The sound of a gong being hit reveberates throughout the hollow stone corridors, which signals to the residents that it was time to rise and shine.
"Hey…Haru you should wake up," A voice suggests as they gently shake a brunette girl in the fetal position.
An "ugh" emits from the little girl before the voice claims, "You know they won't like it if we are late to line up."
A mere few seconds passed by when the wooden door flew open to reveal a silver haired male, who toted an illegally acquired military grade weapon.
"Why aren't you bastards lined up?!" He angrily barks out once he notices that the children fail to properly greet him in an orderly fashion.
"Rattle", "Rattle", "Rattle" The children, except for one, quickly scramble to form a line and recite, "Good morning, Mister Yui."
The man name, Mister Yui, silently counted out the designated number that was assigned to the room. However, he came up short by just one child.
"What's the deal with all this loud noise?" A voice from behind the children grumbles, which cause their attention to turn toward that child.
Yui narrows his sights in on the brunette girl, who sleepily rubs her eyes as she stands next to the child on the far left side.
"I should have known that it was you...my rebellious spring child." He claims while he draws closer to the little girl.
Haru stifles a yawn with one of her hands, which causes the chains that dangle from her wrist cuffs to jingle.
"I cannot allow any more of your transgressions to occur, spring." Yui firmly states with a "tsk" of his tongue and a shake of his head.
She directs her chocolate brown orbs at the man's face once he reaches his hand down and latches it around the metallic collar.
"Come child." He states as he proceeds to forcefully drag the brunette against the cobblestone floor, which was sure to leave bruises and scratches on her body.
Yui briefly pauses for a minute prior to his departure from the room only to mutter to himself, "I think I'm forgetting something."
He snaps his fingers once the thought surfaces to his mind, digs inside of pocket, and tosses a loaf of bread at the children.
The group was wildly scrambling to secure the loaf of bread senselessly attacking each other for what was their normal serving size for breakfast.
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"Let Haru go!" Haru yelled as she she kicked and screamed while being dragged across cobblestone by the older man.
The guards simply watch as their superior discipline one of the many children that was place under his watch.
"It looks like the rowdy brunette again." One of the guards whispers under their breath once one of them registers the identity of the child.
"How many times does that make this week?" The other one asks with an expression of irritation displays on her face.
Yui comes to a stop once he reaches their destination. He produces a set of keys that unlock the lock on the door, pushes it forward, and enters inside of the room.
The silver haired male then gently tosses the little girl further inside of the dark dampen room as the little girl lets out an "oof" upon collision with the ground.
"Why do you constantly throw my kindness back in my face?!" He angrily grips at the little girl, who recovers from the rough housing.
"Answer me spring!" Yui orders as his voice rises to assert his dominance over the child as she props herself upright.
Haru's face contorts to display defiance as she remains silent rather than supply an answer to the male that hovers over her.
'Why is this child so driven to challenge my authority?' He thinks as his anger starts to build and flexes his hand from a fist to a palm.
A stinging sensation from the side of her face was still not enough for the stubborn brunette to respond to the question.
"You will learn to obey or suffer the consequences, spring." He adamantly claims as he exits from the room and locks the little girl inside.
Haru brings her knees close to her chest, starts to rock back and forward, and mutters, "I will never obey you. I will gain my freedom from this hell!"
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"I swear that child works my last nerve." The man grunted aloud as he continued to flex the very hand that just struck a little girl.
"Sir how long do you plan on keeping that tyrant in our possession?" A man with knee length blonde hair inquires upon the arrival of Yui.
Yui immediately cuts his eyes at the man and gravely inquires, "By tyrant? Do you mean my precious spring, Katsumi?"
"I do believe the child's name is…" He pauses to check the clipboard in his hand, searches for the name and discloses, "Miura, Haru".
The silver haired male releases a deep sigh of frustration before he admits, "That child does have an uncanny knack to ruffle my feathers."
"So why don't you get rid of her as you do the other troublemakers?" The blonde questions his superior about his motives for the little girl.
"You really do like to hassle me for simplistic measures that I take for this kind of business that we are in." Yui irritably mentions with a slight roll of his eyes.
Katsumi pushes his glasses back on to the bridge of his nose before he declares, "I am more than aware of what business we are in."
"I was hired by your father to make sure you make the right choice so that you can succeed his position as Boss of this Famiglia." He says to the silver haired male that stands to his left.
Yui releases yet another sigh of frustration before he recalls, "You don't have to remind me as to who and why you were hired."
"I was there when he made the selection to choose you as a potential Underboss once I inherit my future position." He reminds his associate with a "humph" of his presence.
"Yet, I do believe that spring will bloom to be a very beautiful young woman." He sincerely disclosed the reason why has not eliminated the young brunette child.
Katsumi quirks an eyebrow at the silver haired male once he processes the reason behind his choice to keep this specific young girl under his watch.
"As you know I am quite the patient man…" Yui firmly admits with an expression of determination present on his face.
'This will be interesting to watch play out.' The blonde concludes about the potential development of the brunette girl.
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"Drip" "Drip" "Drip" the sound of water trickles from the roof and onto the floor as it seems to soothe the little girl's anger.
The brunette haired girl slowly stretches out the entire length of her body against the cold floor as the temperature seems to ease the stinging sensation from her bruises.
'This room is darker than the one Haru's usually thrown in.' She notes about the change of the detention room.
A draft of wind catches her attention, which could mean that this room was either near an open window or there was no heat in the area.
'How did Haru end up here?' She wonders while she stares straight ahead at what she assumes is one of the four walls.
An image of her twin size bed decorated with various odd plush animals and a multicolored polka dot comforter materialized in front of her.
A slightly older man, who she identifies as her father, appears concern about something since he paces in front of her.
It was a constant habit that she would later learn that should cause her to worry about her father and his health.
"Haru…" his voice sounds shaky as if he was nervous about something that was out of his control. "Papa needs for you to be a big girl now."
"Can you do that for me?" He inquires with his hands on both sides of her shoulders while he stares deeply in her eyes.
The confused brunette nodded her head when the sound of knocks instantly caught her father's attention.
She watches as her father swiftly disappears behind her bedroom door before the sound of footsteps can be heard.
"Is the child in her room?" A mysterious voice requests as a "Yes, she is in the room" prompts her to panic as the footsteps draw closer and closer.
Haru ducks underneath her bed at the sound of her doorknob rattles, which causes her to clasp her hands over her ears.
The sight of multiple feet enters in her line of vision when a voice chides, "Where are you, spring?"
She then shifts one of her hands from over her ears to her mouth so she would not utter a sound that would give her position away.
Haru watches the skirt that covers the bed shifts to the left and reveals a rather young man with silver hair.
"Ah, there you are…" His voice sounds calm as he coaxes the little girl out from underneath the bed with a warm smile.
"Now why would a pretty girl such as yourself hide your beauty from the world?" The man wonders after he squats to her level.
A small blush surfaces to the brunette's face while she conceals her eyes with her bangs only to have them sweep aside.
Haru then feels a soft hand underneath her chin, which forces her to stare the man in his face as he speaks, "That's much better."
The sight of her father sends a sense of relief to wash over her body after she dashes from in front of the man.
She defiantly stands behind her father's legs as she uses them as a shield to guard her from the silver haired male.
"You really do have a beautiful little girl, Miura-san." The male asserts once he releases a sigh, stands to his length and sets his sights on the brunette toddler.
"Thank you, Yui." Her father thanks the man while one of his hands settle against the crown of his daughter's head.
The man, name Yui, extends one of his hands outwards, which prompts the little girl to stare up at her father.
A warm smile stretches across his face as he steps aside and gently pushes Haru in the direction of the silver haired male.
She slightly hesitates while she draws closer to the strange man. The brunette child slowly lifts her arms so that her hands can meet his.
"I will make sure to real good care of her…" Yui firmly asserts once he secures the toddler's hand within his grasps.
He then proceeds to guide the brunette toddler down the set of steps, out of the household and to a black car.
Yui secures the little girl, Haru, in the seatbelt, faces her father and mentions, "Also Miura-san, do remember that your daughter has now inherited your debt to my family."
"I am well aware of…" He somberly admits, which earns a head nod from the young man as he disappears inside of the car.