02: Unseeing

The bar was a success as always since he started three months ago. He is still making some mistakes though, and he was still getting used to running a bar by himself and serving customers of every kind at the same time. He gets yelled at sometimes for those said mistakes and there's the other thing about his cooking.

He still doesn't know how to get over that.

The blonde followed the right procedures, put the right ingredients and set it up in a very artful way, though how it still tasted awful was beyond him. He still doesn't know the mystery behind his cooking up until now, after all the years of existing.

Anyways, he was free right now and nobody would be looking for a drink since everyone was working at this time.

So, he decided to visit the stray he picked up. Meliodas has the feeling that she would be waking up soon.

The girl was still resting but looked much better already. Her cheeks was flushed in a healthier way and her pale skin doesn't looked too ashen now and the scratch on her cheek appeared to have healed already, except for the thin white line that is barely visible.

Whoever held her captive was trying to avoid in hitting her on the face, but sure didn't held back on her body. Now that he finally have a good look at her without any worries in her health, she was actually cute, doll like in fact.

The dark purple hair (almost black), contrasted her alabaster skin nicely. Her features were soft, with high aristocratic cheek bones and a small heart shape face. He guesses that her appearance could be the reason if she was to be sold as a slave, her almost unmarred face (she had a really small scratch on her cheek) is a testament to that.

Anyway, she feels familiar somehow. He feels like he had met her before but he does not remember when and how. Or maybe he was just looking at it too much, maybe he was just relating her to someone he knew.

Besides, she couldn't be possibly someone he knew, she's just a kid after all.

'Though then again, there's her'

A small movement strays the blonde from his thoughts, Meliodas watches the slight twitch of the girl's hand until it completely clenches up and opens up again. Her face scrunches up cutely and—

SLAM!

"Oi Meliodas! So this is where you've been pogu!" The piglet squealed as he slammed the door loudly startling Meliodas in his one sided staring contest.

"Shut up swine—"

CRASH!

He suddenly halted as a sharp object was suddenly thrust near his throat.

"Oi! Put that down right now!"

Meliodas didn't heed the sharp object that could possibly kill him as he turns around to face the child in front of him. His green eyes widened for a fraction as he looked at her eyes.

"Who are you and where am I?" The child in toned with her voice raspy from disuse but nonetheless somehow pleasant to the ears.

"Hey put that down before you hurt yourself! Can't you just be grateful, we're the ones who saved you after all, pugo!"

The girl's eyes stared pass him eyes of fistrust landing on the general are where the noisy pig was.

"A talking pig." She said blandly.

"It's Hawk for you, you dam-dorky swine!"

Then her eyes went back to him, "Answer the question."

Maybe she can actually—

"Now." The girl asked seriously, her eyes still unfocused.

Meliodas blinks at her for a moment and he grins carelessly not really minding the possibly homicidal kid in front of him.

He had seen far more dangerous things after all, what could a tiny little girl can do?

(Those are his famous thoughts that would come to bite him in the end.)

"Sorry for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Meliodas, owner of the bar 'Boar Hat' and as the whiny pig said—"

"Who are you calling whiny!"

"—I found you lying at the middle of the road and brought you with us here in Bernia to get you treated. You seriously scared me back there kid you were already half-dead when I got you, you are lucky that we were passing by."

The kid looks at him intently and her eyes widens as she drops the sharpened glass on the bed. She stumbles back and her eyes wells up in tears.

Her brave façade crumbles and she was suddenly crying, hugging herself. "I-I'm sorry. I t-thought you were one of them and I just need to- I don't want to come back there! You were telling the truth. And I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry, sorry, I'm really sorry!" She bows at him repeatedly, "I'm really really sorry please forgive me."

Meliodas didn't hesitate and engulf the tiny girl in a hug making her stiffen, flinching as he was rubbing her back but he continued to do so "Shhh... It's fine, it's alright, I'm alright, you are alright. There's no need to cry, you didn't hurt me at all."

"But still I, I tried to—"

"It's okay and you didn't hurt me, you were just trying to protect yourself and there's nothing wrong with that."

The girl hugs him back hesitantly as if she was afraid that he would pull back "I'm really sorry." she whispers on his hair.

"Shhh... There's no need to apologize for that, it's okay." He states softly as he ruffles her hair softly.

"Pugo! What the he—"

The blonde turns around and gives him a glare.

"He- hedge is going on?!" He squeaks, ears standing upright.

"If you didn't see what happened shi— shish kebab swine, the kid here thought we were the ones who kidnap her so she tried to protect herself. It's your fault anyway for startling her like that." The girl nods on his shoulder.

"T-that's right, I didn't mean to h-hurt Meliodas-dono. And I-I'm sorry!"

The small animal walks towards the bed to peer at the kid in his arms.

"O-oh if that's so I'm sorry too, for scaring you."

"It's okay," she burrows her head on his shoulder furthermore and with a shy voice she spoke, "A-are you really a talking pig?"

He snorts as the pig puffs out "Yeah! That's right, I'm Hawk Captain of the Knights of Scraps Disposal! And how about you, what's your name?"

Meliodas waited patiently for the girl to reply and after a moment the silence went on leaving Meliodas to have a conclusion.

"You don't remember your name." He didn't bothe to post it as a question and the tightening of the arms around his neck was proof enough.

She lifts her head to look at him in the 'eyes' but she lowers it immediately, "Yes... I just remember waking up somewhere and there were a lot of people, bad people. They said that they found me in some ruins and that they were planning to s-sell me as a s-slave. They didn't know my name either." She said carefully head bowed, but she wasn't crying anymore.

'So she really was held captive by slave traders.'

He gently pats her on the head and grins at her. "Well, let's just name you then. And it would be your name from now on."

She finally looks up to him, her golden green eyes glassy, "Name... myself?"

"Yeah! You could name yourself if you like or would you like me to name you."

"No, don't listen to him. He has bad naming sense."

"I don't want to hear that from a pig who's attacks are named after food."

"If we're going to be fighting about naming skills, why the hell did you name your bar as 'Boar Hat', no wonder there were no customers at the Grand Opening!"

"Don't curse in front of the child. And 'Boar Hat' seriously suits the name of the bar and it was just the opening anyway, no one new that it was a bar! If you really had great naming skills then why don't you try to name her!" He pointed at the stunned girl.

"Hawk Jr! It's a great name to have and it's even greater because it was bestowed upon me."

"Your going to name her after you, you useless asshog! If I were to name her, her name is going to be Lizbeth!"

"Look who's talking about cursing! Hawk Jr is infinitely better than Lizbeth after she would be named after the great Hawk!"

At this time Meliodas is seriously irritated now, "What's so great about you anyway you whiny ham! Lizbeth is better since it's an actual girl's name."

"Now your calling me a ham! And it will be Hawk Jr!"

"Lizbeth!"

"Hawk Jr!"

"Lizbeth!"

"Hawk Jr!"

"Liz—!"

They would have ended up pummeling each other (and Hawk being beaten down in the process) if a giggle didn't stop them from their upcoming brawl. They blink at each other and started laughing along with the nameless girl.

"I-I'm sorry, he he... You guys are just so funny. And I've decided,"

She looks at them unsurely still untrusting, "Both Lizbeth and... Hawk Jr are great names but I've decided,"

They both waited in anticipation of what she'll choose as her name and the child only smiled tentatively.

"From now on call me Saigo." She said cheerfully as the both of them faceplanted to the floor.

"Um... Are you both alright?"

"Y-yeah." They both said as they righted themselves.

"So why Saigo?" Hawk asked after recovering.

"That's because I—"

"So how old are you Saigo? Or you don't remember that either?" He butted in since the child was hesitant.

"I remember some other things about myself, but I don't remember who I was or where I came from. I think I am about four years old.

"Well, for a four years old your quite good at talking and big words, that just means your quite smart too."

"I guess so. I just remember the things around me and how the words are but nothing specific about myself."

"I see, I have another question for you," He stared at her with his usual poker face "How did you know that I wasn't telling a lie earlier?"

She fell silent for a second, hesitant. "I-I have this ability to feel vibrations and hear things really clear and I could tell you weren't lying because your heart told me so. I didn't know how I got this ability but it helped me on identifying what those men are on about. At first I didn't know what it is, but soon enough it helped me 'see' things and identify what they were."

The girl, Saigo hunched over as if to protect herself from something, "I was too weak to do anything, when I woke up I was already with them and I didn't know what I should do. I was so confused, I didn't know who I am, I didn't know where I came from, I didn't know anything about myself except from useless facts."

"I was so scared." She said in a small voice, contradicting the one they heard earlier when she woke up.

Hawk jump on to the bed and moved closer to the purple haired child. "You d-don't have to be scared about anything anymore because I, the Great Hawk, Captain of the Knights of the Scraps Disposal swears to protect you from anything that could cause you harm!"

After the exclamation, the girl was still as a statue and then her shoulders started to shake until she let's out a little hiccup and flings herself to the startled swine.

"Really? You would do that? For me?" She asked, voice muffled by the fur of the pig.

"Of course! And Meliodas swears to it too! Right Meliodas?"

The deceivingly young looking man was silent as the two stared at him in anticipation, one hopeful and nervous while the other daring him to say no.

It would be a tough decision to make. If he promised her this, he would need to fulfill it to the very end. Meliodas doesn't like making promises he can't keep as much as possible. And if he promises, he would have to take her in. He needs to take her with them, whereas he feels that the danger would hunt her if she was with them. But even so, he has confidence that he would be able to protect her from whatever it is.

As he can tell from what he've seen from her attitude, she is a brave young thing that had faced hardships that pushed her to grow up. Her murky eyes holds an old soul that have seen suffering that's way beyond for someone her age. Saigo is rather genuine and kind as for what he've seen from her constant apologizing, but unafraid to standup for herself when she needs it.

The blonde doesn't want to drag her in any battles from the near future, the trouble that never cease to follow him. Just seeing the marks and wounds spanning on her little body makes his blood simmer because how could someone do that to a four year old little girl?!

Then again, there is also a possibility that the men who captured her would come back and take her again.

The right decision to make looks pretty much obvious at this point.

At his minute silence, the hope in those glassy eyes wavers, after all why would a stranger be obligated to protect her, that's just ridiculous.

But her expectation was unfounded, the blonde boy grins and gives her two thumbs up.

"I promise." Then the green eyed blonde laughed at her perplexed expression.

"What's with that look on your face? Want me to take it back?" He said with his usual blank face but his eyes dances with mirth.

She rapidly shakes her head side to side, repeatedly saying no and apologizing.

Meliodas puts his hand over her hair (she flinched, but he ignored what could that reaction meant) and ruffles it fondly, "Hey, calm down I was just kidding Saigo-chan, anyway I have another question. And it's the last one."

Saigo only looks up at him waiting for his question.

"Saigo-chan, are you blind?" He said straightforwardly, you could actually hear the pin drop after he said those words.

He doesn't care though, after all what's the use of dancing around the subject it would only take longer and his not really good at sugarcoating things. Besides, it gets the job done. He had been observing her eyes from the start, it was a shade richer than his own green colored eyes— a pale golden green the same shade of a young leaf— but it was murky, dull, unfocused and unseeing. Not the unfocused ones that you'd see from someone who has a thousand yard stare, unfocused that she isn't really looking where she is looking. Yes, she was staring at his face but she really wasn't. Just the general direction. Though he wonders how she knew that Hawk was an actual pig. Probably the squealing.

And talking about the pig, Hawk is currently gaping at him in horror like he has grown a second head.

"Pugo! What are you talking about? She can clearly see us you kn—!" "Yes I am." "—wait what?!"

The loud ham now gapes at her now, "What are you saying? You could clearly see us can't you, I mean your looking at me right now as I'm speaking."

"She could be just following your voice right now pig, since your voice is really grating."

"What did you say?!"

Hawk was about to give the irritating blonde a piece of his hooves, when small hands took a hold of said hooves. "You don't need to be angry and it is really true that I'm blind. Remember my ability? I use that to 'see' things with it. The vibration that I can feel through the changing air current helps me in identifying an object or a person. I could get an even better grasp when I'm standing on the ground but due to circumstances, I need to learn how to do it without connecting my hands or feet to the ground in order to identify objects since it is too inconvenient."

She rubs him behind the ears making him him in content, "Other than that I can tell where you are because my hearing is better than an average person." With pleading puppy dog eyes she stares at nothing but managing to catch both of there attention. "So could you please avoid yelling or screaming at all cost? It hurts when people do that."

For an added effect she pouts cutely, but actually it was supposed to be a frown. Both boys nodded forgetting that the girl was blind.

"Thank you."

"By the way, I apologize for this tactless jerk, he shouldn't have said it so outright."

She looks down and smiles at the piglet, "It's okay, I like it better when people say it bluntly. I don't like it when they tiptoe over it, as if I can't handle the truth that I was blind." She frowns (pouts) again "I'm not a fragile little girl you know."

They both sweatdrop at what she said, since she was as tall as Hawk when standing. It was ironic really since all of the people (pig) in the room can be said as midgets really.

•••••

a/n: Saigo means 'the last one' if you guys are curious about it. And really thank you to those who are reading this little thing that I came up out of the blue. Your support really inspires me.