He was aware they were being watched. But there was no threat. All eyes simply belonged to curious passersby. A giant of a man holding hands with a happy little child as she skipped down the street. It drew attention, but not any to worry about.
"Where are we going sempai?" she asked curiously.
"An old friend's house." He replied. More like his only friend's house. It wasn't an accident that he had taken them to this planet. Aside from the tiny child next to him, the only person he fully trusted in the universe was here. They walked into a nice neighborhood. Mature trees lined the street. The houses were not large, but not small either. They walked up to a light blue house. Mori rung the bell as Mel jumped from foot to foot. He didn't know how she had so much energy all the time. They had only been together, off that hell hole, for a few days. She had been bouncing almost the whole time. Except at night.
He shook himself out of his thoughts and rung the bell again. A voice was heard inside.
"Alright, Alright, I'm going." Someone yelled through the door. It was opened by a blonde boy only a little taller than Mel. He looked at the pair, and his scowl changed from a look of disbelief to a smile. He wrapped his arms around the larger man's waist.
"I thought you were dead." He cried. Mori hugged him back.
"Technically I am." He said chuckling. The man pulled away and looked at him.
"Takashi Morinozuka died in a crash on an uncharted planet. I am Mori Takashino." Mori continued. The guy looked at him a few moments before he ushered them inside.
"It's been so long Takashi. I can't believe you are still alive. I never believed the files." The blonde said as he served them tea.
"Yeah. I have done many things I regret. But the real story there I had to take them out. It's good to see you again Hunny." He remarked genuinely. Hunny returned the smile.
"By the way, why do you have a small person with you? Is she your daughter?" Hunny asked. Mori almost choked on his tea. He was so used to her; he forgot she wasn't always there.
"Not exactly. She kind of adopted me." He answered. Hunny nodded before turning to the girl.
"Would you like some cake?" he asked happily. Mel turned and buried her face in Mori's side.
"Sorry. I guess she must be shy around strangers." Mori said putting his arm around her. He rubbed her side soothingly.
"What do you mean you guess?"
"Well I've known her less than a week." He answered truthfully. Hunny's mouth fell open and his eyes went wide. After a moment he forced himself out of it.
"Could you ask her to go play with my stuffed animal collection." He said more than asked. Mori gently pulled Mel off his side. She looked up at him.
"Little one, can you please go play. There are some nice stuffed animals over there. We have some stuff to talk about." He spoke soothingly. She nodded and jumped off the couch. Walking slowly, she turned to look at him halfway to the collection. He smiled reassuringly and she went to go play. When he turned back, Hunny was looking at him intently.
"Did you steal her?" he asked as soon as she was out of earshot. Mori burst out laughing. Mel looked back at them; he just motioned for her to continue.
"No. The last time I was being taken in, I was on a civilian craft again. It crashed on some forsaken little desert planet. Some fucked up shit lived there. Her guardian died in the crash, and I just sort of took her under my wing." He explained.
"Do you think you're the best person for this?" Hunny asked seriously. She was so little, so vulnerable.
"She had the option to go with another survivor and his fiancée. She wanted me. She needs me Hunny. More than you could ever understand." Mori spoke solemnly. He couldn't abandon her. Hunny didn't try to answer that. It seemed they had been to hell together, and he wouldn't understand that. He understood enduring hell with fellow soldiers, not some poor kid. He decided to change the subject.
"So what does she eat?" he asked trying to lighten up the mood.
"I don't know. She seems to eat what I put in front of her." He remarked. The blonde's face fell again.
"Takashi, she's not a dog. Damn. If you want to keep her, you have to learn to take care of her."
"Help me?" Mori asked. It was Hunny's turn to choke on his tea. He wasn't sure he had heard right.
"Excuse me?" he tried to clarify.
"You're right. I don't know what I am doing. I need help. You have experience with kids."
"Yeah, barely. Just get her a nanny or something."
"With who I am, the less people I interact with on a daily basis, the better." Mori responded. Hunny saw the logic in his argument. He sighed, knowing he was beaten.
"So what's your plan?" He waited patiently as Mori pulled out a piece of paper. It was a real estate ad for Irison. He looked up, waiting for more. As he detailed his plan, Mori seemed to get more excited.
"I had found it along time ago. It's a perfectly Terre formed planet. It's really cheap, even now. You can get 20 acres for around $50,000. It's out of the way, the law rarely goes there. Hell its so backwards, that the local law enforcement never interacts with the federal one. You can subsistence farm, and there are plenty of temp jobs on the bordering planets." Hunny just nodded. The plan was pretty good, there was just one problem.
"How do you plan to get that money?" he asked. Mori looked away for a moment.
"I have a bunch of temp jobs lined up. Body guarding some powerful people at some events, copiloting some off the books star tours. Within a year or two I will have enough to set up the life Mel deserves." He spoke softly. The blond looked at him intently. He was sincere.
"Ok. You can stay then." Hunny said suddenly. Mori looked up at him. "The kid needs a stable home. If you are gonna be bouncing around everywhere, it would be best if she isn't dragged. I can even help you raise that money faster. On one condition."
"Name it."
"Take me too. I'm tired of this place, and I don't want to chance bonding with the girl only to walk away. " he replied nonchalantly. Mori smiled at his friend, and Hunny couldn't help but beam in response.