— — — — — —
Kira already knew he wasn't getting out of this.
If it's fate, there's no dodging it. If it's trouble, it'll find you anyway.
So why fight it?
He took a deep breath. "Fine. Let's see where this goes."
With that, he strode straight into the bamboo forest.
The moment he crossed the line of green, the light around him dimmed.
No—It didn't dim. It changed.
"The sun…?" Kira looked up. The blazing daylight had vanished, replaced by a vast night sky bathed in silver. A full moon hung above, flooding the bamboo grove in cold, shimmering light.
"The moon's up…?" he muttered. "And a bamboo forest like this…"
His brow twitched. "Don't tell me…"
Moonlight. Bamboo. The quiet, surreal atmosphere.
He didn't even need to think hard to recognize this setup.
With a resigned sigh, Kira followed the glow deeper into the grove.
Because how could he miss that—a single bamboo stalk at the center of it all, shining with divine brilliance, bathed in a soft lunar glow?
There was only one place to go.
He rubbed his forehead. "Seriously… I really don't want to be part of this nonsense."
But when fate decides to mess with you, it doesn't ask for permission. He couldn't fight it. Might as well play along.
"Guess that means I'll have some real backing from now on," he said under his breath, striding forward.
A few long steps later, he stood before the radiant stalk. With a flick of his wrist, his hand became a blade, and he brought it down cleanly.
The bamboo split in two, bursting open with a blinding golden light.
"Whoa. That's… a lot of gold." Kira squinted at the gleaming pile inside. "Maybe I can get enough to rebuild my whole city, maybe twice over."
But the gold wasn't what caught his attention.
Lying atop it was a tiny baby girl, delicate as a doll—pink lips, snow-white skin, and long black hair spilling gently across the blanket.
Even at a glance, he knew she wasn't human.
Wrapped snugly in a silk swaddle, a small jade plaque rested on her chest, carved with: "Kaguya Houraisan."
Kira froze. Then sighed again. "I knew it."
That name. That setup. The moonlight. The bamboo.
Everything fit perfectly. There was no mistaking it.
The runaway princess of the Lunar Capital. The bamboo princess. The NEET shut-in herself.
Kaguya-hime.
[Kaguya's Image]
He stared at the tiny baby and groaned. "Honestly, of all the stories to get pulled into… yours was the last I wanted to deal with."
The baby said nothing, only blinking those impossibly clear black eyes, as if playing her role perfectly.
"Yeah, drop the act," Kira muttered.
He crouched down, leaning closer. "I already have a pretty good idea who you are. Mind telling me why ME?"
Because there was no way this was random.
There were millions of places in the world, and yet she just happened to appear in the bamboo grove inside his ruined city? No shot that was coincidence.
The baby only tilted her head slightly, eyes round and innocent.
"Kaguya-hime," Kira said flatly, picking her up. He sat cross-legged on the ground, holding her in one arm.
"Waaah~"
The baby let out a textbook infant cry.
"Don't even try that." Kira rolled his eyes.
"Kaguya Houraisan," he said again, more firmly. "I know the rough outline of your story. So tell me straight—what's going on?"
He exhaled. "I'm just the heir of a city in ruins. What could possibly make you interested in me?"
"With your background, you could've easily descended into Heian-kyo, or found some big-name onmyoji family to take you in."
He still couldn't believe what was happening. And really, what was there to hide?
She was literally born in his territory. There was no point pretending ignorance. Better to get answers.
Because behind this "bamboo princess" was no ordinary power.
Her guardian, Eirin Yagokoro, was one of the strongest, close friend of the moon god Tsukuyomi, and co-founder of the Lunar Capital itself.
So yeah. He wasn't exactly dealing with a lightweight here.
But that only made it more confusing.
Why him?
Did they run a background check? Decide he was "suitable"? Based on what?
Then the baby's lips moved. "Father… please forgive this unfilial daughter."
The voice that came out was crystalline, melodic, and absurdly beautiful—enough to make anyone shout "kawaii"
But Kira's eyebrow twitched. "Oh, so you can talk."
Kaguya leaned softly against his chest, lifting her tiny face to look up at him. Even with that infant form, her expression carried a strange grace.
"Since you already know, Father," she said sweetly, "there's no point in keeping up the act."
"So tell me," Kira said, narrowing his eyes. "Why me?"
He looked down at her face, completely at a loss. What could she possibly see in him?
Kaguya's lips curved, or tried to—it came out more as an adorably smug baby smile.
"If I were to say it was all chance, Father, would you…"
"Don't even finish that sentence," Kira cut her off, deadpan, his eyes flat as a fish.
She gave a small laugh. "I thought so. You wouldn't believe me anyway."
Her tone softened. "But it's true that, after searching through countless possibilities, I chose you. You were the most… suitable."
"Suitable," Kira repeated, skeptical.
Kaguya's gaze shimmered faintly under the moonlight. "After all, I've never known what it feels like to be loved by a father. So I thought… maybe this time, I could experience real parental affection."
Kira stared at her for a long, silent moment.
Then sighed again, long and low. "Great. Just great. Out of all the beings in existence, I get adopted by a runaway moon princess looking for 'fatherly love.'"
He tilted his head back toward the glowing moon overhead.
"Yep," he muttered. "I'm so screwed."
.
.
.