The Hashi Family

Kiriko stopped couple a miles away from town to have an early lunch. She took out one of the rice cakes and ate it as she looked at the map. Wow! This is great, she scanned over the map with her finger, this map even has the Tokaido Trail draw here. This really IS old. She finished eating her rice cake and started on her way again. As she continued to read the map, she heard a cry in the distance.

"Help! Someone please help me!"

Kiriko put the map back into her satchel and ran in the direction of the voice.

"SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!" The little boy cried out as three large thugs chased after him.

"WE'RE GONNA GET YA, YOU LITTLE TWIRP!" One of the thugs yelled.

"YOU THINK CAN TAKE OUR MONEY AND RUN! YOU LITTLE PUNK!" The other thug screamed at the young boy.

"IT'S NOT YOUR MONEY!" The boy was starting to get tired and the thugs were hot on his tail. (SLAM!) He ran full speed into Kiriko. They both fell hard onto the ground.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO!"

"It's all right I'm here to help!" Kiriko struggled to keep the boy from hitting her. He stopped fighting and looked up into her eyes.

He started to cry, "Please help me these three guys are after me! Please! Please!"

"Well, well, well. Look at what we got here fellas. Looks like this little pussycat has caught our rat." The three large thugs stood in front of Kiriko and the boy.

"Why don't you just hand over that little rat and we'll take you out and show you a good time." The three thugs started to chuckle.

Kiriko got up and the boy stood hiding behind her. "No, he's coming with me."

"I don't think so little pussycat. He stole our money and we're going to take it out on his hide. So HAND HIM OVER! If you don't want to get hurt."

"I didn't steal their money! They stole my money and I took it back!" The boy yelled at them from behind Kiriko.

"GET OVER HERE YOU LITTLE PUNK, BEFORE I-"

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size!" Kiriko yelled into his face.

The three thugs burst out laughing, "Oh-ho I see our little pussycat wants to play."

"Please stand back behind the tree…" she whispered to the boy without take her eyes off the thugs, "…and take this with you." Kiriko handed him her satchel and fishing rod. Then she pulled out the bokken from her tie.

"Aaaww she's even got a wittle stick to pway wit," one of the thugs said in a mocking baby voice.

"I don't want to fight you but you'll have to get through me if you want this boy." Kiriko narrowed her eyes readying herself for battle.

The three thugs laughed then one stepped up, "Let me show this little pussycat she can't mess with men."

I know exactly what this idiot is going to do; she inwardly smiled to herself.

"AAAAHHHHH!" The thug ran at her full speed screaming at the top of his lungs. Kiriko shook her head, idiot. When he got close enough, she leapfrogged over his head.

"HUH! Where'd she go!"

"Psst…behind you."

His face turned deep red with anger and embarrassment. Turning around, he growled, "WHY YOU LITTLE-" (WHACK!) Kiriko struck him right across in the bridge of his nose. Blood gushed out as he flew across the road and landed in the bushes on the other side. His comrades watched with their mouths agape. Kiriko turned towards them and smiled.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH!" One of them screamed as they both charged after her.

The little boy watched Kiriko with amazed eyes. How is she doing this? He wondered, I can see them getting hit and I can hear her swinging the bokken but I can't see HER. How can she be moving that fast? The next thing he knew, Kiriko was putting the bokken back into her tie and was walking toward him. All three thugs were lying on the ground knocked out cold. The little boy couldn't take his eyes off the three guys.

"Oh don't worry about them…they're okay…but they'll have pretty bad headaches when they wake up." Kiriko giggled.

"How-how did you do that?" The boy kept staring at the guys in disbelief.

Kiriko blushed but didn't answer. "Come on let's get out of here before they wake up."

He handed her the satchel and fishing rod. Kiriko smiled at him and took his hand. Then they started walking down the road. The little boy stared up at Kiriko with dreamy eyes, she's amazing.

Kiriko took a good looked at him. He was a scrawny little kid with bushy light sandy brown hair. He had bright hazel eyes and slightly chubby cheeks considering the rest of him. Kiriko thought he had to be about nine-years-old. None the less, he was a cute little kid.

"So what's your name?" She smiled at him.

He turned away from her face blushing. He had been staring at her since they began walking.

"My name is Eko Hashi." He answered shyly.

"Well, I'm Kiriko Himura. It's nice to meet you Eko….Why were those guys chasing you?"

Eko smiled. He liked the way Kiriko said his name. "My mom is really sick and we are very poor. The doctor came by to help us but we needed to pay him for the medicine he left for her. So, my mom sent me to town to pick up this money from my aunt, see..." he showed Kiriko the sack. "I guess those guys were watching her give it to me because they followed me from town. Then they grabbed me, took my money and threw me on the ground. The guy that was holding my money hooked it onto his belt. So I ran past him and snatched the money back….I thought I could out run them but they were too much for me." A tear ran down Eko's chubby face.

"That was very brave of you, Eko. Not most people would have had the courage to take the money back." Kiriko complimented trying to make him feel better.

Eko wiped his eyes and smiled. She did make him feel a little better.

"Do you live far from here?" Kiriko said.

"Uuumm….no, my house is just over that hill."

"Well let's hurry so your mom can take the medicine."

They started running up the hill.

As they approached Eko's house, Kiriko's eyes began to widen. It really wasn't much of a house but more like a small shed. The windows were broken in and the paint was peeling from the wood boards. There was a large hole in the roof that had two boards criss-crossed over top of it. The inside of the house was no better. It looked as if it hadn't been cleaned in years.

"Mom I'm home!"

"Eko! (cough, cough, cough) Eko, is that you…(cough)" A weak voice came from the other room.

Eko and Kiriko walked into his mother's room. There was a thin pale woman lying on a futon. Eko ran over and gave her a hug.

"I got the money like you told me to and these guys chased me for it, but Kiriko, here, saved me."

The woman strained to see past her son to look at Kiriko. "Thank..(cough, cough)…you child. Thank you."

"It was no trouble, Ms. Hashi. I was glad to help….Eko, where is the medicine the doctor left?"

Eko ran out of the room and came back with a small packet.

"My best friend's mother is a doctor…" Kiriko took the packet from Eko, "she taught me a couple of things about medicine. Eko come and help me prepare this for your mother."

Kiriko and Eko left the room.

"Eko, Please go outside and gather some fire wood while I straightened up the kitchen."

"OK!" Eko said with enthusiasm and ran outside.

Kiriko put her things down and looked around the room. "Well I better get started." She said out loud to herself.

After Kiriko prepared the medicine and helped Ms. Hashi drink it, she and Eko scrubbed and dusted the floors. Then Kiriko found some old fabric and used it to cover up the windows. After that, she and Eko climbed on the roof and patched up the hole with straw and mud. Finally she cleaned off the chipped paint as best she could. The place looked much better compared to when she first arrived. She was surprised it only took a couple of hours to do every thing.

"There! We are done." Kiriko clapped the dust from her hands.

"Wow. My house actually looks like a house now." Eko laughed then his stomach grumbled and he started to blush.

Kiriko giggled, "When was the last time you ate?"

Eko's blush deepened and he started to fidget. Stupid me, he probably hasn't eaten in a while since his mother has been sick, Kiriko thought sorry that she asked him that question.

"Uuumm never mind. Is there a lake or pond around here?"

"Yes, there's a large pond not to far from here."

"Great!" Kiriko ran inside. When she came out again, she was holding her beautiful fishing rod. "Come on let's go."

Daddy was right, Kiriko thought, this truly is a special rod. It only took them thirty minutes to catch six large fish. Eko was so excited. He had never gone fishing before and Kiriko show him how to fish. He caught all six. When they got back to the house, Kiriko searched around the kitchen to see if they had anything else that could go with their dinner. She found a small tub of rice. She prepared the food as best she could with the limited amount of spices they had.

When Kiriko brought in the tray full of food, Eko started to drool. He had never seen such a feast. Kiriko figured Ms Hashi must have been feeling a little better because she came out of the room to have dinner with them.

"You didn't have to come out here. I would have brought you a plate." Kiriko said as she helped Ms Hashi sit down.

"I think the medicine is working or it was the smell of this food that gave me the…(cough) strength to get out of that bed. Whatever it is, I thank you for both." Ms Hashi said with tear filled eyes.

Kiriko blushed, "I'm just glad I could help."

They didn't talk much as they ate considering Eko and Ms Hashi hasn't eaten in a while. Eko wolf down the food. Kiriko smiled. He reminded her of Kenji and Kano. Kiriko looked out the window and realized it was getting dark.

"Excuse me but I must get going." Kiriko got up and started to gather her things.

Eko nearly choked on his food when she said that. "Why! Please stay with us Kiriko! You don't have to go so soon!" He looked into her eyes pleading for her to stay.

"I'm sorry but I have to get going. I have a long travel ahead of me."

"Yes Eko…She has to get back to…(cough)..her own family." Ms Hashi tried to calm Eko down.

"Uuumm…actually I'm heading to Kyoto. Do you know if Tokaido Trail is around here?"

"Uuumm yes, it's a couple of miles from here. Do you have a map?" Ms Hashi asked with concern on her face.

"Yes I-"

"LET ME COME WITH YOU," Eko shouted startling Kiriko and his mother. Tears fell from Ms Hashi's eyes. She knew it was extremely hard for a nine-year-old boy to be taking care of his mother and she also could see that her son had a crush on Kiriko.

Kiriko knelt down in front of Eko and place her hand on his chubby cheek. "No, Eko. You need to stay her and take care of your mother….. Remember how brave you were when you took the money back from those goons. All you were thinking about was your mother needed that money to pay for the medicine, right?…" Tears were streaming down Eko's face. He nodded his head up and down. "Well, Eko. Don't abandon her now especially when she needs you most. She's getting better but you need to be here to see that she recovers completely. Be brave for me Eko, Okay?"

Eko couldn't stop crying but when he looked at his mother, who was also crying, he wiped away his tears. "Okay I'll be brave for the both of you." Kirko smiled brightly and gave him a big hug. She got up and headed for the door. Eko and his mother followed her outside. Kiriko started walking down the dark road.

"Goodbye Kiriko…(cough)..and thank you so much for everything." Ms Hashi waved at her.

Kiriko turned around and waved back "You get better Ms Hashi. I promised I'll come back and visit, Okay Eko?"

"You better, Kiriko! Bye! Bye! And take care!" Eko yelled down the road.

"I will and that goes the same for you!" She blew him a kiss, turned around, and disappeared into the darkness.