Thank....good..ness.." the girl whispered with a weak but satisfied smile before collapsing once again.
Akari still holding her meek hands along with the the small purple flower inside of it lowered her grasp from her chest to the little girl's lap.
Akari stopped smiling, and lowered her head, yet not crying .
Swallowing her tears she said
"Ne..Kuro,"
"What...?"
"Is everybody..... like this?"
a short pause passed between them.
"Hah... your whole shitty country is like this you know...."
Then a long pause passed between them, Kuro staring at Akari's pitiful back.
"It's always been like thi-"
"WHY?!? THIS ISN'T RIGHT!!" Akari exploded almost immediately after, her hoarse voice cracking through the intense emotion that was hidden by her turned back. Kuro continued to stare solemnly at her back for a short while, before a painfully sad side smirk crossed his face
"I don't think a fucking little pampered princess whose biggest trouble in life was that she couldn't act like how she wanted to can talk." he tried to say in a sarcastic tone, but his voice cracks showcased his obvious emotional distress. Still he kept up the facade.
Akari had no answer to his retort, so she didn't answer. He was right after all. So instead she scooped up the girl after she let go of her tiny hands and carried her to kuro. All the while keeping her head so down you could not see her eyes, and her her pale autumn hair covering the majority of her face.
"Kuro...Please."
"You should just leave her, Or are gonna try help every starved kid we come across? Stop trying to make yourself feel better by helping somebody, trying to convince yourself that your a good person. You make me sick, using this child as a way to boost your own self ego, but I guess that's what all you rich kids are about." Kuro replied, trying to aggravate Akari
but she showed no response.
What's the point of helping this brat? Do you think your morally just by giving her a temporary release from all the pain. only to send her straight back into it? If your gonna help this brat then it's only just that you help the thousands of children everywhere else!" He carried on
Akari still didn't react to his harsh words at all, instead she just stood their silently, almost deathly still and still looking at the little girl in her arms.
"Please..."
Kuro's expression fell. The condescending smirk he was trying to hide behind slowly into a subtle frown, before his whole body tensed up and started trembling. Gritting his teeth and clenching his fist, his head dropped down. Soon enough though his body relaxed, causing his head to bop down a little further. His gritted teeth turned into a sigh as he placed his hand on his face and brought his head back up to face Akari
"Ah, fuck it. Fine" he reluctantly sighed.
To this Akari finally raised her head. Her hair was evidently disheveled from her earlier emotional explosion and the fact that her head has been down all that time. Down her cheeks was a line of red from her tears, extending from the outer edge of her eyes to her jaw, fading as it neared her jaw. She faced Kuro slowly, and a slow spreading, yet painfully grateful smile crossed her face. It wasn't a particularly wide smile, nor a small one, but it carried the weight of a world of gentleness.
"Thank you." she whispered softly, her eyes full of gratitude. Her gently passionate emotions laid bare on her face reached even kuro, Who in reaction squinted ever so slightly while bringing his lips in for a short moment before letting out a relieved smile and flicking her forehead.
"Owww~" Akari whined light-heartedly, rubbing her forehead.
"Follow me" he told her before turning around and walking away. So follow she did. A while it took, until they reached a run down terrace house. It was in just as bad condition as the other houses. Kuro walked up to it in a casual fashion, but then suddenly started banging on the door aggressively, in a almost comedic way.
"OI!! OLD HAG! OPEN THE FUCKIN' DOOR!"
Kuro then continued in his comedically aggressive way banging the door repeatedly, whilst Akari stared blankly and awkwardly on.
"OLD HA-"
"FUCKING SAY OLD HAG ONE MORE TIME AND I'LL KILL YOU" Screamed a voice from inside the house, interrupting kuro before he could say anymore. The door then suddenly opened, but kuro dodged backwards before it hit him. Akari and Kuro were then greeted with a very angry (but pretty) lady with medium length light brown hair, ending near the end of her chest, who appeared to be around 25 standing in the doorway. In a subtle sumo-like stance, one arm stretched as far down as possibly can go, the other up in the air as if she was ready to punch someone.
"Kill me? ha you can't even touch m-"
AND STRIKE; she slugged him as soon as she saw him, after which she started panting heavily for a couple of seconds. Kuro flung back towards Akari and land landed flat on his back.
"OLD HAG! THAT'S NOT FAIR!" He shouted as he sat up. After a eye twitch, the lady quickly paced towards kuro and grabbed him by his collar with one hand and pulled him up. She lifted her other hand up so that it was on the same level as her head and clenched it into a fist"
"The fuck did you just call me?" She said In a very a passive-aggressive tone, with a VERY passive-aggressive smile. After which she proceeded to be extremely violent.
"W-wait!" Akari stuttered as she reached out for the lady. The lady dropped the now battered Kuro on the floor.
"Please help this little girl!" Akari pleaded.
"Ah! Reha!" The lady said as she walked all over kuro's face to Akari in a very concerned manner.
"Where did you find her?!? actually it doesn't matter, come inside for now." She told Akari, after which she pulled Akari by her free hand all over kuro and inside. "Ah! Akari you traitor! come back here!!" Kuro called loudly as he shot up, still battered and bruised, and followed them in.
The room was practically empty, with just a worn out futon in the corner and a low wooden table in the middle of the room. The lady lay Reha down on the futon and then went to the kitchen. From there she bought a bucket of water and a towel. She wet the towel and put it Reha's forehead. Meanwhile Akari and Kuro were sitting on one side of the wooden table. After tending to Reha, the lady sat on the other side of the table opposite to Akari and Kuro.
"ha- ahem, Nene...did you have to beat the shit out of me?!" Kuro pouted, sitting both cross legged and cross armed and with bruises and bumps all over his body.
"Yup!" she chirped, with a wide passive agressive smile spread across her face.
"you fucking little.....*sigh* nevermind. More importantly how do you know the little brat?" Asked kuro reluctantly.
"Oh she's my 'kid'; I look after Reha and she lives with me."
"oh~ well that's saves me the trouble of getting you to find her parents...wait....WAIT did you say she's YOUR KID?!"
"You got a problem with me looking after a kid or two?!?"
"nope.....just thought you'd stay a virgin forever."
"SHE'S AIN'T ACTUALLY MY CHILD!!"
"ah that makes more sense, after all your too old for anyone to want you and too ugly to get laid."
"Kuuuuuurrrrrrroooooooo~ did you not learn YOUR FUCKIN' LESSON?!?!!!!"
Kuro and "Nene" quarrelled for a solid 5 minutes, with their "subtly" agressive threats transforming into acts of violence. Through all of this Akari sat tensely, with her hands clutching at her yukata on her lap and arms completely straight. Nene only then remembered that Akari was there.
"Sorry 'bout that, " awkwardly apologized Nene "Your the one that helped Reha aren't you?"
"eh...how.. did yo-"
"There's no way kuro would ever help a kid even if they were being tortured!" she interrupted with a slight chuckle, which disturbed Akari as that was most definitely not a light-hearted statement.
"Thank you," Smiled Nene kindheartedly. "The brat looked so pitiful that I just couldn't help taking her in, but she keeps staying out for long hours doing god knows what....Sometimes I wonder if she even wants to be here..."
"..." Akari didn't know what to say.
"Oops sorry...hehehe....Went on a bit of a rant there..."
"Um...Re..ha.....looks awfully..um...thin...?" Akari quietly asked. To this kuro placed his elbow on his crossed knee, rested his head on his fist and then turned his head away slowly in the opposite direction of Akari while clicking his tongue. On the other hand Nene's expression sank and displayed a disheartened smile as she lowered her head.
"We...Don't have much food here...To be honest...Reha is quite chubby for a kid here since I give her most of my food...."
"Ah..."
Akari only then realised how rude she had just been and immediately regretted it, but knew apologizing would only make the atmosphere more awkward then it was already. Everyone sat awkwardly silent for a decently long pause, until kuro broke the silence.
"Oi, Nene, where is the nearest market town?"
He asked in his usual slightly arrogant and annoyed tone.
"Eh....Ah....etto...here I have a map, let me get it for you..." she replied, at first surprised and hesitant, shackled down by the awkward atmosphere.
She left the room back into the kitchen and then once again came out, this time with a map. She handed it over to Kuro and then sat back down. She then turned her head at Akari.
"You know, I dunno who you are or what happened to bring a rich looking person like you here, but if it's about that whole revolution campaign that's been going on for while now, well all I can say is if it'll put more food In out stomachs when it happens then I have nothing against it. But if it just makes our lives even more miserable, then I don't want anything to do with it."
"Revolution campaign?!?" Akari asked surprised and shocked.
"Huh...you aren't a noble chased out by the revolutionaries??" Nene replied, very confused.
"Can you tell me more about them?!?" insisted Akari, who thought she had found something about her overthrowing and why prince Hikaru would do that.
"Ah.. well a bunch of people including some nobles were campaigning and protesting in the streets in some market towns and the capital about how we're all poor because of the king."
Akari immediately made the connection; Prince Hikaru must've led this political campaign in an attempt to gain the throne!
...
But then why didn't Akari or her father not know of it? Or did her father know and just not tell her? The more Akari thought about it the more questions she had. For starters why would prince Hikaru even do that? he lived a very comfortable life since he was related to royalty. Did he really feel sorry for the citizens? Why then, did he look so happy massacring everyone in the estate?! Something felt off about this 'revolution'.
After Nene explained to Akari more about the revolutionists Akari picked up the fact that Nene wasn't aware that they had already overthrown the Aitsuki lineage.
"....Though even if they did overthrow the king, I wouldn't be particularly upset... We live and work like animals because of the king, honestly he is better off dead." Said Nene at one particular point in time.
This stung Akari a little bit. Not because she missed her father but because she sat by ignorant of what was happening in her own country. Kuro picked up on Akari's increasing guilt and decided it was a good time to grab Akari by the hand and just walk out.
"Thanks hag! if your still alive in a few decades I might come back." Kuro shouted back as he left the house. Nene had a face full of concern when they left.
"Be careful kuro!!" she shouted at them while waving her goodbyes from the doorway.
Kuro continued to drag Akari by her hand untill they had left Nene's field of vision, and only because by then Akari regained her composure a snapped back her hand from kuro's grip.
"What was that for kuro?!" asked Akari in a confused tone
After losing his grip she sped walk so that she was beside him rather than being dragged behind him, her hands holding each other behind her back as they walked through the dawn
"You were taking too long."
"But it was important!"
"It's already sunset!!"
"Ah..."
Where were you planning to sleep in this area, huh??! If we don't get to the market town by night then you'll be sleeping outside!!"
"EHH~" "We better hurry then!"
"Well it's not like running will help you much"
...
"Kuro... Is it right for me to take revenge?..."
"Huh?"
"I mean... Maybe prince Hikaru really did just care about the people..."
"I don't know much about your situation, but if the dude secretly ousted your father rather than publicly claiming the throne then he obviously has other intentions..."
"Mm....yeah, your right..."