Hey guys! I know, I'm a horrible person, I haven't posted in so long^^' I've been a bit preoccupied and actually the only reason this is here is because I'm still getting story alerts on this (but no reviews, what's up with that?) and you can all thank Potatoe Girl, the most rescent subscriber, for this little chappie^^ I'm going to try and upload a little more regulerly but until then, here's a shorty. Also, at the end, there's a link to some new fanart^^
Enjoy~
The night finished uneventfully and at the end Mangetsu went back to the kitchen and counted up her tips with Fai. Claudia told them they would get full pay at the end of the week but the tips were enough to get them food. Fai cleaned up the kitchen and when they were ready to leave, Kage bounded up to them and asked Mangetsu where they were going.
"Elsewhere." She responded, already beginning to walk. When he moved to follow she whirled around and jabbed a finger in his face.
"NO. You stay here."
He nodded, overly eager, and Mangetsu huphed, dragging Fai out behind her.
There was four hours till sunrise and Fai was already hoping they'd be able to get back to a normal sleep schedule. He was determined to make Mangetsu sleep like a human being.
They slept heavily and in the morning they ate, and paid for, a bag of sweet-buns. When they finished they had nothing to do besides wander the streets for hours until Claudia's opened.
The night was almost identical the every night for the rest of the month. Mangetsu complained about Kage constantly, he followed her religiously; Fai actually enjoyed his time in the kitchen and business picked up considerably thanks to good gossip about his cooking. But despite the rise in business and tips, even when they received their weekly pay, they had very little money, barely enough to feed themselves. They had actually looked at ads for cheap apartments but it was far more than they could afford. They continued sleeping in allies and doorways for a few weeks. Then everything became, if not worse, harder.
It was one in the morning and they had just left Claudia's. They had gone to one of their usual spots only to find it occupied by several men, all looking drunk. Fai was too tired to deal with Mangetsu picking a fight and so they continued past. The moon hung heavy over their heads, casting light down into the narrow streets, reflecting off of the patches of ice.
They turned left and both of them froze at a muffled sound. After thirty seconds of watching Mangetsu perk her ears like a cat they realized simultaneously that it was stifled sobs, echoing off of the close walls.
Fai strained against the darkness to find the source and after a minute he found it, huddled against the wall. It was a small, slumped figure that looked like it was trying to curl in on itself. They were shaking, whoever they were, and it seemed just as likely to be from fear as from the cold. Fai started towards them without a second thought but Mangetsu caught his arm.
"Nope. Not our problem."
"But Mang-mang, look how small they are, it's a child…"
"Don't care."
Fai turned towards her with a glare.
"Mangetsu that was us not too long ago."
She snorted.
"Maybe that was you, but I don't remember crying." She shuddered. "I can't stand crying."
Fai stared at her in disbelief.
"What is the matter with you? Why won't you-"
"Because we can't!"
They were both whisper-shouting.
"Angle we can barely feed ourselves; we'd never be able to take care of her."
"Her?"
"Female aura. Fai, we'd be teasing her by making her think we could help her.
"But…" Fai looked down the alley, following Mangetsu's gaze. He understood what she was saying but he was fairly sure he could convince her otherwise.
"Mang-mang, she'll die if we leave her."
"She might die if we take her with us."
"And she might not! At least that way she would't be alone."
With that sentence he felt tears sting his eyes and he realized his subconscious had made on connection he hadn't thought of.
"No one should be alone…"
Mangetsu sighed and fidgeted, glancing back and forth between Fai and the figure.
"Fiiine, but if we get into to trouble, you're my priority and you better be your own priority too, understood?"
But Fai had stopped listening after he got his answer. He was already starting down the alley.
"Excuse me..? Umm… Miss?"
She looked up as he came to crouch in front of her and now that he was there he didn't really know what to say. Up close he could see that she was five at the most. She had long dark blonde hair that looked like it was plaited at one point but it had become tangled and knotted, with pieces sticking out. Her dark blue eyes were wary and slightly wild; she looked terrified and after a moment of stunned silence he saw her mouth one word.
Soldiers
"Nonono-"
He started, just as she scrambled up from her position and made to run. He reached for her but Mangetsu was faster, rocketing around him and grabbing her by the arm. Realizing she had been caught the girl started struggling, jumping and clawing at Mangetsu in desperation. Mangetsu, to her credit, was actually trying not to hurt her, holding her by both arms away from herself, trying to avoid getting bit. Fai tried to talk to her, hoping she would tire herself out quickly.
"I know these are guard uniforms but we're not I promise! If you'd just listen for a moment-"
She thrashed frantically and was practically shrieking. He couldn't make out her words, just desperation and fear. Mangetsu had a good hold on her though and wasn't letting go. She had a lot of fight and eventually Mangetsu adjusted her grip and made it impossible for her to move, slipping into her own language to talk to Fai.
"Fai she's little. Children can't be reasoned with, just get her attention!"
He nodded as the girl settled for whipping her head back and forth. He reached out and cupped her face in his hands as gently as he could to keep her from hurting herself.
"Look at me."
He spoke calmly but firmly and slowly she complied. Looking at him with wide eyes and tears streaming down her face.
"We are not going to hurt you we're going to help you. Do you understand?"
She stared at him and Fai could see her mind working. She whispered something unintelligible and a few more tears slipped down her face. But to Fai they looked more relieved than anything else. She stopped struggling and after a moment Mangetsu plunked her down on her feet. She stood, seeming to make a conscious effort to collect herself which Fai could have laughed at in one so young if he hadn't felt so bad. She sniffed quietly before launching herself at him and wrapping her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder.
Alright, new OC^^ I've been wanting to add her for a while, she plays a big part. This link is to a new pic of Mang-mang though, not her. This is Mang as she appears in another project of mine, non-fanfiction, totally original. I'm not posting a link to that though, I wanna see if you guys can find it (if you want to, of course)
Anyway, here you go, remember to take out the spaces blah blah blah:
http : / / shingetsuxmangetsu . deviantart . com / # / d37bapa
Yes I know she doesn't look the same, different story remember? Let me watcha think^^ I have nothing else to tell you guys except reviews=motivation=faster chapters! If I don;t think anyone's reading I'm less likely to post. Anyway, thanks^^
ありがとう
ShingetsuXMangetsu