As soon as the following day came, the village marketplace was slightly busy, even during this early hour of this morning. And one of these busy people were the familiar Otsutsuki trio themselves. Now strolling through the somewhat bustling streets of the market streets, each of the brunette brothers carried a heavy load, leaving them trailing behind the albino girl who walked ahead of them.
Ashura now carried what looked to be a large sack over one shoulder. As for Indra, he held with both hands a woven basket that was filled to the brim with a variety of different herbs and vegetables. Although, what was actually very worrying about the prodigy was that besides the purple markings below his eyes, there were as well these quite noticeable black bags hanging right beneath them.
"Elder Brother, are you alright?"
Hearing his sibbling beside him ask, as well as noticing the concerned tone in his voice made said male turn to meet gazes with the younger male, finding his eyes narrowed down into a worried look.
"I'm fine!" That was all he said before turning to look away from his younger brother.
"Are you sure? Because you look really awful. Don't tell me you haven't even gotten enough sleep last night."
"Ashura, I said I'm fine. So stop asking me these stupid questions already!"
The elder's voice may be low, but that didn't mean the rage and annoyance wasn't nor lessened from within his tone. And that was simply enough to make the younger male obey his older brother and immediately shut his mouth. For a moment, the two brothers strolled through the streets in complete awkward silence.
"You know, I actually heard from Futami that you have been looking through the books all night in search of what kind of sickness are we dealing with here."
Ashura hesitantly spoke, breaking the looming silence between them two. However, his elder didn't say anything in response to his younger brother, it was as if he really wanted to remain silent along the way. Even though his words were an in between of being completely obvious and completely random stupid, he just needed had to say something.
Ashura may not be the smartest, but he still needed to at least do something to ease up the tension forming between him and his brother, even if it means slowly going through an awkward start. And seeing to it that his older sibbling was still not in equal terms with him, he didn't give in and decided to try again.
"So, were you able to find what you were looking for?"
Surprisingly, even for the young spiky-haired brunette himself, the older male finally responded something.
"No, I haven't!"
The obvious answer was written all over his face anyway, even his own words made him sound like he didn't really like to talk about it, at the very moment precisely. Right when he was about to once again attempt to lighten the mood between them them two, that's when he noticed something that stood a few feet far ahead of them.
"Hey, Elder Brother! Who's that guy talking to Sis?" Ashura curiously asked, his head tilted a bit to the side in bewilderment.
Confused by his younger brother's question, Indra then followed his gaze to see what he had just meant by that. That's when both simultaneously stopped in their tracks as soon as they happen to notice their female companion somewhat conversing with someone a few steps ahead of them. And that very someone appears to be a young male whom looked to be the same age as the prodigy.
Strangely enough, his dark eyes for some strange reason were now dangerously narrowed into a glower as he intensely starred at the albino teen being with another male. But during the very moment he saw the male pull out what appears to be a pink peony from behind his back, now that made his hands tightly grip on to the basket he was now holding.
Noticing this both concerned and confused Ashura a bit and made him ask "Hey, Elder Brother! What's up?"
The older male however remained silent, the dark expression on his face never even once changing nor taken away from the infuriating scene playing through right in front of him.
"Ashura, hold this for me!"
Right when the young brunette was about to ask his brother regarding his absurd favor, the elder just tossed the basket he was holding towards his little brother and immediately began stomping towards the albino girl. And from the looks of it, it was either he barely even noticed it or maybe he never even once cared what happens to his younger sibbling. Because in addition to the heavy sack he was holding on to, Ashura was left stumbling a bit as he carelessly tried to catch the basket and avoid dropping his own heavy load.
Only to end up shrieking a bit and falling to the ground.
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Whatever was happening between the albino girl and the random male, it seems both of them are equally having a great time, because both are seen to be laughing and chuckling amongst each other. Krishna then gave the male a cheerful look before accepting the flower he just offered her. Afterwards, she just simply bowed her head, presumably some sort of way to tell the male her thanks for the beautiful gift.
Witnessing the pale girl's adorable gestures, it made both of the male's cheeks to turn a bright pink and a bashful smile to appear on his face. That's when all of a sudden, the adorable expression of the male instantly vanish into a shocked look before shifting into a frightened one. His sudden change of demeanor confused the girl, that's until she finally realized that whatever it was that made him suddenly turn cold like he was now, the source of it was now standing behind her.
But right when she was about to turn to see what it was, she then suddenly felt a hand neatly placed atop her left shoulder. It startled her at first, but as soon as she was able to recognize that familiar feeling, she immediately new whose hand it belonged to and didn't even need to turn to see who it was.
"Are you two done yet?! Because we're actually in a hurry here!"
Hearing that all too familiar voice speak such cold words, it didn't take much for her to realize whose voice it belonged to, confirming her suspicions.
Back to the random terrified young male, it seems his voice was enough to snap him out of his frightened trance and frantically reply "O-Of course Master Indra!" Lowly bowing before the Otsutsukis, he then added "G-Good day, Master Indra and Miss Krishna!"
And just like that, the male straightened himself back up and hurriedly exit the scene. All this time, Indra had managed to notice that this was his sad attempt to escape himself from such awkward situation, he can't deny that. But that didn't mean that pesky peasant was one pitiful coward.
Loudly clicking his teeth, he coldly exclaimed "Let's go!"
And with that, he along with the girl then continued on in making their way seemingly back to headquarters. Completely oblivious to the fact that one of them was actually missing.
"Hey, wait for me!"
Oh, there he is! Panickingly but careful not to drop every single one of the heavy load in his hands, Ashura was left to frantically catch up with both his older brother and adopted sister.
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As soon as that awkward moment was thankfully overwith, all three teens then continued on in making their way back to headquarters. With his hand no longer on her shoulder, both Indra and Krishna were walking side by side each other, an unnerving silence looming over them this time. As for Ashura however, the poor boy was left carrying all those ingredients like a helpless servant.
What's worse was that the young brunette was left trailing behind many feet away from them, the heavy load he was carrying slowing him down.
"Hey, guys! Please, can you two like slow down a bit? Aren't you guys walking a little way too fast!"
Alas, it seem's Ashura's words were nothing but a mere whisper to the pair walking ahead of them. Maybe this was due to the heavy tense feeling that was quite noticeable between them, blocking them from the entire world around them. Another thing to point out was that none of them even bothered to spare a glance at one another, it was probably connected to what had happened moments ago.
That's until the silence between them was then broken when Indra curiously asked "So, what were you two chatting about?"
Besides her inability to speak, that didn't mean she cannot refuse from giving any sort of response, and that was what she exactly did. This irritated the male a bit, and just like that, the unnerving silence that surrounded them was back. It seems his younger brother's urge to begin a conversation to lighten the tension has rubbed on to him.
And from the looks of it, he ended up feeling what his younger brother just felt when he ignored his invitation to chat. Turning back to the poor servant boy trailing behind them two, it seems either of them barely even noticed that the heavy load he was carrying was beginning to drain him of his strength and energy. In addition to the hot summer sun hovering above him, his arms and legs altogether gave up on him as he dropped the package on the ground, but careful enough not to ruin the ingredients present in both the basket and the sack.
Releasing a breathy and aggravated sigh, he then loudly groaned "Geez! Can't those two give me a break? My back is killing me!" Raising a hand to rub the sore area of his behind, he then added in a quiet breath "Seriously, this is such a drag!"
"Hey, have you heard?"
For some strange reason, the sudden voice had caught the teen's attention and made him twist his head both left and right to see whom said those words. That's when his gaze landed on two young women who so happens to be nearby.
"Remember the fishermen that just came back to the village from downstream?"
"Oh, you mean the ones who ended up falling into a mysterious illness of a sudden?"
"Yes, them! I heard that their families also ended up falling ill as well!"
"With the same illness?"
"Who knows? But whatever it is, it's absolutely contagious!"
"Alright, remind me to never go near any of them. I don't wanna end up just like them."
"I see what you mean, I also heard from the healers that the symptoms are very painful too!"
"Well, how unfortunate they are!"
"Well, it's a good thing they live near the riverbanks, far away from where I live thankfully!"
That was the last thing Ashura had heard of on one of the women before watching them walk away. His memory may not be the brightest, but it seems Ashura was able to memorize every single words the women had spoken in their conversation. And as soon as all that information had processed within his mind, a sad expression then appeared in the young brunette's features.
I can't believe those two were so mean! Balling both of his hand into tight fists, he then continued Those people were in so much pain.
"Hey, Ashura!"
Just because they were lucky enough not to become sick, that doesen't mean they should say such horrible things of how unfortunate they are.
"Hey, Ashura!"
It's not like they even want to become sick in the first place!
"Ashura!"
Other than the booming impatient voice, he suddenly felt this immense pain at the very top of his forehead. Feeling this made the poor boy let out a loud painful cry, as he raised his two hands to frantically soothe the painful area. Also, just by simply recognizing that all too familiar stern voice, even he didn't need to look to see what or whom was the cause to why his poor head was now in so much pain.
But he did so and lifted his head anyway, only to indeed find his older brother standing before him, his left hand resting on his hip and there was this annoyed look on his face. As for his other hand, it was curled up into a tight fist that was raised just in equal height with his forehead, confirming his suspicion. Also, he managed to notice the albino standing behind his asshole of a brother.
"Ashura, what part of 'we are in a hurry' did you not understand?" Indra sneered at the younger male in between his teeth. "How many times do I have tell you, get your head out of the damn clouds?!"
His voice may be low, but the impending rage was still there in his tone. Another thing to point out was that his right eye was irritatingly twitching.
Heaving out a heavy sigh, Ashura hung his head low in shame and deeply apologized "Sorry, Elder Brother! I'll be more attentive next time!"
Indra once again felt not only mad, but also felt very disappointed that his brother had once more ended up getting easily distracted. Right when he was about to give another scolding to the younger male, that's until the memory of him mindlessly tossing the basket he was holding at his brother had flashed through his mind. It as well made him finally realize that the young douche had just been carrying a sack filled with five kilos of rice, plus a basket full of vegetables and spices all the way here.
Upon remembering this, the elder then finally realized his mistake, but that didn't mean he was admitting it out loud. So all Indra did was just quietly let out sigh and gently rested a hand against his brother's shoulder, shocking the younger teen a bit.
"You should've told me you were still carrying the basket, you idiot!" Indra said in a scolding tone before smacking Ashura's forehead for some reason, but only lighter than the punch he just landed earlier.
However, that didn't mean it didn't hurt at all.
"Ow! Elder Brother, was that really necessary?!" The spiky-haired brunette complained in annoyance as he raised a hand to soothe the new sore area on his forehead.
"Then use your head for once, will ya?!" That was all the elder stated in such a bland tone and gave the young dunce surprisingly a soft pat on his shoulder twice.
Soon after, he then took the sack of rice and immediately began walking away, leaving both the young pair questioning on what the heck had just happened. From the looks of it, it seems the prodigy's bipolar attitude had likely weirded out both his little brother and the albino girl, causing large seat drops to appear at the back of their heads.
"Typical, Elder Brother!" Ashura quietly groaned out, Krishna beside him nodding and humming in agreement.
And with that, the spiky-haired brunette then picked up the basket and soon after, began speed walking to catch up with his older brother, his adopted sister catching up with him from behind as well. That's until...
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your full attention please?"
Strangely enough, that's what the sudden voice exactly did, caught each of the trio's attentions and made them simultaneously turn towards where they thought was the their heads towards the very source. Their eyes eventually took notice of the large crowd of people gathered up together who so happens to be nearby.
"Huh? What's going on over there?" Ashura confusingly asked, his head innocently tilting to the side.
"Well, there's only one way to find out!"
That was all Indra said before dropping the heavyweight on his shoulder, stomped his way towards the crowd and began forced his way through it, leaving the remaining two to exchange looks at each other before following him from behind. As the three Otsutsukis pushed further and further, the very same voice they heard that attracted their attentions seems become clearer and clearer, to which appears to sound like a loud voice of a young youth.
"Come one and come all. Listen here and listen well!"
Finally making their way out of the claustrophobic wall of people and squeezing out into open air, the trio's gazes automatically landed on what appears to be the very person standing in the middle of the crowd and the apparent source of such loud voice. It was a young male that looked to be quite the same age as the prodigy, appearing to be quite a year older though. The male had dark skin, a muscular build and long golden blonde hair that was tied down into a low braid.
But what actually caught the eldest's eyes actually was the tattoo of an odd-looking creature on his right shoulder.
"Who the heck is that guy? I've never seen that guy anywhere around the village before." Twisting his head to look at the older brunette beside him, Ashura then asked "How about you, Elder Brother?"
"Don't know either!" Turning his attention back to the mysterious male before them, Indra then continued "But all I can say is that this guy's got dark skin, makes me think that he's definitely not from around here."
And whatever reason this young blond had to attract such large crowd, the vast audience watching him expects that whatever he was about to share was something that was going to be big, very big.
"I have seen and heard it all, your village has been stricken by this mysterious plague!"
The very moment this mysterious male had mentioned such unholy word, an array of murmurs, gossips and whispers began to erupt amongst the audience. The three Otsutsukis however, as soon as the words has reached into their ears and processed from within their minds, each of their eyes widened in a bit of shock.
"H-How?" Ashura whispered to himself in utter disbelief. Once more turning to look at his two companions, he then asked "Has word about the plague really spread outside our village that quickly?"
"Who knows?" That was all Indra said, his eyes not even once looking away from the blond stranger before them. Folding both his arms over his chest, he added "All I can say is that rumors do spread real quickly."
"But there's no need for you all to fear oh great people of this village!"
Hearing this then made the trio turn silent and return their attentions back to the dark-skinned stranger.
"Believe me, I myself pity for the unfortunate victims of this plague. However, I bring good news that my master has found a way to protect you all from catching this disease."
Hearing this, it actually both shocked and puzzled the Otsutsuki trio in the same time, making them exchange confused looks amongst each other. And for some reason, they made the decision not to halt the stranger from continuing on with his charismatic speech. Seeming to be just as curious as the crowd that surrounded them to hear whatever he was going to say.
"But before I get into that, you, the good people of this village first must know what kind of danger you are facing with."
Oddly enough, this piece of information actually intrigued the prodigy. And deny it as much as he wants, he even kept himself for yelling out his 'honest opinions' regarding his speech just so he could fuel his curiosity on how this was going to go. So all he did was kept a straight face and remained silent.
"Oh good people of this village, the very horror that terrorizes your home is no ordinary disease, this plague in fact is the work of demons!"
And just like that, the crowd once again began loudly whispering towards one another. But unlike earlier, sharp gasps could as well be heard accompanied by the gossips.
"Demons?" Ashura quietly and questioningly spoke to himself before looking at his older brother and adopted sister, only to find that they too had this questioning looks on both of their faces. "Elder Brother, don't you mean that-"
"I know!"
He himself didn't knew why, but the moment the blond had mentioned that word, that one word he has not heard in a long time ever since the last time he held on to a child's storybook, Indra can't help but feel intrigued abouto what more words the stranger was about to say.
"But fear not good people, for my master has found a way for even helpless people such as yourselves will be able to defend yourselves against the demons that terrorizes your village." Pulling out what appears to be a few sheets of red paper from out of the leather bag strapped over his shoulder, he then raised them high above his head and added "My master developed these special talismans specifically to ward off these inferior demons. Carry these with you wherever you go, then you are guaranteed the demons will surely never approach you. And this!" Pulling out what looks to be a red shide and presented towards the people with his other hand, he then continued "Hang this all over your house, then you are rest assured that your home is protected from these demons."
The moment the words had rolled out of the blond's tongue, the people that surrounded him then suddenly erupted into yells as they quickly scamper their way towards the blond stranger. It was as if they were a pack of dogs quickly gathering towards the last piece of food in the very middle of them.
"Hold it!"
And just like that, the loud yells coming from the crowd immediately vanished into a cold silence and every single person present within the area abruptly froze right at their spots. This was due to the fact that the loud voice that sounded like a military commander was all too familiar to them, despite coming from a voice that sounded like it belonged to a young teen. Eventually, there appeared from out of the crowd was indeed whom they have expected to be, an enraged brunette teen stomping his way towards the blond stranger.
"I'm sorry, do you have a problem?" The stranger politely asked, but the way how his golden eyes slightly narrowed indicated that he was greatly annoyed towards whoever dares to interrupt him.
"Yes, in fact I do!"
Stopping before the dark skinned teen, the prodigy needed to tilt his head up a bit just so he could meet gazes with the seemingly older male.
"Hate to break it to you, but everything you just said is nothing but total Bullshit!" Indra sneered, his pointer finger harshly tapping against the blond's chest.
This earned sharp and shocked gasps from the crowd. Although, in spite of this harsh vulgar insult as well as the intimidating pose the shorter brunette was giving off, it seems that alone was not enough to faze the blond at all. In this entire time, the dark-skinned male just kept up a straight face.
"Look, I don't know who you are. But if you have some kind of problem regarding what I have just said, then please, care to elaborate!" He calmly spoke, not even once has the irritated glint in his eyes changed nor looked away from the brunette's.
"One word, everything. And in case if you haven't noticed, demons are not real! Hah, only an idiot would really believe that 'demons' are the apparent cause of making people sick all of a sudden. In fact, it makes me think that your so-called 'Master' is some kind of Godamn fraud!"
Now this indeed had finally changed the expression on the stranger's face, the slight annoyance on his complexion twisting into a look of rage.
"Alright, just who do you think you are? I'm just minding my own business and doing my job here, that's until you came crawling all the way here just so you can insult me and my master!"
"No, just who the hell do you think you are?" Indra angrily retorted as he rudely stabbed a finger right at the taller male. "Who gave you the right to just waltz into this village and start handing out those...those...whatever the hell those things are! What the heck even are those things, anyway?"
"You don't seem interested in taking any of these, so why should I even bother to tell you, Shorty!"
Whoever this mysterious stranger that popped out of nowhere was, if his mere existence wasn't enough to enrage the prodigy, then the thought of being called such emabarssing nickname then greatly pisses him off. What's worse was that he had to mention it right in front of all this people.
With a his right eye twitching and a nerve popping out of his left cheek, he then angrily growled "Oh, I'll show you Shorty!"
But right before he was a about to inflict violence upon the older male, a pair of arms had appeared out of nowhere, wrap themselves around the angry brunette and quickly pulled him away before he could barely even touch him.
"Calm down, Elder Brother! We don't want to make a scene. Well, technically we already have, but that doesen't mean we should make it even worse!"
Thankfully, the prodigy did no attempt to flail nor get out of his younger brother's hold. Although, all he can do was just shoot glaring daggers right at the blond stranger through his intense gaze.
Turning away from his older brother to face the blond, with an awkward smile on his face, Ashura then nervously laughed "I'm sorry for my brother. It's just that he has been...uhhh...working a lot lately. That's why he's a little grumpier right now. But I assure you, my brother is actually a good person!"
With one brow arched, the dark-skinned teen just shot the younger brunette a look of suspicion.
"I highly doubt that! But even so, that is no excuse at all to act like a complete Asshole!"
Indra opened his mouth and was about to say something obviously very mean in retort to the blond, that's when suddenly, he was immediately silenced the very moment he felt something cold wrap around his right hand. He didn't need to look down to see, for the feeling was all too familiar to him. Instead, he just turned to where he had no doubt was the source.
His hatred filled dark eyes were then met with worried pale ones. For a moment, both Indra and Krishna starred at each other's eyes, not even the slightest has any of them break contact from one another. She may be unable to speak, but simply starring at those white orbs was enough for him to understand what she was trying to tell him.
Releasing a loud click with his teeth, the prodigy then released himself from his younger brother's grip.
"Get the hell out of this village, right now!" Indra sneered as he once more threateningly stab a finger right at the older male. "And if I ever see you or your stupid merchandise ever again, then maybe I'll make sure I will wipe out your entire existence from the face of this world!" Spinning towards the opposite direction, he then added "Come on, let's get out of here!"
And with that, Indra then began waking away. It didn't take much for one to figure out that the one whom he was talking to this time were both the pale girl and his younger brother. Refusing to enrage the elder more than he already was, both Ashura and Krishna then quickly followed him from behind.
What he just said was of course some sort of 'friendlier' way to threaten the very person you downright hate. But from the looks of it, it doesen't seem like those death threats alone were enough to faze the blond.
"Oh yeah, what makes you have the right to order me around like so? Who even are you, anyway? The Leader of this Village or something?" The blond yelled, making certain that the insult in his tone was very noticeable.
Just like that, his words may be the apparent cause to why the brunette suddenly stop in his tracks. And upon noticing this, it too made the younger two freeze in their places. The pair then made these worried expressions on their faces, fearing that this may in fact cross the line.
"No, I'm not!"
Shockingly, the way how he spoke those words were low and calm, to which as well relieved the younger two. Although, his voice may be a bit quieter than the usual, the anger could still be heard from within his tone, waiting to burst out into the world once more.
Twisting his head over his shoulder just so he could meet his cold gaze with the blond teen, he then added "But I am going to be his successor!"
Without any other word to say, Indra then turned his head back in place and continued on walking away, to which both Ashura and Krishna quickly followed from behind. As the trio walked away from the scene, not even one has the tan-skinned stranger's own cold gaze looked away from them as they left.
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Trivia:
Demons were believed to be responsible for causing infectious diseases and misfortune in ancient Japan. In those days, people tried to appease those demons by assuaging their anger or tried to attack the them since they had no other effective treatment back then unlike modern medicine and vaccine used nowadays.