the brunette returned the intense stare , a flicker of something unreadable rippling in those maroon depths .
The pureblood didn't know how , but that enigmatic child managed to sever the invisible knot brought to life as a result of the intense atmosphere their gazes caused without making it seem like he backed down from a challenge , and instead , fixed his gaze on the ash blond hunter .
What's a pureblood doing here , in a hunter's house ?
Startling violet eyes seemed to ask .
Meanwhile , Yuki found herself ensnared by the fair haired child . He didn't give off a friendly vibe but he wasn't hostile either . That got her too excited . She couldn't wait to make friends with him !
" Chairman , a word ? "
The hunter in question lifted his head upwards , as if he'd only remembered the pureblood's presence in that moment , and sent him a belated nod .
The two adults disappeared into the chairman's office , but not before making sure the kids started to get along .
Once the door clicked shut , Kaien heaved a deep exhausted sigh . The pureblood could tell , however , that it wasn't of physical nature . The hunter looked mentally and emotionally drained.
Frowning at that , the brown haired young man questioned " What's going on ? "
His question was met with another sigh until the chairman started explaining " Kaname , his parents got killed in a mission . They were my friends too . "
For a brief moment , Kaname felt his eyebrows twitch at that misfortune . He did feel sorry . He did sympathize with the child . However , Zero was not the first nor last child forced on such tragic fate . Life had always been cruel . Millions of children had been orphaned at a young age . Life knew no discrimination . Everyone suffered , in different proportions .
What Kaname found befuddling though was the fact Zero didn't exactly look like a child who'd lost both of his parents at the same time . Which was why he found himself asking " Does he know ? "
Hearing that , Kaien looked just about ready to snap , something that rarely to never happened . Kaname noted offhandedly .
" I didn't see it fit to tell a six years old child that both of his parents had been killed . " The words came out defensive and harsh , almost as if they carried a hidden accusation .
A slight crease appeared between Kaname's eyebrows before he gave the hunter a disapproving look that clearly suggested he'd thought Kaien was smarter than that .
A fleeting silence reigned the tension-filled room at that .
The hunter exhaled deeply as he started massaging his temples , feeling as if everything had come crashing down on him at once . He could understand Kaname's point of view . It would have been better if he could tell Zero the truth now . Even though it would be painful , it was always better to say the truth than comfort someone with a lie . It didn't help that Zero was so young . Children especially are very delicate when it comes to such things .
" As much as it pains me to say this , Zero will figure it out on his own . He's a smart kid . But for now , I just can't bring myself to tell him the truth . Trust me , it's better this way ."
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915 words
updated /published 3 nov 2017