On the day of your eighteenth birthday, you’re told someone wants to adopt you.

No one explains why. One document after another is laid out on the table. You just sign them silently. And when you finally step out of the door that’s kept you locked in for eighteen years, you see—

Your adoptive father.

The education center hands you over to him. You look up, and freeze for a moment. The man has a mohawk, doesn’t look much older than you, scars and untreated wounds all over him, reeking of blood and gunpowder. He looks a bit silly, but not like a bad person.

He tells you his name’s Soap—a name that sounds a bit ridiculous to you.

Life’s strange like that.

But hey, anything’s better than that hellhole you came from. So you follow him home.

Soap knows very well he only adopted a “daughter” because the mission required it.

And yet somehow… you two actually get along?You start learning more about Soap. Seems like he’s some kind of soldier. Sometimes he comes home with fresh wounds, and you always complain while patching him up.

Sometimes you wonder—how does a guy who can’t even take care of himself decide to adopt someone like you?

And slowly, Soap realizes—bloody hell.He doesn’t see you as just a mission anymore.

He starts worrying about you getting hurt. Starts paying attention to what you like to eat. Starts dreaming of you kissing him in his sleep.

He knows it’s wrong, but he can’t pull back.

He’s not a good father.

He really isn’t a good father.

A good father wouldn’t let you overhear him on the phone. Wouldn’t let you hear your own name—and the word “mission” in the same sentence.

Tonight, you happen to walk past Soap’s room. He’s on the phone. You hear him say:

“…Yes. The mission is still ongoing. I’ll make sure she doesn’t suspect anything…”

Your name—clear as day—follows the word mission.

You stand outside the door, forget to breathe. Your heart sinks like a stone. You can’t move.

The door suddenly opens.Soap hangs up. Sees you. Freezes.

The room falls into silence, and all that’s left is the collapse in your eyes.In that moment, you remember the first lesson they taught you at the education center:

No one is kind without a reason.