The children led Riku to their home and he helped the man inside. The man was in his mid-thirties it seemed, his hair was black and he had a bit of stubble. His eyes were also bright green opposed to Riku's deep green eyes, and he was pretty thin, but pretty fit and well built, and Riku could feel some muscle from the man as well. His children were simply thin, but they were somehow in high spirits, the children asking Riku various questions that he answered the best he could, chuckling here and there at some of their questions and reactions. "Kids, innocent, yet deadly."
Their home was a small, run down, one story home. Rundown in this world could basically be considered your average everyday home in Riku L's home world with a few exceptions. They didn't have any of the fancy technology Riku's home had, which seemed to be normal in every household from what the man's kids told him. Even without all of it, they were still happy.
Once they were inside, Riku heard the voice of a woman, who he guessed was this man's wife. "Welcome back de-" She gasped as she saw him. "Oh my goodness, what happened?!" She rushed over and helped him inside with Riku, laying him on the couch.
"Ah I'm fine... I was just trying to ask a hero for help and he gave me what for... This nice hero boy scared him off though." The man chuckled.
The woman looked up at Riku and smiled softly. "Thank you so much." She bowed lightly.
"O-Oh no, I really didn't do much of anything..." Riku giggled nervously. "Honestly this guy might've been able to hold out his own, until magic got involved..." Riku thought to himself, thinking of the man's muscular stature.
"We're still really grateful." The woman said, still bowing lightly.
"Thank you mister!" The children hugged Riku's legs and he chuckled nervously, patting their heads and the woman stood upright and smiled. She was around the same age as the man from what Riku could tell, if not a little younger. She had long, dirty blond hair and deep brown eyes, and she was also a bit skinny, wearing casual, but somewhat rugged clothing, as was the rest of the family. The two children seemed to be a couple years apart in age, the boy being older. The boy had messy, dirty blond hair like his mother and green eyes like his father, the little girl the exact opposite; long and messy black hair like her and deep brown eyes. He gave them all a light smile as he imagined being in a family like this himself.
"It's no problem. Anyways, I should get go-"
"Nooooo!!" The children cried and clung to his legs.
"E-Eh?"
"Don't go mister! Stay and have dinner with us!" The little boy whined.
"Yeah!" The little girl nodded.
"Now now kids-" The father started but was cut off by the mother.
"No no, please stay. It's late and it could be dangerous. It isn't too much trouble is it?" The woman looked at her husband with a pleading look.
The man instantly broke and sighed. "Yeah kiddo, we ain't getting out of this one."
Riku chuckled. "I guess not."
"Hooray!" The kids cheered.
Riku laughed, but paused suddenly. "Oh, if I'm staying, then I'll help out with the chores and cooking. It's the least I could do."
"Oh, but you're a guest, we can't possibly-"
Riku quickly cut the woman off. "Ah, no butts. Besides, I have something special with me so we can have this for dinner." He smiled as he pulled out some raw, boneless chicken breasts he had bought before coming into the slums.
The family's eyes all lit up at once and they began drooling a little bit, their eyes sparkling with hunger. "B-But we couldn't... T-There's no way we could repay you, w-we..." The woman mumbled.
"What do you mean? This is me paying you for letting me stay the night." Riku smiled. "I don't charge people for helping them by choice."
The woman teared up and the kids started sniffling. "K-Kids, remember to say thank you..."
"T-Thank you so much..!" They said in unison as they started crying a bit.
Riku smiled softly, but sadly. "They've been through a lot...everyone here has..." The children hugged his legs again and he ruffled their hair, their father having a big grin. "I'm Riku Fumiya by the way, what are your names?" He asked with a smile.
"My name is Reina." The woman smiled.
"Name's Makou." The father grinned.
"I'm Gina!" The little girl smiled brightly.
"And I'm Haruto!" The little boy jumped up.
"We're the Gilbinga family!" They all shouted happily and laughed together.
Riku nodded in confirmation. "I'm happy to meet all you awesome people." He grinned.
After they settled down a bit, the mother brought Riku to the kitchen and they began preparing dinner. Riku prepped and fried the chicken while Reina prepared the side dishes. Their meal would be fried chicken with rice and miso soup. "What do you all normally have for dinner?" Riku asked as he cooked.
"Well, we normally only have some kind of soup or stew with some rice. At times, all we have for food is bread and water..." Reina smiled sadly.
Riku frowned, thinking to himself for a moment. "Oh, I know!" An idea popped into Riku's mind suddenly. "Hey Reina, do you mind watching the chicken? I need to go do something really quick."
She smiled. "No problem, the rest is just about ready as well."
"Thanks a bunch." Riku ran out the back door and went off into the woods nearby. "This should be far enough..." He took out a whistle and blew on it. Though it was silent, Roco was in front of him in a matter of seconds. He whispered something to Roco and the griffon nodded, flying off. Riku then quickly returned to the kitchen of the Gilbinga household. "Sorry about that!" He ran over and started helping with plating all the food they had prepared.
Riku had cut up the chicken breasts into bite sized pieces, so all together they had a good sixty fried chicken pieces. Riku set the big plate of chicken in the center of the table while Reina poured some tea in all of their cups, rice and miso at all of their seats already. Riku also brought out a few sauces he had on him and poured them in small cups by everyone's food. "Try your food in any of these and tell me what you like best, for next time." He smiled.
"Next time?!" The kids' eyes sparkled with glee.
"If I'm welcome that is." Riku chuckled and patted their heads before sitting at his seat, the parents coming in after and taking theirs. The family prayed before eating and Riku put his hands together and closed his eyes out of a sign of respect, even though he didn't believe in any gods just yet. He did believe in a greater force, just not something he could name.
Afterward the family each grabbed a bite of chicken and ate it plain, their eyes sparkling at the flavor. Riku smiled as he ate some rice, the family's eyes sparkling even more as they tried the chicken with the various sauces. In the end, Riku let the family eat every piece of chicken without having even a single piece himself. They soon finished eating and Riku helped Reina with the dishes after being smothered by hugs from the children.
After they finished cleaning up, Reina bowed to Riku. "I can't thank you enough for this. We have a bath prepared for you, so please indulge yourself and relax."
Riku smiled lightly and nodded. "I should be thanking you guys. The company's really nice." He headed off to the bathroom to take a bath. He sighed as he got in the warm water. He relaxed, several thoughts running through his head. "What else have they had to go through..?" He ran his fingers through his hair as he considered the awful things the family might've gone through.
Soon enough he got out, wearing an extra set of clothes. He usually always had an extra set of clothes on him, as he liked to be prepared for any situation. He then walked out into the living room, Gina and Haruto playing a game on the floor and Makou and Reina watching TV on the couch.
Riku smiled, walking over to join the family, but stopped as he heard Roco's cawing. "That was quick." He ran outside and Reina and Makou exchanged glances before standing and following him, the children running out as well. Roco landed a few feet away from the front of the home, dragging several other dead beasts that he somehow managed to tie together with him.
"Good job Roco!" Riku ran over and ran his fingers through Roco's fur before looking at all the dead game. Everything was edible, just like Riku had asked of Roco. The family couldn't take their eyes off Roco, too shocked to even notice the beasts he had brought with him, Gina and Haruto hiding behind their parents. Riku looked over at all of them. "Don't worry, he doesn't bite. He's extremely friendly."
The children looked at one another and nodded, being the first of the family to run over. Roco cooed and lowered his head so the children could pet him, making their eyes light up with joy. "Wow..! He's so soft! This is awesome!" Haruto shouted with glee, but Gina just quietly pet him, smiling.
The parents finally noticed all the dead beasts and walked over to Riku. "What is this all about?" Reina asked.
"It's food for the slums. I'm gonna take it all to the butcher here and have it paid for then give food to everyone."
"Y-You're serious? That could cost a lot..." Makou muttered.
Riku merely smiled. "I'm a hero. It's what heroes do. At least, that's what my definition of heroes do." He knelt down and ruffled the kids' hair again. "They help those who are too weak to help themselves and protect them from the strong and wicked. That's what a hero really is."
The children looked at Riku with awe and smiled, cheering in unison. "Yeah!" Their parents stared at him the same way, Reina simply smiling softly and Makou giving him a grin.
"When I grow up, I'm gonna be just like you Riku!" The boy's words made Riku blush faintly and chuckle quietly.
"How cute. There are probably people that are way better to look up to than me kid." Riku thought to himself.
Gina simply hugged his leg again and Riku patted her head, smiling. She looked up at him, her cheeks red. "When I grow up, I wanna marry you Riku!" Her words made his face turn red from embarrassment and the kids' parents laughed.
Riku laughed nervously, sweat dripping from his forehead. "My first love confession and it's from a kid..." His head drooped as he thought this.