◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
//IMPORTANT NOTICE!//
This fanfiction have reached the milestone of 2,000 collections! Honestly, I didn't quite expect this to happen. I mean, this novel was supposed to be just something that I will write to pass time!
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
After getting out of the bookstore, Shin looked around and followed the pathways and started to walk aimlessly. If his thoughts are correct then the one who should be picking him up should be a ninja.
From his conversations with the Seraph Metatron, Shin new that ninjas are great at finding people. So, he went outside in order for this supposed ninja to find him a lot more easily.
After walking aimlessly for a few more minutes, he found himself in a open space with a very long stairway nearby that leads to what seems to be a shrine.
"Mmm, I wonder if the ninja will be able to find me now? I'm quite far away from the hustle and bustle of the city right now so I guess he will be able to find me much easier. Don't you think so to-"
Before Shin could ask his trusty companion's opinion about the matter, Shin heard a voice from behind him. The voice came from quite a faraway place from his position and a normal human shouldn't have heard this voice from Shin's current position. But, Shin isn't exactly a human.
With his enhanced hearing, which made him hate the hustle and bustle of the crowd these days, Shin heard some noise coming from a girl. It seems that she was crying and someone was talking to her.
"You filthy halfbreed! Don't think your father can save you from us this time around! You are a filth that stained our noble Himejima Clan!" the voice which seems to be from a middle aged man said.
"That's right! Your filthy black wings that resembles that of a crow disgusts me!" the voice of a teenager said.
Hearing this, Shin remembered something that came from the memories he received when he was four. Himejima... halfbreed... filthy... crow-like wings. Putting two and two together, Shin arrived at a conclusion as to who the girl is.
''Noble' Himejima Clan, was it? How disgusting they are. They're doing this to a little girl? If I remember correctly, she should be around a year older than me?' Shin said in absolute disgust.
This is how he felt about those people who felt like they're some hotshot or something when they're really not. These people who thinks that because their clan is strong, it means that they can do what they want, is one of those things that Shin hates the most.
'Living with those good-hearted Angels in the First Heaven, I definitely am not used to this kind of bloodline bloodline thingies,' Shin murmured.
Thus, Shin started to run towards the direction where the voices are coming from. When he arrived, he saw three grown men and a teenager surrounding a little girl. She is wearing what seems to be a traditional miko outfit which consists of a white haori with red accents, a red hakama, and a pair of zōri with white tabi.
However, the miko outfit is - right now - covered in mud. Seeing these grown men bully a girl around his age for being different, Shin found them extremely disgusting. He had received memories about humans who are extremely racist and that attitude caused a lot of war to happen. And, now that there are even more different races around, Shin knew that these kinds of people are all around.
Suddenly, a voice inside his head started to speak up.
『You know, I find these kinds of individuals to be extremely unlikable and hateful. I've been to many worlds and some people like this usually tried to provoke me and told me to submit to them because they're some kind of a 'higher being'. Those are one of the reasons why I 'accidentally' blew up some planets,』 Yuki said with extreme disgust laced in her voice.
Shin was surprised by this so he asked,
『There really are people brave enough to do that?』
Yes, he's extremely surprised to know that there are really people who are brave enough to provoke this self proclaimed Dragon God. Even though he sometimes teased her, he knew that she's really strong.
『Yes. They are one of those individuals who I hate the most,』 Yuki replied, her voice being extremely cold.
This made Shin shiver as this is the first time he heard her voice change like that.
『Don't worry! I'll grow stronger and stronger so that I can deal with those kinds of bastards in your stead!』 Shin said.
After his conversation with Yuki, Shin redirected his attention towards the filthy humanoid individuals who identify themselves as humans. He closed his eyes for a second and his aura changed to that of a bone chilling one instead of his usually warm and friendly atmosphere. Opening his eyes, it is now replaced with a look that can freeze anyone to death.
Shin slowly approached these filthy excuse of a human being and put on an amiable and extremely fake smile on his face. It seems that the four men noticed his arrival as they looked at Shin's direction when they heard someone's footsteps.
When they saw who it was, they wanted to say something like, "Scram, kid, or do you want us to spank you til you beg your mommy to come and help you!?". But, those words got stuck on their throats as they felt an immensely cold aura from the kid. Those two golden eyes that are looking at them felt like it's looking at them like they're dead meat.
This made them fear Shin. Humans, no matter who they are, always fear the unknown. And, right now, because of Shin's sudden arrival and the cold aura that he is emitting, these men were scared out of their wits.
They know that what's in front of them resembles that of a child but the aura they are feeling is not something that an ordinary child can emit. So, trusting their instincts, they began to sprint and left the girl who they are harassing earlier.
Seeing them run so decisively, Shin was puzzled. This made him exit his previous state as his previous atmosphere returned. He really didn't notice that the aura he emitted has changed after his training with Vasco Strada.
It became more like that of an expert and because he experienced some battles inside his 'Training Room', Shin's killing intent is much more enhanced and threatening. Looking at where the four men disappeared, Shin just shrugged his shoulders.
"And here I was, thinking that they would act like some cocky wuxia antagonist and say something like, "You brat! Scram! Or do you want us to show you the immensity of Heaven and Earth!"" Shin muttered.
When Shin said this, he heard the little girl and Yuki laugh. It was quite a peculiar experience since he can hear someone laugh inside his mind while simultaneously hearing someone laugh.
『Pffft! Fufufu. Immensity of Heaven and Earth!? Ahaha!』 Yuki said between her laughs.
At first, she tried to maintain her dignity and not laugh out loud but she just can't take it anymore. Meanwhile, the little girl laughed in an extremely lady-like manner at first but also ended up laughing out loud.
"Fufufu. That... immensity of... kuuu! Ahahaha!" the little girl said as she laughed.
Hearing them laugh, Shin was quite confused at first. He began to ponder about what just happened and showed an, "Ohhhh! So that was it!" expression. This made the two girls laugh even harder.
"E-hem. It's such a shame that I wasn't able to understand the pun on my words at first. Tsk, tsk," Shin said as he shook his head while showing a look of disappointment.
This made the laughs even louder as the little girl in front of Shin even clutched her stomach as she tried to stop laughing. However, it was all for naught as she can still recall the scenes that transpired.
"Ahaha! Oh, haha! No more! Please!" the little girl said as she tried to stop herself from laughing any more than this.
Shin approached the girl as he took out a handkerchief from his bag. He then crouched down near the girl and helped her wipe the dirt on her face. There are some mud stuck on her face so Shin helped her to remove it.
Now that he helped her out to remove the dirt and mud on her face, Shin was now able to fully see her features. He marveled at how cute the girl is. She has silky black hair that reaches her waist and a very beautiful violet colored irises, similar to his friend Irina.
After wiping the mud from her face, arms, and hair, Shin helped her style her hair into a ponytail with an orange ribbon that he have inside his bag. Shin then helped her get up as he dusted off the dirt on her miko outfit while he's at it.
Meanwhile, the little girl who Shin helped out didn't even utter a word while Shin is helping her out to clean herself. At first, she just showed a dumbfounded look on her face before her face gradually turned beet red.
"There. There are still some dirt on your clothes but that can't be removed by just a handkerchief," Shin said.
When his gaze landed on the girl, he saw that she was just standing there, fidgeting.
"Hmm? Are you okay? Oh! Ah, sorry if I touched you suddenly! That was just a habit of mine," Shin said before bowing.
Well, what he said was true. This is one of the habits that formed because of the constant presence of his friends everyday. Everyday, when they're playing tag, they would sometimes get dirty so Shin always helped them to clean themselves. He's kind of a clean freak so he can't help but help them remove the mud and dirt on their body.
His actions felt like it was all a matter of fact and something that should normally be done that the little girl didn't even have the time to react. If some playboy were to see Shin performing such an action so naturally, they would probably blush in shame.
"I-It's fine. Thank you f-for helping me," the girl said meekly.
"Oh, right! I forgot to introduce myself!" Shin suddenly said.
"My name is Shin! Tenma Shin Flammia! Nice to meet you!" Shin said as he bowed once again.
This time, he bowed in an elegant way. Because the person he is introducing himself is a Japanese person, Shin introduced himself like them.
Upon seeing him introduce himself, the little girl also bowed and said,
"It's nice to meet you too. I'm Himejima Akeno."
"Right, Akeno-chan, was it? You can call me Shin!" Shin declared.
The girl, now named Akeno, was shocked by his sudden declaration. As a Japanese person, calling each other by a first name basis means something significant. So, she was shocked by what Shin said.
However, as she felt that the boy in front of her really meant what he said, she just stiffly smiled and replied,
"Y-Yes. S-S-Shin-kun."
Shin, who heard her reply, showed her a wide smile.
"Ah! Oh God, it's dark already! What to do! The person who's gonna pick me up is still not here!" Shin suddenly said in panic.
Hearing this, Akeno seems to have thought of something and said,
"Why don't you follow me? I still have to thank you for saving me e-earlier," Akeno said while a slight blushed adorned her cute little face.
"E-Eh? Are you sure? We just met, you know?" Shin asked.
Hearing this, Akeno couldn't help but retort inside her mind,
'So you know that we just met!? Then why are you jumping to c-calling each other by o-our f-first names!?'
Seeing that she isn't giving him a reply, Shin couldn't help but ask,
"Akeno-chan? Are you okay?"
Akeno jumped in fright upon hearing someone call her out. When she saw that it was Shin, she hurriedly said,
"N-Nothing! Y-Yes, I'm fine! A-Anyway, follow me to our house! I still have to thank you for helping me earlier."
"Mm, okay. If you say so," Shin said.
The two kids started to walk towards the stairs which will lead them to the shrine while they both talked to each other. Well, Shin was the one who's mostly doing the talking while Akeno would occasionally flinch and blush whenever he called her out by her name.
Shin paid it no heed as he already formed the habit of calling someone by their first names.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
It took them a few minutes before the two children finished going up the stairway. After passing by a huge torii, Shin and Akeno saw a buxom woman who resembles Akeno so much. To be more precise, she looks like the future Akeno or something. Their only difference is that the older woman has light brown colored irises.
The woman's black hair is also tied into a ponytail by a violet colored ribbon while she's also wearing a miko outfit. If both Akeno and the older woman stood side by side, they would look like the past and future version of each other.
'Hmm... Akeno's mother have very strong genes. Uhmm, who was her father, again?' Shin thought, trying to remember who Akeno's father is.
However, before he could start to remember who her father is, the older woman noticed the two of them.
"Ara? It looks like you brou-"
The older woman wanted to say something more but her eyes landed on the miko outfit that Akeno was wearing. Her words came to a stop as she immediately ran towards Akeno and hugged her tightly.
"Akeno, tell mother what happened to you. Be honest, okay?" the woman asked Akeno.
"M-Mother... I-It was just..."
Akeno wanted to lie but Shin cut her off and said,
"She was being surrounded by some middle aged men and they kept calling her 'filthy' and such. I got so mad and disgusted to them so I helped her out, auntie."
Upon hearing his statement, the woman's eyes was filled with tears as she hugged her daughter tightly.
"Akeno. Mother told you not to leave the shrine, right? I... Mother is sorry, Akeno."
The woman cried as she continuously apologized to her daughter. Akeno, on the other hand, also couldn't help but cry too. Recalling the scene from before Shin saved her, she couldn't help but feel sad.
Seeing them like that, Shin didn't intervene as he just watched them. He didn't want to ruin their moment.
'I should've taught those guys a lesson. Next time, I'm gonna punish them for making Akeno-chan cry,' Shin thought to himself.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
It took the mother and daughter duo a few minutes before they managed to calm themselves down. Seeing Shin who was just watching them in the sidelines, both of them couldn't help but blush. They totally forgot about Shin.
"E-hem. I apologize for the delay. Umm..." the woman said before pausing as she didn't know what the boy's name was.
"My name is Shin, auntie. Tenma Shin Flammia," Shin said as he introduced himself.
"Auntie?" the woman asked out of curiosity.
"Yes. Aren't you Akeno-chan's mother? That's why I called you auntie," Shin replied.
Hearing his words, the woman showed a mischievous smile as she gave her daughter a fleeting glance. Seeing that her daughter is blushing, she couldn't help but chuckle.
"Fufufu. Ara ara, it looks like my dear daughter has made her very first boy friend," the woman said.
"M-Mother! S-Shin-kun is not my b-b-b-boyfriend!" Akeno shouted on reflex.
"Ara? You just called him Shin-kun, A-k-e-n-o," the woman replied.
Akeno's face turned crimson when she heard her mother say this.
"W-We're really not like t-that!" Akeno protested.
"Fufufu. Yes, yes," the woman replied.
"Mother! Please listen to me!" Akeno said, her face becoming an even deeper shade of red.
Shin began to panic at this, wondering how someone could turn even more redder.
"Alright, alright. If that's what you say so," the woman said.
Hearing her mother's reply, Akeno started to calm down a little. While Akeno was calming herself down, the woman looked at Shin and said,
"It is nice to meet you, Shin-kun. I'm Himejima Shuri. Akeno's mother. You can call me 'mother', like Akeno. Fufufu," the woman, now named Shuri said.
Shin wanted to reply but he was interrupted by a loud shout.
"MOTHER! I TOLD YOU THAT WE'RE NOT LIKE THAT!"
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
A/N:
• Alright~! We're on our way to another event. What would happen next!? Find out in the next episode of A Traveler's Legend!(damn, that sounds quite nice)
• I wonder what will happen to the mother and daughter pair? Well, that depends on how it's gonna play out inside my head.
• No, there will be no such thing as NTRing Shuri from Barakiel. There's a saying, "Don't do unto others what you don't want done unto you". I shiver at the thought of having my waifu get NTRed.(I hate that genre BTW. FCK that genre! It's completely only for those who have some... Unique(?) tastes.)
• A few more chapters and we'll be ready for the next Arc! It would be about Shin going on a learning spree! In order to keep updated, hit that like, subscribe, and ring that notification bell!(Hahaha)