There sitting atop a small table were multiple mouthwatering meals that has ever existed in this vast world. These delightful delicacies consisted of the seaweed wrapped sushi, the golden deep-fried tempura, the fragrant pork curry with rice, the five sauced tender yakitori and the large bowl of gyudon sitting in the middle of the entire thing. However, despite how mouthwatering these looked, the dark-haired woman that sat before all this just starred down at them with narrowed and worried eyes as she let out a silent whine.
"What's the matter?"
This made the very woman snap out of her thoughts and turn towards the source, her gaze meets with the young brunette she had just met earlier. Currently, both she and the boy were now sitting on one of the very few tables the building has provided, presumably a restaurant perhaps. As for the little pup, whom the brunette was accompanied by was for some reason nowhere to be seen.
Probably due to the building's policies of pet restrictions.
"You don't like it? If not, then I'll just-"
"No, please don't get the wrong idea!" The young lady said reassuringly with her two hands raised in defense. Lowering them down, the same for her head and her gaze, she continued "It's just that, I feel really bad for you. I'm quite thankful that I won't be needing to worry about paying that apple merchant from earlier, really I am. But you paying for that, in addition to all this, don't you think this is a litte too much? We're just strangers to you."
"I see, to tell you honestly, I'm not so sure myself either" the boy sighed, confusing the young woman a bit. "All I can say I guess is that I just thought it's the right thing to do, that's why. Besides, you said it yourself, you guys don't have any money. Plus, I can tell that none of you haven't eaten anything yet from this morning."
With a hand hovering above her lips, she said in a quite shocked tone "Huh? Oh my! How can you tell?"
"Well..." Indra trailed off as he lifted a hand to scratch the back of his hair. "I too haven't had breakfast this morning myself, so yeah!" He laughed nervously as beads of sweat appeared at the back of his head.
"Is that so!" The lady chuckled at how pathetic he may have looked. "In that case, why don't you dig in as well?"
Hearing this, the boy then shot the woman a surprised look.
"You did pay all this after all. I would be much more comfortable now when you're eating along with me."
Indra opened his mouth and was about to say something. That's when suddenly, he felt something tug on a few strands of his long hair, causing him to hiss in pain. Twisting his head a bit to follow those very specific strands towards his right, what he found was a widely grinning little toddler with tiny hands tightly holding on to his brown locks.
"Now, now you! Haven't you caused enough trouble already?!" The Woman scolded, towards the child obviously. "Quit bothering him, come back here right now you!"
"I won't, I won't!" Said kid whined in protest, getting up to take a seat atop the older boy's right lap.
The grown woman was indeed very irritated when she heard her own child talking back at her, causing her to pout, silently growl and shoot a glare at the little roach.
"Don't worry, Miss. It's alright! Your kid can sit here, if the little guy wants to that is!" Indra smiled reassuringly, only to silently yelp when the so called "little guy" giggled and pulled the strands that framed the right side of his face. "Besides, I'm quite used to it myself, watching over little ttroublemakers like this one right here and all."
"Uh huh?" The child's mother hummed and nodded in disbelief. "Are you sure about that, Young Man? Because that little package can be a bit of a handful!"
"Figured!"
The sounds of crunching noises accompanied by loud smacking sounds had caught the boy's attention. Dropping his head to where he assumed the sounds were coming from, he then discovered that the little toddler sitting on his lap had managed to grab ahold of two tempuras in each hands and was now loudly chewing the deep-fried breaded shrimp.
"No, no, no! Don't chew with your mouth open and don't eat so fast, you're going to end up choking!" Indra scolded, but he said those words in a gentle and worried tone.
The child only innocently starred up at the boy with those dark and adorable beady eyes. But surprisingly, the toddler obliged, closed that gaping mouth and continued to chew with mouth now closed. However, the brunette noticed that there was still food in each of those tiny hands.
"And use your chopsticks too, here!"
He then picked up said item, presuming that the toddler was still unable to use such equipment. Snapping their interconnected heads apart, he then used them to take one of the sushi and drew it close to the younger child's mouth.
"Say ahhh!"
Once again, the child obliged and opened said mouth wide open. Placing the sushi into the child's mouth, the youngster then immediately shuts the gaping hole and began to chew. Soon after, the young child then let out a cheerful moan as the kid continued to chew.
Seeing this, the older boy couldn't help but smile ang chuckle on how adorable the toddler was.
"The man from earlier!"
The words made Indra turn his head towards the source of the very voice, which sounded like it was full and muffled, and made him assume it came from the older woman. His dark eyes were then met with the child's mother. But this time, her mouth was puffed up in comparison to a chipmunk's, a bowl of curry in one hand and a pair of chopsticks in the other.
Indra was internally relieved to see that the woman is now finally eating.
Gulping down the contents in her mouth, she continued "He called you 'Young Master', what did he mean by that?"
"Oh, my Father is actually the head of this village, that's why. I pass through here a lot, so people tend to know and immediately recognize me" he replied, took one of the pieces of beef of the gyudon for himself and tossed it in his mouth.
Once information the boy had shared reached the woman's ears, she nearly choked on her food.
"Y-You're this village leader's son?! No wonder!" Swallowing down the second time, she added "I'm deeply sorry if we're not well aware of that. You see, me and my kid are actually not from around here."
"I noticed!" He calmly said, feeding another piece of beef to the toddler without breaking his eye contact with the woman before him. "Just as I have mentioned, people will immediately recognize me. In addition, I know a whole lot of people in this village, and I definitely have not seen any of you around here."
"You're right, because we arrived in this village just this morning. We are actually wandering merchants, and we hoped to at least earn a profit here. But sadly, as always, bad luck was always by our side wherever we go. And so far, the incident with the apple seller is by far the worst case of how misfortunate we are."
"Now that makes much more sense, that means the both of you are likely broke at the very moment" Indra said, his tone and eyes were narrowed with worry and pity.
Sighing deeply and in defeat, she whined "Yeah, pathetic aren't I?"
Hearing the woman's story, guilt immediately filled Indra's body. Who wouldn't be? Well, it actually only happens to a kind-hearted person the same as he who hears such sad tale that is. It was even clear in the boy's features, small eyebrows slanted in worry, his dark eyes now filled with so much sadness and his lips in a deep frown.
But his expression suddenly changed into a confused one when he felt a slight tug on the sleeve of his right shoulder. Looking down, his gaze was then met with a widely grinning and giggling child beneath him, making him realize that he had nearly forgotten that the adorable little package was still sitting on his lap. He as well realized that despite how happy the squirt looked, there were tiny crumbs and rice grains all over the kid's cheeks, chin and lips.
Seeing how cheerful this little toddler looked, and filthy of course, once again, the brunette cannot resist to curve a smile on his own lips as well.
Letting out a breath, he softly smiled "You're face is a mess!"
He then took out a clean handkerchief from out of his sleeve.
"Hear, let's get you cleaned up, so hold still!" He added as he proceeded to use the cloth to brush away the food bits stuck to the kid's face.
Shockingly once more, the toddler slightly nodded with a hum in understanding, obeyed the superior and sat at his lap motionless like a statue.
"I'm quite surprised that you're really good at handling kids for a boy your age."
This made Indra look back at the woman, whom he presumed was the one whom said that.
"Tell me, how old are you, Young Master?"
"Uhhh...You don't really need to call me that!" Indra muttered with a large sweat drop appearing at the back of his head. "Anyway, I'm actually yen years old. Just like I said, I'm very used to handling kids far younger than I am."
"Oh, so does that mean you have younger sibblings yourself?"
"Why yes! One younger brother to be exact. Just like this little squirt over here, he can be a bit of a handful, and he too does not always stay out of trouble. But I love that little dunce no matter what, it is my job as his older brother after all."
"Oh my, I really like your enthusiasm, kid! I'm guessing you'll become a fine gentleman when you grow up, I wonder how proud your mother must've been when she raised you."
It was as if a sharp pain had stabbed him right at the heart upon hearing the woman's words. His eyes shot wide open, his breath had hitched and the corner of his lip twitched a bit, but the wideness in his dark eyes then slowly melted into a depressing one as he dropped his head and moved his gaze to the side, probably to avoid meeting eye to eye with the woman. The same feeling in his eyes then soon ran throughout his entire body, because the once bright enthusiastic aura the woman claimed he had has turned into a cold and depressing one, the boy's face says it all.
The dark-haired lady had immediately noticed the lad's sudden change in mood.
"Young Master? Is something wrong?"
Alas, the boy stayed eerily silent, it was as if he was left in his very own world, a world filled with loneliness and emptiness presumably.
After a few seconds of an awkward silence between them, the boy sounded like he was hesitating a bit as he replied in a low and sad tone "I...I...I don't have a mother, not anymore!"
Realizing that her very own words had caused such sweet boy to turn this sad, she as well has this sudden feeling of guilt welling up inside of her.
"Oh dear, I am very sorry!" She appologized in a low and sad tone as well. "What...What happened?"
Once again, Indra was very hesitant to speak, but spoke again nevertheless he did, but still a bit hesitant though "I...I was very young back then, so I don't really remember that much."
Subconsciously, he placed his left hand atop the table standing in between him and the grown-up. Surprisingly, this led the woman to place her very own atop the boy's. Feeling the woman's larger soft and gentle hand startled the boy, making him whip his head back to face the lady in front of him.
His dark eyes then widened a bit upon witnessing the lady's kind smile across her face. However, the deeply narrowed eyebrows of hers depicted that there was another feeling she's expressing at the moment, a deep negative one to be precise.
"Don't worry, I know how you feel! In fact, I too lost someone I deeply loved myself very recently" she added, an image of a cheerfully smiling man flashed through her mind.
Hearing this new story of hers, this indeed made shock, pity and sadness crawl up in the boy's skin.
"My husband" she continued then turned towards the child still sitting on the older boy's lap, whom was innocently eating one of the yakitori, obviously very oblivious to the situation both the brunette and the woman was currently in. "And that little squirt's father."
"What happened?"
Indra didn't knew why, but he couldn't help but ask.
Hearing this boy's curiosity, the woman was surprised at first, but she pulled back her very own kind smile and gladly replied to the brunette "Last month, my husband became very ill, the medicine needed to treat him was far too expensive. Then just last week, he succumbed to his illness and passed away shortly."
Yet again, hearing such sad story made the boy in the verge of tears.
"You're a single mother, I'm...I'm so sorry!"
"Now, now, please don't make that long face all because you heard a stranger's sad past!"
Hearing this made the boy shoot a shocked and confused look right at the woman, because despite how tragic the story she shared sounded, she still managed to make a gentle smile on her face. The same goes for her tone, which had a cheerful vibe to it.
"Besides, that's what my husband said to me himself before he died."
Reminiscing those sad memories from within her very own mind, there she sat, a sobbing mess as tears endlessly fell out of her beautiful dark eyes. There lying before her was a man on a mat, his once tan skin was now pale and thin, presumably the ill husband she had just mentioned.
"My dear, please, stop crying!" The man said in a weak tone. "I don't want to be the very cause of your pain and suffering. Besides..."
With what little strength he had left, the man then lifted his right arm so that his hand could touch his wife's drenched cheek, wet by the tears she had been shedding. Feeling her husband's cold and deathly touch made her look down to meet his gaze, only to find that despite the fact he was clearly in the brink of death, he still managed to put up a soft and weak smile on his face as he used his thumb to wipe off the tears on her left eye.
"I refuse to make that sad face of yours the last thing I'll ever see. I want to see your beautiful smile, please. I don't care whether I'll survive this or not. However, just please, smile for me before I die!"
Still sobbing her eyes out and grabbing a hold of her husband's hand, tightly holding on to it as if she refused to let him go, physically and spiritually. But despite all the pain, despite all the tears, she granted her lover's request and curved that oh so beautiful smile of hers across her face.
"Yes, of course, my Love. Because no matter what, I'll keep smiling for you and I will be with you till the very end."
"His other request is for me to take good care of our child, to make sure our little squirt grows up big and strong and live a happy life" she added as she ended her flashback and looked down at the toddler, still innocently sitting and nibbling the yakitori. "Even in death, I will still do whatever it takes to make my husband happy."
She then lifted her head back towards the brunette, her kind smile never leaving that delicate face of hers.
"And I bet that's what your mother would've wanted as well, you and your little brother."
Seeing this stranger's beautiful and gleaming smile, it was as if an image of another cheerfully smiling woman had flashed through Indra's mind. Except, this woman had beautiful long brown hair flowing from behind her. As well as hearing all this from a mere stranger, there is this strange sensation in the brunette's chest, it was as if the heavy feeling in his heart had lightened a bit.
"Yeah, I guess she does!" He silently muttered as he dropped his head to stare down at nothing apparently.
"Big Brother!"
Hearing this shocked the boy a bit and made him immediately dropped his head to the source, discovering that the very culprit who said such cute name in a very much adorable way was that toddler in his lap. With a wide and cheerful grin accompanied by a light giggle, the child then drew the yakitori near the boy's lips, it was as if the toddler wants to share a bit of the tender chicken.
"Ahhh!"
This confirms the brunette's assumptions. Seeing how happy and cheerful this child looked, Indra could never stay sad and depressed forever. Especially in front of this child, whom is seemingly still completely oblivious to that very subject. Letting out a breath, he then curved up a small smile on his face, obeyed the child and slightly opened his own mouth, allowing himself to bite of a small piece of the delicious meat the little toddler is sharing with him.
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Loudly and cheerfully laughing, there the little twerp ran wildly through the busy streets and dodging the locals who so happen to pass by with both arms raised as if pretending to be a swift bird gliding through the majestic blue sky.
"Sweetheart, stop running, you're gonna trip and end up getting a scrape!" The young mother scolded as she watched her child of a brat go crazy in front of her as she walked.
"Also, don't go too far, you might end up getting lost again!" The brunette, whom was standing by the lady's side added worriedly.
Alas, being the carefree toddler, the little brat just continued on running as quickly and as far as possible from the two older pair, causing them to let out a deep exhausting sigh in unison.
"By the way, Miss. Are you sure you should really be doing that? I mean, I do appreciate the help, but should you really carry both? You could just let me carry at least one of them."
What Indra was referring to was the two baskets of the groceries he had just shopped from earlier that day now currently in both her arms.
"Don't worry, Young Master, I can handle it! Besides, you look so young, I could guess how exhausting you must've felt carrying these two on your own."
"That was a bit harsh, hearing that from a petite young woman like yourself" Indra silently mumbled in a whining tone with pathetic purple lines forming at the back of his head.
After all, I train a lot, and that's what actually makes it twice as hurt!
"Anyway, Young Master. Can you make sure that little twerp doesen't cause any more trouble again?" The woman's voice woke him up from his thoughts. "I'll be gone for a little while, but I'll be back as soon as I can!"
"Uhhh, sure!"
"Just be very careful, OK? You and that little squirt" she worriedly said and began walking away from him.
A look of realization then appeared on Indra's face.
"Hey, wait a sec!" He shouted at the woman with his hand outstretched towards her. "Miss, you could just leave my groceries with me!"
However, the young lady has already disappeared into the crowd before his words could ever get the chance to reach her. Realizing this, he just let out a sigh as he dropped his arm back at his side. As for the little toddler he was tasked to watch over, the carefree little squirt just continued on running, flying or whatever the heck was doing.
That's when suddenly, the toddler then found something that had surprisingly caught such child's attention and pause from all that carefree running. Slowly approaching the very thing that surprisingly had the power to finally make the toddler quit with the running thing and probably avoid getting a childhood injury, the little kid didn't know what it was, but the only thing that could be described in the child's point of view was that it was like some sort of flower with two bright red and two yellow petals. But what actually made the toddler's eyes sparkle in wonder and amazement was how fast those petals spun before that pretty little face.
"It's called a pinwheel!"
Hearing this, the toddler tilted that tiny head upwards, only finding that it was none other than the brown-haired boy himself with a kind and welcoming smile on his lips.
"Do you think it's beautiful?"
The toddler only nodded in reply along with a hum. The older boy then picked up said object from it's stand and dropped to a crouch just so he could be in equal level with the younger one.
Indra then began waving it in front of the child's face and asked "Do you like it?"
Just as the same as any other kid in this world who loves toys, the toddler then immediately began nodding that small head multiple times with a wide grin stuck to that pretty little face.
Standing straight back up in his two feet, revealing that the two children were actually before a small booth that looked to be selling toys. He then turned towards the booth's owner, the young man behind the stand and raised his arm to show the small spinning toy at the merchant.
"I'll be buying this, please!"
"Of course, Young Master!"
Right when Indra was about to take out his currency to trade, that's when he noticed something dangling near his line of view. Whatever it was, it was hanging on a hook that the stand provided, him assuming that it was as well part of the toy merchant's booth. The boy had no idea what it exactly was, but the only thing that the brunette could identify however was that it was a tiny black rectangular pouch decorated with intricate gold and white designs with gold writings to it and tied together with a small white rope.
"Excuse me sir, what is this?" He asked the merchant, his dark eyes served as a pointer towards said object he was referring to.
"Oh that? That's a Lucky Talisman, Young Master!"
"Lucky Talisman?" Indra said in a bit of confusion as he turned towards the toy salesman.
"These bad boys actually provide various forms of luck or protection. This one in particular is said to 'grant protection' to the user."
"Grant protection huh?" He silently said to himself as he dropped his head to look back at the so called omamori.
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Trivia:
Omamori (御守 or お守, omamori) are Japanese amulets commonly sold at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, dedicated to particular Shinto kami as well as Buddhist figures, and are said to provide various forms of luck or protection.