A/N: Chapter three! I am on a roll if I do say so myself. You all finally get to meet little Kantarou! Don't mix this one up with the one you see at the beginning of the manga/anime. I put a lot of research in before and during a fic. I try really hard to keep everything cannon. I created this character to the best of my knowledge/ability but if you see any faults let me know and I will see if I can fix them.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Tactic's anime, manga, or characters.

Through the Eyes of a Child

Chapter Three: A Reason to Smile

"Kantarou?" This isn't possible... The figure in front of him could be no older than twelve. However there was no mistaking the distinctive features of his master. What the hell is going on? The Kantarou-like boy had dropped his arms to his sides and was now wide eyed.

"How do you know my name?" The boy squinted at him. "I haven't met you before. You're one of them aren't you? You're another bully!" The boy turned to run, but Haruka caught his hand before he could escape. Haruka gasped when he saw boy flinch violently at his touch. He was trying to cover his face again with only one arm. Haruka had already noticed that bruises, matching those on his arms, also appeared on Kantarou's face and legs.

"Kantarou, you don't know who I am?" The boy shook his head vigorously, and tried to pull free. "I'm not going to hurt you Kantarou, stopping being ridiculous." Haruka was rewarded with a sharp glare, an expression which his master normally did not direct at him. But the circumstances were far from normal. Haruka's grip tightened slightly and the boy gave out a sharp cry. Haruka let go of his arm in alarm and the figure fell unceremoniously in the dirt. The boy quickly drew his legs to his chest and hid his face in his knees. Haruka didn't know what to do with the frightened child. Awkwardly Haruka reached out and lay his hand the child's trembling head.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I just guessed your name because you look just like a Kantarou I know." Only Kantarou would fall for that excuse. "You don't need to be afraid of me." For a moment Haruka wondered where this softness had come from. But the action had the desired effect has Kantarou raised his head to peer curiously at Haruka.

"Really? So you're not another bully?" Haruka shook his head. He rubbed his arm swiftly across his damp face and tried to dry what was left of his tears. Looking up again he gave Haruka a skeptical look, "Then who are you? And why are you wandering around so far out here?" Haruka was tempted to ask the boy the same question, but thought better of it. He stood and walked around Haruka as if inspecting him.

Crimson eyes lit up. "You're a goblin aren't you?" Haruka hesitated before shaking his head without fully knowing why. Kantarou looked slightly crushed. Haruka wondered why Kantarou wasn't able to tell he was lying. Didn't he have his own goblin sense?

A sudden question came to Haruka's mind. "You thought I was a bully, could you have meant the boys who were here earlier." Kantarou immediately looked alarmed and glanced swiftly around the clearing. "They're gone now, I must have frightened them." The tengu smirked to himself. That is an understatement. Kantarou looked relieved.

"Yeah, they are boys from the village." There was an uncomfortable pause. "Oh well, if you're not a tengu, then you must be a traveler, because I haven't seen you around before. Where are you staying Mister?" Haruka had barely opened his mouth when Kantarou continued. "Oh of course you must have just got here; you can stay with me then! I don't mind!" Haruka marveled at the change that had so quickly come over his young master. He got the impression that Kantarou should not be so easily swayed to trust if the bruises were anything to go by.

"Well let's get moving we haven't got all day. You have a name Mister?" The tengu answered automatically. Kantarou's eyes went huge and he looked Haruka up and down. Then he smiled and shook his head. He waved for Haruka to follow and then set off in the direction of the boys from earlier.

This Kantarou was younger yes, but now Haruka was definite it was same person. However he did not know the trembling boy who had been cowering from him just a few moments ago. Haruka had heard a few allusions to Kantarou's past. He knew enough to assume that his childhood had been less than easy, but now he was seeing it for himself. Did I just say that? I must have lost it. I can not be in the past. That just was not possible.

As they reached the town Haruka began to recognize familiar places. After all he had been to Kantarou's home town before, or was it in the future? As absurd as it sounded, Haruka could only guess that he was dreaming or that he was in the past. The realism and detail of it all ruled out the dream option. Could it really be?

Haruka almost didn't notice his master stop in front of a house sandwiched between two shops. It was not a small place, but upon entering Haruka could tell it needed work. Kantarou quickly stepped into the adjoining room.

"Mother, Father, I'm home. I want you to meet a new friend. He is very nice, he scared away the bullies." Haruka stepped into the room also, but instead of seeing Kantarou and his parents there was just Kantarou kneeling in front of small but neat shrine. Kantarou lived alone? Haruka felt a pang of sadness witnessing the scene. "This is Haruka. Isn't that funny? He has the same name as my Onigui Tengu!" Kantarou sat silently awhile. "Well I should probably get our guest something to eat." Kantarou bowed before turning towards the taller man. Haruka had never seen such a forced smile. He was that other, unknown boy again.

Kantarou set out into the kitchen to find something for them to eat. Haruka was doubtful on whether he should eat whatever Kantarou made. Yoko had always done all the cooking at the Ichinomiya household. The tengu watched with slight amusement as Kantarou deftly set to preparing a meal. So his master wasn't totally incompetent. Then again how long had he been alone and forced to take care of himself? Wasn't there anybody that could have taken him in after his parent's death? He was also curious about said persons' death, but he was sure that was not something you asked some you had technically just met.

Haruka walked up to stand beside Kantarou and watched his hands as he worked. Looking closely he could see small blisters on the boy palms and fingers. He was pretty sure that those did not come from bullies. Without thinking he picked up one the thin hands turning it palm up. Again the boy instinctively flinched at the touch but seeing the questioning look on Haruka's face he grinned sheepishly.

"I'm an exorcist in training. You get these when you can't quite control your powers. But the only way I'll fix that is to keep practicing right?" He turned back to his work. Again Haruka was surprised with how open the boy was. "You can have a seat in the other room if you like. This should not take too long and then I'll be right out." Haruka nodded stiffly and towards the door way. Kantarou giggled slightly at his serious response. "You don't talk much do you?" Then with an artificial stern expression he placed his hands on his hips. "If I going to be generous and let you stay here, you can at least be sociable." For a moment, Haruka thought he saw Kantarou of the future, standing there and teasing him. He gaped slightly. The boy grinned wider. "Don't just stand there. Out with you!"

To Haruka's amazement the meal was quite well made. He would have to tell Yoko that Kantarou could share some of the cooking responsibilities. He shook his head. How was he going to do that when he was in the past, and more importantly how was he going to get back? His curious encounter with younger Kantarou had made him forget the situation back at his time. Trying to reason through it all gave him a headache. He shook his head again. If he didn't stop thinking his head would surely explode. A snort made him look up. Kantarou was watching him with an amused expression on his face.

"Is something the matter? You seem to be having a difficult discussion up there." A sudden crash startled them both. They ran into the front room in time to here fading laughter through the windows. Haruka looked out the door but the culprits had disappeared. When he came back in he saw Kantarou gently clearing broken glass from the picture that stood in the small shrine. The somber look on the boy's face made Haruka furious. He walked over and helped him clear the mess, making sure the child didn't cut his already sore hands. When they had finished Kantarou gave him a bleak smile of gratitude and the silently went back to their meal, the atmosphere severely dampened for the evening.

Kantarou was meant to smile, tease, and laugh. In a small period of time, Haruka had seen more depressing expressions from the young exorcist than he would have ever thought possible. It made him uncomfortable and it made him angry. As much as Haruka was worried about his master in the future, there was nothing he could do about it for now. On the other hand, he was sure there was plenty he could do where he was. He would make sure this young Kantarou kept smiling.

A/N: If you are reading this fic and have not reviewed yet I beg you to review now. This is when I'm really going to need feedback. I feel as if I'm going out on a limb with this story and somebody needs to verbally slap me in the face if it sucks.

Hayama 4: Thank you so much for your review! You could never know how much those kind of reviews encourage me. It made my day! Thank you also for adding this story to your alert list. I love a committed reader!