When they arrived at the apartment, the tension was thick. Hana opened the door, her eyes immediately narrowing at the sight of the Kyorin heiress. Before Hana could snap, Seri dropped into a deep, formal bow—the kind usually reserved for emperors.
"Hana-san! I am incredibly sorry for my behavior!" Seri cried out, her voice muffled by the floor. "I was a coward hiding behind a title! Please forgive me for being a royal brat!"
The hallway was silent for three seconds. Then, Hana let out a snort that turned into a full, belly-aching laugh.
"Get up, Princess," Hana gasped, leaning against the doorframe. "You looked so pathetic just now that I can't even stay mad. Besides, Yuki told me why you did it. Just don't let it happen again, or I'll show you how we settle things in the slums."
Dinner that night was a beautiful disaster. Between Yuki trying to show off his "Sherlock" skills, Hana kicking him for being arrogant, and Seri trying to figure out how to eat "commoner" food without looking confused, the apartment was louder than it had been in years. Luna sat between them, watching the bickering with a quiet, happy wonder.
But the peace was short-lived.
"Tomorrow is Saturday," Hana announced, slapping a crumpled piece of paper onto the table. "Yuki, Luna, and I are going shopping. We're out of everything, and since you're a strong boy, you can carry all the heavy bags."
"I'm coming too!" Seri's voice was uncharacteristically loud, her eyes shimmering with a desperate kind of hope. After years of being told where to go and who to see, the idea of a Saturday shopping trip felt like a grand adventure.
Hana stopped in her tracks, turning slowly to eye the girl whose dress probably cost more than the entire apartment building they lived in. She raised an eyebrow, her expression skeptical. "You? In the slum markets? Princess, you'd be pickpocketed before you finished saying 'good morning.' Your perfume alone would draw every thief within a five-block radius."
Seri's face fell, but it wasn't Hana's words that stopped her. She pulled her phone from her pocket, the screen glowing with a dozen missed notifications. "Oh... I forgot." She bit her lip, her thumb hovering over the screen. "I have a mandatory meeting with the Kyorin elders tomorrow morning. They want to discuss my... 'rebellion' and the restoration of the family image."
She looked at Yuki, her green hair catching the dimming light. She didn't want to be a 'Queen' in a boardroom full of old men; she wanted to be a girl holding a grocery list next to him. The disappointment on her face was so sharp it was almost painful to look at.
"Next time, Seri-chan," Yuki promised. He stepped closer, reaching out to give her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. He felt her tingle at the touch, a small spark of Kizo jumping between them. "The markets aren't going anywhere. Go deal with the elders. Show them that 'rebellious spirit' your father was talking about."
The next morning, the sun rose over the slums like a heat lamp. The atmosphere was a chaotic symphony: the rhythmic shouting of vendors, the sizzle of mystery meats on skewers, and the thick, humid scent of too many people packed into too little space.
Hana led the way like a general, her grocery list gripped in her hand like a battle plan. Luna trailed behind, holding onto Yuki's hand, her eyes wide as she watched a street performer juggle rusted knives.
"We need rice, oil, and enough protein to keep you from fainting during that mountain training," Hana directed, her eyes scanning the stalls for the best prices. "And don't even think about asking for those expensive snacks, Yuki. We're on a budget."
"Actually," Yuki interrupted, his voice dropping into a more serious tone. He stopped in front of a cramped electronics stall where ancient CRT monitors were stacked like burial mounds. "I want to buy some furniture for the apartment. And a TV for Luna."
Luna's head whipped around, her eyes dinner-plate wide. Her eyes landed on the TV that Yuki was looking at, she felt a bit excited.
Hana stopped dead in her tracks, turning to face him with her hands on her hips. "With what money, Sherlock? You haven't had a job in weeks, and I know for a fact your savings are down to double digits."
Yuki reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a weathered envelope. "I have some left over. From the amount my older brother gave me before... before I left home."
The mention of his brother caused a momentary lapse in the noise around them. Even Hana went quiet. They all knew that money was the last physical link Yuki had to his past. He had guarded it like a holy relic.
"I was saving it for a 'real' emergency," Yuki continued, looking at the small, dark apartment they called home in his mind's eye. "But making our house feel like a place where Luna can be happy... making it feel like a home... isn't that an emergency too?"
Hana's tough exterior cracked. She looked at Yuki, then at the hopeful, shimmering eyes of Luna. She sighed, her shoulders dropping. "Fine. But we're bargaining. If I don't see that vendor crying by the time we're done, we paid too much."
The next hour was a masterclass in slum survival. Hana haggled with a ferocity that made Yuki fear for the shopkeeper. By the end of it, they had arranged for a modest flat-screen and a sturdy wooden table to be delivered the following day.
As they moved deeper into the market, Yuki stopped at an optician's stall. His old glasses were destroyed.
"I can finally see the world in 4K again," Yuki joked, sliding on a pair of thin, silver-rimmed frames he found in a discount bin.
"Absolutely not," Hana said. Before he could even blink, she snatched them off his face.
"Hey! I'm legally blind!" Yuki protested, reaching out blindly into the air.
"You look like a nerd who's about to ask me about his math homework," Hana countered, tucking the glasses into her own pocket with a smirk. "You've spent the last few days looking like a warrior. You look way better without them. Just squint if you have to, or use that 'observation' skill you're so proud of."
Yuki grumbled, his vision a slight blur, but he didn't fight her. There was a strange confidence growing in him that didn't require the shield of his lenses anymore.
They passed a specialized body-art stall, the air inside smelling of antiseptic and metallic ink. Hana's eyes lit up. "Ooh! I've been wanting to get my ears pierced for ages. I finally saved up enough for the good studs."
Luna chirped, jumping up and down. She pointed at the silver star piercings.
Yuki couldn't say no. He watched as Hana got two clean studs, her face stoic despite the pinch. Luna went next, her small hand gripping Yuki's tightly as the piercer put two tiny silver stars in her lobes. She beamed, her reflection in the small mirror making her look like she'd won a prize.
Then, the two of them turned toward Yuki. It was a coordinated movement, a predatory glint appearing in both their eyes.
"Your turn, handsome" Hana smirked, gesturing to the leather chair.
"No. Absolutely not. I draw the line at needles," Yuki said, backing away. "I'm a Zero. I'm supposed to be low-profile."
Luna looked up at him, her new stars shimmering. Her eyes literally said, "Please, let's be shiny together."
It took twenty minutes of begging and a headlock from Hana, but Yuki finally sat in the chair. The piercer worked with clinical precision. The piercer, a man with more tattoos than skin, looked at Yuki's face and nodded. "You've got a sharp jawline, kid. Let's give you something that fits that 'wolf' look you've got going on."
Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap.
The pain was a sharp, cold sting. When Yuki finally stood up and looked in the mirror, he barely recognized himself. His ears were decorated with a silver conch in the middle, a tragus on the inner cartilage, and a double helix curving along the top rim. The silver caught the harsh market lights, glinting against his dark, messy hair.
Without his glasses, his striking blue eyes were fully exposed, framed by the rebellious flash of the metal. He didn't look like a student anymore. He looked like a threat—someone who had survived the slums and lived to tell the tale, he was like an idol.
Hana went to say something snarky, but the words died in her throat. Her face turned a violent shade of red, and she looked away quickly, coughing into her hand. "Whatever. You still look like an idiot. Let's just go home before you decide to get a tattoo next."
Luna, however, clapped her hands in pure joy. She grabbed Yuki's hand, her own silver stars matching his new silver steel.
As they walked back through the crowded market, Yuki noticed people moving out of his way. They weren't moving because he was a Kinatarou or because he had Kizo. They were moving because he looked like someone they shouldn't mess with. The "Zero" was starting to fade, replaced by something much more dangerous. He was handsome, Angel-like, most people were intimidated.