"This kid will die."
- A man with broad shoulders, a defined beard and a sleek-back hair with a masculine disposition stood before a small individual.
The individual's head was resting in between his pale, scrawny crossed arms, his brown curly hair stretched all the way from his head towards his waist. His body was covered in scars, dirt, bite marks and dried blood, all combining together to a single stench that caused even the man to pinch his nose.
"..." - The kid remained unmoving. The man squinted towards the child that was enclothed with tattered rags with various flying insects hovering over him, causing the man to glance at the termite-infested garbage can nearby.
"Kid." - The man crouched down to level his face with the child. His eyes squinted as the intensified stench entered his notrils like an uppercut through his trachea.
He extended out both of his burly hands, but he suddenly came into a halt after noticing the boy's shoulders were drenched in fresh blood.
Upon closer inspection, he had also noticed that the boy's mouth was hanging open while he faced the ground, causing an overflow of saliva to flow down from his opened lips and collide with the ground. Due to the kid's tattered clothing, the man saw that the boy's ribs were almost sticking out from his torso, the only thing that was standing in between it was the skin itself. This scene caused the man to slowly avert his gaze and click his tongue.
"For the love of Heroteria... What happened to you?" - With lowered eyebrows and an empathetic facial expression, he reached out for the stationary hand of the kid that was made with nothing but skin and bone.
"hiek..!" - The kid immediately retracted his hand and covered his head as he shrinked further into the corner he was sitting onto. The kid guarded himself and trembled violently, causing the man's empathetic expression to transition into a breeding ground of terror. "..no more..."
"i don't. like...playing with. you.." - With irregular intervals, the kid uttered with a cold yet raspy tone of voice the words that circled like needles inside the man's head. The voice sounded dry to the point that it felt like it will disappear any second now.
The man's eyes remained widened. But after a few seconds he shook his head and stood up. "Forget it..there's nothing I can do." - He thought to himself, however the sudden instance of a distant and adverse memory caused him to halt after he turned around. It resurfaced like a sudden flash inside the man's head bringave of displeasing nostalgia that gripped his heart with so much force it felt like it almost stopped beating.
He stood there with a surprised expression. He downcasted his gaze before stealing another glance towards the boy that was using his extremely skinny arms to shield his head as he trembled.
The man's eyes darted around the alleyway for a few seconds before he finally clicked his tongue and went over to crouch in front of the child. He attempted to reach for the kid's hand again however, The kid shrieked and instantly retracted it again as fast as lightning. The man's mouth went agape as if it wished to say something but refused, he tried a second time but he was still unsuccessful. He eventually noticed that for every attempt of him establishing physical contact, the kid would tremble more severely. His hand closed itself and he paused to look at the child.
"..no..!"
A memory flashed inside the man's head for a second time. This time, instead of bringing a group of needles to reverberate inside his heart, it brought along a pleasant sensation that calmed it. His lips grew into a small smile and he slowly lifted his right hand instead of reaching for the boy's shaky hands.
The boy however, seeing the person raise his arm above his head caused a surge of adrenaline and terror to proliferate inside his heart. He sealed his eyes shut and a tear was squeezed out. - "..noo!!"
*PAT*
"...eh..?" - The boy felt a warm sensation above his head.
The Man leaned in closer and spoke in a soft, mellowish tone.
"I will not hurt you."