For some reason, the kid reminded me of myself 2 weeks back. The war had ended a month ago, but refugees were still pouring in. The land of rain was rife with bandits and missing-nin. Some were just afraid of the war restarting. And this kid in front of me was just one of many left to starve. Maybe it was the modern principles ingrained in me from childhood. But I couldn't walk past like everyone else.
I stopped. "Hey, kid. Are you hungry?" The kid at first shrank back from me. I offered him my hand, "I'll feed you." The kid just stared. A conflicting expression on his face. But i guess the promise of a warm meal won out, and he took my hand.
I brought him to my house and gave him the same thing I was eating, Rice I had cooked, and curry that I had fumbled into learning. It wasn't a delicious meal by any standards, but by the way he ate, I felt like the reincarnation of Chef Gordon Ramsey. It was also cute when he tried to imitate me when I prayed before the meal.
I started doing my workout in the verandah. It felt better than in the rooms. The kid sat in the doorway looking at me. After a while, I couldn't take it. I asked, "What is it?"
The kid just stared back expectantly, then asked, "What do I have to do?"
It took me a moment to realise that he was asking for work in exchange for the food I had given. Which kinda made sense, but I didn't have the heart to make the pitiful guy work. "I fed you because I felt like it, kid. I don't need payment. You can go."
The kid looked at me suspiciously. But after I did not do or say anything, and just returned to my pushups. He slowly left. I completed my quest and went to sleep.
The next day, I made tags, did my workout, and then set off to the library. Even the general library accessible to logistics genin had basic stuff like the academy's three jutsus, swordsmanship manual, basic chakra refining and Taijutsu manual. I tried to find Fuinjutsu, but apparently, it was Chunin Only. I copied what I needed and went to the shop to sell the tags I made.
As I was returning, I noticed something. The kid was still lying near my house. But this time I steeled my heart. I couldn't adopt him or something, right?
In the evening, when I went out for my walk, the kid was no longer there. I just sighed and went forth. I met Handa again. We had a general talk and then parted. As I was coming back, I saw a new sight in front of my house. There were 3 silhouettes now.
The boy from last night and 2 little girls with dirty blonde hair. When I came near, they all stood at attention. From their looks, I could tell that they wanted to say something. But couldn't gather the courage to do so. I opened the outer door to the verandah and began going in.
"Sir," I paused. But the kids couldn't bring themselves to say anything more. "I am not running a charity here, kid." I felt for them, but I had things to do. Power to gather. I couldn't take care of these guys. It felt like it was turning into something more. "Please, sir, just for her. I'll work for it."
That's when I noticed that the little one of them didn't look too good. I also noticed the similarity between the two girls. They were probably sisters. With tear-filled big eyes, she pleaded with me silently. "Please, sir, I'll do anything!"
----
Little Reina was from a village in the Land of Rain. And she was afraid. Really, really afraid. Her sister Emiko was sick. Really sick from hunger. They had learned to live with hunger, but this was a particularly long spell without getting their hands on anything. The usual trash of the restaurant the foraged was taken over by others. And now her sister looked exactly like the other kids who died. She didn't wanna be alone. She had seen acts of sex happening on the street. An uncle had offered her food in exchange once. But she had somehow felt an innate disgust for it. It sounded quite painful from the sounds of it.
But this was an emergency; her sister was dying. So when Haruto told her about a kind boy who had fed him. She chose to offer herself. After all he was kind, He would make it hurt less right?
-----
The offer took me by surprise. My heart ached for the girl. I sighed and motioned for them to come in.
I cooked a light meal — simple rice and thin stew. The girl's body showed every sign of starvation; giving her too much at once would do more harm than good.
When I passed out the bowls, the older sister glanced at theirs, then silently exchanged her own — the one with more meat — for her little sister's.
The motion was so natural it almost hurt to watch. That kind of quiet love didn't survive long in this world. A small smile tugged at my lips, though my chest felt heavier for it.
I stopped her hand.
"She needs to start light, or it will hurt her," I said gently.
She froze. Then, obediently switched the bowls back.
I joined my hands and said a brief prayer. "To the powers that be, I thank you for this day and this meal. May your grace stay with me forever."
The kids looked at me and tried to imitate. The boy had seen this before, so he actually repeated it with me.
We ate in silence.
That day, the food was simple. But for some reason, it felt more satisfying than the celebratory one I had with Handa.
I looked at their faces and made a decision. As someone given a second chance at life, I could understand. Before death, I didn't believe in God. I don't believe now either. But dying and coming back does tell you that there's something out there. I had even started to pray before my meals now. I had never done that before.
After I made my decision, I posed a question. "What are your names?" After all, I couldn't keep calling them kids anymore.