Trepidation shuddered through his body as he watched the investigators remove their coats to begin their search. Two of them separated from Larry, who remained stationed, and made their way upstairs with hands grasping their guns, a clear indication that they were cautious of someone ensnaring them.

Leaving his partners to do the grunt work, Larry stalked into their breakfast room, eyeing the family with an eerily wide smile. Baru and Ami scampered close to their mother and tugged at her clothing, seeking some reassurance. Noticing their frightened, twisted lips, Aoi caressed their heads and pulled them closer.

"It's going to be fine," she kissed them both on the foreheads as she sternly met Larry's eyes. He let out a fake cough, attempting to clear his throat while bowing at them to break the awkward silence.

"I assure you there's nothing to be afraid of," Larry said with a light tone, then added more grimly, "If we don't find anything, that is. But I've known your father for a few years, and I doubt we'll find anything related to the case." Although his remark was meant to soothe them, it only fueled more questions and fears in Baru's innocent, childish mind.

If we don't find anything, that is? What does he mean by that? What would he do if he found something? What then? Baru's forehead tensed with distress until his father marched into the room with a protective grimace.

"Ahem," Kenzo grumbled, pulling his family close to him. "Larry, why aren't you inspecting with the others?"

Larry shrugged and sat on an empty chair facing the opposite direction it was intended to be used. He was taking the term "Make yourself at home" quite literally.

"Hmph, they can do the investigating without me. There's really no need for three people to do it at the same time. I'd rather talk with the family of the residence; it's standard protocol," he stated, then glanced at Ami, who was half-hidden by her mother's body. "Say, little girl, do you know why we're here?" he smiled, a horrifying undertone noticeable in his question.

Ami held her tongue, shuddering with fear as she moved behind her mother, almost in an attempt to hide from the man.

"Guess that's a no," he chuckled. "Not that I expected you to know either; I'm sure your parents just want you to live a peaceful life here. Hell, even I'm envious."

Baru didn't know why Larry was trying to act friendly with them, but something told him to be cautious, regardless of his friendly demeanor. Something about him seems wrong, and I don't know what it is.

"Anyway," Larry yawned before continuing. "Hopefully, once we figure out the reason why Monsters haven't attacked the village in so long, it'll help this place become a new safe haven. Maybe even a city, perhaps. Just imagine all the lives that could be saved if we—"

"Tsk…" Kenzo clicked his tongue condescendingly, his nose twitching with a scowl, while Larry raised an eyebrow at him.

"What was that?" Larry bluntly stared at Baru's father. "Did you find my words amusing? Funny perhaps?"

"It's nothing…" Kenzo shrugged as he turned his head to the window, staring off into the distance, his eyes obscured in thought. Baru wondered what was going on in his father's brain to react that way. He was scared of the investigator, but the words themselves posed no problem; even Baru could recognize that. But yet, his father had almost thought it was funny. Almost as if it were ironic.

Why? He stared at his father's eyes as they remained dull and distanced. He's hiding something. Something only he knows. I want to figure it out… His eyes shined with genuine curiosity despite the grim atmosphere that the inspectors had created.

After long minutes of eerie silence, Baru finally heard the squeaking of wooden stairs as the other two inspectors returned downstairs. "We couldn't find anything," remarked one with a suppressed deep voice. Baru eyed the man, feeling a shiver run down his spine from an unknown reaction.

This investigator had thin, long black hair that extended all the way down to his chest, and a large fedora hat obscured half of his head, making it difficult to discern his features. It almost seemed like the man was trying to avoid his gaze. After observing the investigator with the unusually long black hair, Baru decided not to dwell on it too much and turned his attention to the other inspector.

Unlike his colleague, this man was hatless and easily distinguishable. With a rough beard, he coldly looked at Baru as if warning him to look away. Baru submitted to his intimidating stare and looked back at Larry.

"Well…" Larry began, "I told you guys there was no need to worry so much. We just needed to do a little check, that's all."

"It appears so," his father said, almost surprised that they hadn't discovered the secret basement. "If that's all, could you please see out the guests?"

With a gulp of anxiety, Baru reluctantly nodded and showed the three men out of the house.

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"I appreciate your cooperation, young man. Have a good day," Larry said, dipping his head as he stepped out the front door. The investigator with the rough beard followed soon after, leaving the long black-haired man last.

His features still obscured, the man paused as he stepped out of the house, then suddenly stopped midway as if he wanted to say something.

"Huh?" Baru tilted his head, unable to close the door because the man was blocking it. "Do you need something, Mr.?"

"No," the man replied, his back to Baru, "Just sorry…"

Baru blinked. "Huh? Why are you apologizing..." His voice trailed off as the long-haired investigator walked away from him, holding his fedora against the fierce wind and rain.

"Hey…" Baru stuttered, reaching out his hand as he watched the strange man hop into the car and soon disappear from sight. The only thing that remained was his vacantly raised hand, still attempting to catch the attention of someone long gone.

"Just sorry?" Baru murmured, his hand slowly lowering as he realized the man had truly left. "What...does that mean?" he asked himself as a gust of wind and rain hit his face. Larry had exuded an eerie aura the moment he walked in, while the bearded fellow seemed colder than anything. However, the long-haired man was neither of those—it almost seemed like he was sympathetic.

"Oi, Baru, close the door. The wind and rain are getting into the house!" Kenzo called out with a hint of irritation and fretfulness in his voice. It took a couple of seconds for Baru to process his words, but he eventually swung the door shut, still facing it even after closing. Noticing his son's odd behavior, Kenzo, while nervous himself, sought to understand what was troubling him.

"Baru?" he said, resting his hand on the young boy's shoulder. Lifting his head to meet his father's eyes, Baru felt a tear form. His vision grew blurry and hot, but he couldn't allow himself to cry again. Better yet, he wasn't sure why he felt the urge to cry in the first place. A wave of emotions overcame him as he watched the black-haired investigator leave.

Why do I want to cry? Why do I feel sad?

"Baru, are you scared? Don't worry, I understand. I'll protect you. Those were the same people I warned you about before—"

"I… I was scared," Baru interrupted, "but that's not why I'm crying…"

"Why are you crying then?"

"I don't know why," he admitted, a tear splashing onto the floor, his voice choked with emotion. "I just feel like… like someone's abandoning me again."

"Again?" Kenzo echoed as he knelt on the floor, reaching both his hands to grasp his shoulders solemnly. "What do you mean?"

Baru stared blankly, his eyes tedious and despairing. "I… I… don't know." He gripped his own shirt unconsciously.

My heart hurts. Why does it hurt so much? He couldn't stop crying at that moment. It felt like he had a reason, too, but he couldn't find it in his memory. I don't understand. It feels like someone stabbed my heart, but no matter how hard I try, I can't remember it.

His father sighed, slowly stroking his hair to comfort him. "You don't need a reason to cry. Everyone has different levels of stress they can take, but that doesn't mean you're inferior to them in any way. Stay true to yourself. Cry if you feel like it, smile if you want to, and express your anger if you have a good reason to. These emotions are different and similar to each other in many ways. Some affect you, like crying, and some affect others, like anger. Choose wisely how you want to show them, but promise me one thing…" his father looked deeply into his eyes, "Never fake them…" His grip tightened, "Emotions make us human… without them, we are no different than the monsters who kill us. Remember, always stay true to yourself, this world needs that more than anything. There are enough lies already to keep those who are at the top, protected."

Baru's tears came to a halt as he searched for words to respond. His father had never spoken to him this way before. The deep significance behind the words was oddly comforting, although he still couldn't fully understand them.

"Come, Baru," Kenzo stood up and walked away from the front door to the bottom of the stairs, signaling his son to follow. "It's about time I showed you something…"

Peering closer, Baru gaped in confusion as his father bent down to grasp the bottom staircase. With a slight grin, Kenzo persisted in lifting the first step with a low grunt of effort. A loud creak echoed through the house as the first flights of stairs opened like a treasure chest, revealing a hidden entrance to the secret basement. Wiping the remnants of his tears, Baru's sadness was overshadowed by a wave of curiosity and anticipation. His eye bags were hot and red from his tears as he approached the entrance in excitement.

"I want to see it too!" Ami exclaimed, hopping from the breakfast table to join them. Before she could proceed, Aoi grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"No, you may not go down there," she sternly told her daughter.

"But why can big brother go and I can't—"

"You're too young to go there, no exceptions!"

"He's only a year older than me! That's not fair…" Ami pouted with a frown. Baru had to admit it didn't quite make sense why his parents were allowing him to go and not his sister.

"I'll take you down there one day," Kenzo promised, "but today is not that day." With those words, his father gazed down the entrance and flicked a switch, illuminating the path down with artificial lights. The path seemed more like a tunnel with steps rather than a modern basement. But Baru should've expected that, given his father had built everything from scratch.

"Follow me," his father instructed, entering the hole and walking down the jagged path.

Giving his sister a sympathetic glance, Baru didn't think twice and followed his old man. Once he entered, the staircase automatically shut, as if by a mechanism of some sort.

"Yes, I made that, too," his father noticed Baru's curiosity. Since I'm a tech engineer, I learned a few things in my studies over the years. That also includes the infrastructure of homes and how they operate," he explained while walking down the steps. "However, I had to learn them separately. The mechanics of houses are far different than the standard tech that I was used to, so it was a massive learning curve even to create this."

"It's amazing…" Baru breathed. The tunnel leading down was more of a tunnel than he had thought. The ceiling above him was comprised of real soil that had been dug up to create the path, now dry and solid—bulbs of lights lined from above, reaching all the way to the end.

Reaching the conclusion of the ragged stairs, Baru and his father were met with a solid steel door. Beside the entrance was a keypad of numbers, presumably only opening once the correct combination was entered. Without hesitation, Kenzo swiftly put in the correct order of numbers, the door giving a slight jolt as it unlocked.

Grabbing the handle, his father paused and looked at him intently.

"Tell no one what you see after this point on…"