"Are you ready?"
"Y-yes." Kenshin was tense. He was really going to help Makoto with stealing. Could he pull this off? He had chosen to go down this path. He had to be able to do this, but the guilt inside him wouldn't let him rest. Kenshin felt a sense of relief when Makoto hugged him. "I know this is hard for you, Kenshin. That's why I'll do most of the work, I just need you to distract that guy." Kenshin nodded with a tense expression. "That guy knows me, but he doesn't know you. That's how we can easily pull this off. I believe in you, Kenshin." Kenshin had two burdens weighing on him. He wanted to succeed in this, but it was theft. This dilemma wouldn't let Kenshin go.
Makoto could see Kenshin's tension. She needed to reassure him, but what could she do? "Look, Kenshin, if you want, I can handle this alone-"
"N-no, I promised you, Makoto. I won't leave you alone."
Makoto smiled. "Okay." She liked this side of Kenshin. "So, are you ready, partner?" Kenshin started taking deep breaths. "I'm ready." He had to make this work. "Show yourself, partner." Kenshin's confidence in himself grew with Makoto's wink. Makoto believed in him; he could do this.
"H-hello, sir."
"Oh, hello, kid..." The man sitting behind the shelves was surprised. "Could you help me with something?" Kenshin started feeling regret before deceiving the man. "Oh, sure, kid." The man got up from his chair and came over to Kenshin. "I've never seen you before, kid, are you new here?"
"Umm... yes, my parents and I just moved here... we were looking for a place to live... our house got destroyed..." Kenshin forgot all the lines he was supposed to say in his excitement. He paused his impromptu story and presented it to the man.
"I'm sorry, kid, you must be really unlucky." The man patted Kenshin's hair. "You have to be careful here, kid. Especially you should be careful."
"W-why?"
"Well, let me tell you, kid, there are bad people around here. They can do something to you, be careful. You should tell your parents about this, although they probably already understand when they see the state of this place."
"O-okay, I'll tell my parents, sir."
"By the way, what's your name, kid?"
What should Kenshin say? Should he make up a name? No, he had told enough lies. He wouldn't tell any more. "I'm Kenshin... so, what's your name, sir?"
"Haha, you're such a sweet kid, Kenshin." The man kneeled in front of Kenshin. "I'm Markus, kid, nice to meet you." Markus extended two fingers to Kenshin. "I-I'm pleased to meet you, Uncle Markus." Kenshin grabbed Markus's two extended fingers with his small hand. They shook hands with Markus's fingers.
"Now, let's get to your problem, kid. I've asked you too many questions, I won't bore you." Markus got up and held Kenshin's hand. "No problem, Uncle Markus, you're really nice, thank you."
"Haha, thank you, kid. You've brightened up my day. I was just standing behind that counter waiting for customers." Kenshin was feeling increasingly guilty. His confidence in being able to do this was diminishing. Markus was a good person. How could he do this to him?
"P-please follow me."
"Lead the way, kid, let's solve whatever problem you have." Kenshin had escorted Markus out of the shop. There was no turning back now. He was going to do this. He had led Markus away from his shop. Markus was standing, waiting to listen to Kenshin. Kenshin, however, began to feel uncomfortable when he saw Makoto, who had entered the shop behind Markus.
"Is there a problem, kid? What's wrong?" Markus bent down and placed his hand on Kenshin's shoulder. "N-no, don't worry." Kenshin forced a smile. "Alright, kid, whatever you say. Now, tell me what the problem is."
"Um, I had prepared a gift for my parents. I wanted you to interpret it."
"Ah... sure, kid. I'm sure you've prepared something wonderful. Show me."
"Hehehee, let me show you. Please wait here."
"Alright, kid, I'm waiting."
Kenshin entered the side street. He needed to keep the man waiting here for a bit. He slowly picked up the scene he had prepared from the cardboard. Similarly, he began to walk slowly towards Markus. Kenshin was feeling really awful about this.
"I'm sorry, I could only come late."
"No problem, kid. Let's see your gift."
"H-here it is." Kenshin presented the cardboard scene he was carrying in his arms to Markus. Two children were sitting in the middle of a table, surrounded by figures of a mother and father. "This is very impressive, kid, you've done a great job. I'm sure your parents will love this gift."
"T-thank you. I hope they like it." Kenshin lowered his face in shame for what he had done. "Hey kid, don't worry, you've done a really great job considering your age. They'll definitely love it."
"Ahh, thank you, then I can comfortably present this to my parents." Kenshin needed to keep himself composed. Makoto hadn't come out yet. "By the way, do you have a sibling, kid? Who's the other child in this?"
"Oh, um, he's a very dear friend staying with us. He's alone..."
"Ah... I see. You're a really good kid, Kenshin. I'd like to meet your friend someday."
"O-okay, I'll bring him here someday."
"I'm looking forward to it, I'm always here."
Makoto finally emerged. She smiled at Kenshin, giving him a thumbs up, then hurried off with the bag on her back. Kenshin was both relieved and uneasy at the sight.
"Is something wrong, kid?" Markus turned around to see why Kenshin seemed affected, but there was nothing to see. Kenshin needed to fix the situation immediately. "Uh, is this shop yours?"
"Ah, so my shop caught your eye. What do you think? Do you like it?" Markus smiled and ruffled Kenshin's hair. "Y-yes, it's very nice. I hope you can sell as much as you want."
"I doubt it, but I hope so, kid." Markus stood up. "Is there anything else you need my help with?"
"No, thank you very much, Markus."
"You're welcome, kid. Feel free to come by whenever you need help."
"O-okay, goodbye." Kenshin turned around and began to slowly walk away from Markus. Maybe if he distanced himself from him, the feeling of guilt would lessen.
"Ah, what a shy kid. GOODBYE, KID!" Markus waved after Kenshin with a smile.
"You did it, Kenshin." Makoto jumped with joy, wrapping her arms around Kenshin's neck. "Hehehe, y-yeah, I did it." Kenshin tried to imagine how Markus would react when he saw the empty shelves. This was bad, very bad. Markus didn't deserve this. "These should last us for about a week, Kenshin. It's all thanks to you. I couldn't have done it without you. You're my hero." Kenshin felt a sense of peace with the word 'hero'. He had become Makoto's hero. So, he was successful in his mission. "Please don't feel guilty, Kenshin. We have to do this to keep going." Makoto wanted to comfort Kenshin as much as possible. It was working. Kenshin was really starting to feel relieved. "No guilt, okay, Kenshin-chan?" Makoto poked Kenshin's nose with her finger. "O-okay." Kenshin was taken aback. "Well then, let's have a feast now."
"O-okay."
Makoto began to unload the provisions from the bag with a smile. Before going to Makoto, Kenshin's eyes lingered on the gift he had shown Markus. He felt sorry for Markus. "I'm sorry, Uncle Markus..." Putting aside his remorse, he sat down next to Makoto. They began to admire the great loot they had earned today.