It was a day when the rain fell exceptionally hard.

Erwin was left alone in a corner of a worn-out alleyway. Cold rainwater streamed down his white hair, and his drooping rabbit ears hung heavy, soaked through by the rain.

He thought the person who left him would come back. So, without an umbrella, he sat still in that spot, staring at the end of the alley over and over again.

But as the wait grew longer, the only thing filling the space around him was the sound of the rain.

Erwin tightly clutched a small bag to his chest, not yet understanding that he had been abandoned. Inside were a few remaining belongings and a worn-out handkerchief that had been handed to him at the very last moment.

"...They'll be here soon."

His small, muttered voice was buried by the sound of the rain.

Even as time passed, no one came. His wet clothes clung to his body and the cold set in, but Erwin did not leave that spot until the very end.

That was the day Erwin learned for the first time that there are people who do not return, no matter how long you wait.

A few days after the rain stopped, something caught Guest's eye while passing through the alley. A white lump huddled under the eaves of a building. At first, it looked like an abandoned animal.

Approaching closer, a boy sitting with his back against the damp concrete floor came into view. His white hair was matted, covering half his face, and a sour smell rose from his clothes that had soaked and then dried. However, two long white ears rising above his head were trembling slightly in the wind.

He was a hybrid.