The androgynous person bowed down and said: "Thank you very much, sir!" They smiled and reached their hand out for a shake.
Ed smiled back and shook their hand. "No worries. Why were they harassing you?"
They scratched the back of their head "They were asking me for money when I had none on me."
Ed shook his head. Robbery in broad daylight.
"Be careful, sir! I heard they had deep connections in the underground world!"
Ed patted them and reassured them. "The name's Ed. No need to be so formal."
Their smile just seemed to get brighter and brighter, and it was very contagious. "Nice to meet you Ed! I'm Charlie!"
A cherry blossom leaf danced its way onto Ed's head. It startled him and made it slip off of his head, dancing its way to the floor. However, Charlie caught it and blew it up in the air.
Charlie seemed to emit an aura of positivity and peace. It made Ed forget about revenge, about getting bullied, about being an orphan, about being alone...without him realizing, he had hugged Charlie, startling them, although, they didn't mind, and hugged back. Charlie, although strangers, could feel Ed and the pain he had gone through.
They both started hearing clapping noises and turned around suddenly. It was the leader, still on the floor.
"Love at first sight, ey? You bastards are gonna pay...and oh! You! Your name's Ed right? I heard what you did to RIck." He laughed "You're in big trouble...the whole underground is after you right now. I just uploaded what you looked like to the network." He laughed once again, but with an interval of coughs. "You're...dead...meat" He glared at Ed, whilst enjoying the look of anger he was wearing.
Ed was about to charge at him to knock him out again, but Charlie held him back. They shook their head. "Don't do it. You'll get into bigger trouble than just the underground. Let's get away from here for now!"
As they ran away, Ed was surprised that Charlie could keep up with his pace.
"You're quite fast!"
"I did seem weak, but that's just because I didn't want to hurt them. I'm pretty sure I'm way stronger than you." Said Charlie sarcastically.
Laughter ensued.
***
"Cousin. Who did this to you?" said a stern looking woman that emitted a domineering aura.
The leader sighed. "It was that bastard Ed."
She laughed "Levy, I didn't know you'd get beaten up by such a weakling. I mean he did beat up Rick, but you too? Come on…" Her disappointment clamped heavy weights onto Levy's heart. He always avoided getting on her bad side, as she would put him through hellish training, but now, it was only inevitable.
***
Ed and Charlie stopped by the almighty convenience store from chapter 4 and bought some noodles to eat for lunch.
They walked over to the park and ate whilst sitting on a bench - watching families smiling, eating, and laughing with each other. Ed felt the true essence of peaceful times. Everyone could smile, there was comfort around the air, no one was crying over their loved ones being at war, no one was losing their life over war.
The sun was truly shining.