Another person passed.
Link peeked his head out from the behind the bins he had been resting at. Placing his best pleading look on his face, he glanced up at the passing person.
The man turned to look at Link, and his expression turned to one of absolute distaste. He tore his eyes away from Link with incredible ferocity, as if even looking at the homeless boy would give him the same fate.
Link let out a sigh, slumping back against the bins. It looked like it was just going to be another day of being rejected.
The sun was baking the stones red hot, and Link had to squint to properly see everyone moving past. It was a wonderful day. It was a pity that Link, with his clothes hanging off of his thin body, was not going to get to fully enjoy.
Link was homeless. Had been since he was young. He had gotten help back then, managed to scrape on by. But now... Now he was hopeless. Lost and ignored in a town full of people more fortunate than he.
Where Link had set up 'house' was a very busy street. Lots of people passed by everyday and each time Link looked up at them, desperation shining in his bright blue eyes. Most of them never made eye contact with him, turning their gaze to anything but his tear streaked face. Others openly showed their disgust with glares making their thoughts painfully clear. And some, albeit very few, looked at him with sympathy, before sprinkling coins at his feet. They were Link's guardian angels, the only reasons why he was still hanging on.
Still, despite the few good people in the town, Link knew that everybody viewed him as below them. He was like a stray animal, avoided in case of disease. And he was just one of the many homeless boys on the street, lost and lonely, face marred with dirt he no longer bothered to wash off. His voice was cracked with disuse and he wasn't even sure if he remembered how to form words in his mouth.
The sound of jingling coins pulled Link out of his thoughts. He lifted his head from its place tucked beneath his arms and stared in joy as he saw coins lying on the pavement. Link quickly collected the small donation and glanced around for the person who had given the money. But he could see nobody. The reason that he would live a little longer was already gone.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
The coins fell from the man's palm, scattering onto the ground with a loud clunk. Link watched them fall, and then snatched them up as soon as they hit the earth. He stared at the man who had left the coins, but he wasn't looking at Link, and seemed to be in a hurry.
"Thank you." Link whispered, straining to let his voice be heard.
He got no response.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
"T-thank you."
It was the same man again, sprinkling coins at Link's feet. Yet again he didn't look at Link, didn't make eye contact with him. If Link didn't know better he'd think that the man had accidentally dropped the coins on the ground in his haste to move past him.
Perhaps the man was in a rush, and that was why he was hurrying off without even glancing at the starved boy.
Although Link was grateful for the money... It hurt to be ignored like that. It made him feel even smaller than he already felt.
Link watched the man's retreating figure until he turned the bend and disappeared from view.
-/-/-/-/-/-/
"Thank you."
Link didn't have to even glance at the man go know that this was the person who had left the money the previous days. He snatched the money from his feet and looked up at the man, feeling horribly vulnerable as rain roared down from the heavens, slicking his blonde hair downwards and making the water running down his face look like tears.
He was still not looking at him.
"Wait! Sir! Please! Stop!" Unfamiliar words jumbled from Link's mouth as he pleaded, voice not used to shouting.
The man didn't acknowledge him, quickening his pace. In an act of desperation, Link moved forward and grasped his sleeve by the grubby hand.
The man-although as Link looked closer he realised he didn't look much older than himself, reacted worse than he expected.
Link's saviour snatched his sleeve away from his clingy fingers, turning to growl at the orphan.
A whimper escaped Link as he looked up into the man's blood red eyes. His teeth were bared, and a fierce aura of hatred emanated from him, blazing furiously.
Link's breath caught in his throat. He had been foolish to believe that he and the man were equals, had been foolish to even attempt to touch him.
"I'm sorry." He whimpered helplessly.
A single tear fell from Link's bright blue eyes, splashing down onto the pavement where it blended in with the lashing rain.
The crimson eyed man tore his gaze away, and after patting down his clothes, left without a second glance.
With nothing but a meagre consolation prize of a few coins, Link curled up, right in the middle of a soaking wet puddle, and cried.
-/-/-/-/-/-/
"H-huh?"
Link hadn't been expecting to hear the satisfying clunk of coins hitting the pavement that day. He glanced up, only to see the black hair and red eyes of the man that had given him the money earlier.
Link bit his tongue, stopping himself from calling out to him as he dashed off, gazing away from Link.
Why... Why had he still given Link the money? Why hadn't he abandoned him yet?
Link held the coins huddled in his palm as if they were the most precious things in the world.
Not a tear escaped his eyes that night.
-/-/-/-/-/-/
"P-Please sir. I'd just like to know your name so I could thank you properly."
Maybe it was the fact that he had slept peacefully, maybe it was the fact that his stomach was actually full for once. Either way, Link was feeling braver today, enough to once again try to get the identity of the man.
Link was scrutinised with a judging eye, and he feared that he would be put down again. To his surprise, the glare in the man's red eyes faded slightly.
"You may call me Kuro."
Link repeated the name in his head, analysing it, searching for the hidden meaning.
"Thank you, Kuro, sir."
But of course Link was just talking to air.
-/-/-/-/-/-/
"Why are you doing this?"
He hadn't meant to ask. But about a week after Kuro had revealed his name, the words slipped out of Link's mouth, sounding harsh and accusing out in the open. Link glanced up at Kuro, waiting for the anger to take over his face. There was nothing. The anger was gone.
"Because. You needed help."
Link stared up at Kuro, at his crooked smile, and felt everything slot into place. He had needed help all his life. And now, finally he was getting if.
"Thank you."
-/-/-/-/-/
Link was slammed harshly against the wall so hard that he saw stars. He blinked, refocusing on the attackers in front of him.
"We don't need you, you homeless scum! Get off of our streets!"
Their words stung, more than the punch that sent him recoiling soon after the first attacker had spoken.
It was night, but there was no moon, simply grey cloud, obscuring all the stars, all the light. All hope.
Some people were still out on the streets, but none of them took pity on the boy getting beaten up by the gang. They all turned a blind eye.
Did they think he deserved this?
Letting out a moan of pain as another fist hit his cheek, Link kicked out wildly, catching one of his attackers in the groin.
Link could have sworn his heart stopped.
There was an angry snarl, and Link was forced against the wall, flailing madly like a fish out of water.
There was the sound of a knife brandishing, and Link looked on in fear, as the main attacker, face obscured by dark clothing, held it up.
"You'll pay for that you little shit!"
Link let out a cry of help, a desperate plead, even though he knew nobody would listen. Everybody walked right on past, as if his attackers were dealing with a particularly unpleasant insect that had been bugging them for some time.
Without warning the knife plunged into Link's stomach. He let out a gasp as pain began to overload his senses, shooting through his body. His attacker pulled the knife back out with a sharp and painful jerk, and in his haze, Link could just about make out the blood coating the sharp surface.
His attackers laughed maniacally, the sound pounding in his ears. Link whimpered, the pain making him unable to think, unable to comprehend anything that was going on.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his attackers running gleefully, as if they had done something wonderful. The people watching... Did they think that his attackers had done a good deed?
Succumbing to the pain of the wound and his troubled thoughts, Link lay his head down on the pavement and allowed unconsciousness to take him.
-/-/-/-/-/-/
He was still alive. It surprised him. He was in excruciating pain, and his mind was failing to focus, but he was alive. Alive and slowly bleeding out onto the pavement.
People passed, but Link made no effort to try get their help. They had shown, time and time again that they didn't want to help him.
Except one man...
It was quite early in the morning when Kuro passed by, the sun painting the world a soft shade of orange. Link weakly lifted his head, hope rising inside of him. Maybe he would give him help, take him to a hospital...
"Please..." The words came out of his mouth stiffly, devoid of all life.
Kuro paused, looked at him, red eyes uncertain.
He reached into his pocket and with infuriating slowness sprinkled the usual amount of coins on the pavement. The sound that usually gave Link so much joy broke his heart.
"Thank you." The words came out of Link automatically, before he could stop them.
He supposed they were in order. Kuro had helped him live longer, and had made him believe that somebody actually cared.
Of course that had all been a lie, but it was nice whilst it had lasted.
Kuro turned on his heel and walked away.
Leaving Link's blood loss to grow too great for any hospital to fix.
-/-/-/-/-/-/
Kuro bit his lip as his gaze fell upon the dying boy. Link hadn't noticed him, instead groaning incomprehensibly, his eyes squeezed shut.
For a split second, his heart stung with sympathy.
For a split second. And then he was back to his uncaring attitude. The only reason he had given the kid coins in the first place was because his brother and mother had encouraged him to. Link had needed help, so Kuro helped.
But if Link had gotten attacked... There was nothing he could do about it. No point going to the hospital, no point in prolonging his life. Why should he have delayed the inevitable? He had made the right decision.
The streets were better off without Link.
Even after reaching this conclusion, Kuro sent a quick prayer up for the kid's soul. It was of course at this point that Link's eyes opened and he spoke, voice raw, and lips sticky with blood.
"Thank... You..."
Kuro smiled sadly. Damnit, why did he feel like this? The kid had opened up something inside of him, some sort of compassion he didn't know he had had. The words of gratitude he had heard Link utter so often slipped out of his own mouth.
"No. Thank you."
And Kuro moved away from Link for the last time, becoming another bystander to the boy's suffering.
There were other people around as well, staring wide eyed at the boy dying on the street. Kuro fought down the strange feelings blossoming inside of him, and matched the half assed looks of sympathy that were on the surrounding people's faces.
In the darkness, nobody could see the single tear that fell down his cheek, something that Kuro was eternally grateful for.
A single voice cut through the silence then, and Kuro could feel himself grit his teeth at the pretentious words of relief.
"Thank god that isn't me."
But it easily could've been.
Well. Not really gratitudeyey and it's really bad but meh I got it out, it involved the two characters I wanted it to involve (my mains, Dark Pit and Link :D) and it yeah that's it. Ugh Dark Pit's character is difficult to try pin down here. It's hard to call him the bad guy but he's definitely in the wrong... I don't know. Anyway thanks to Blade for hosting this (I am grateful. Get it? Get it?) I had fun. Speaking of contests I'm thinking of hosting one soon to mark my yearly anniversary on fanfiction. I have a poll up so if people could go and vote that would be greatly appreciated (Self advertising, shameless I know)
I think that's it! Randomblackberry out!