Oni - Part 8

Kronik made his way back onto the outskirts of the village, where winding trails and forked paths marked the travel between the inner village and the outer gate. He had taken his time, and the procession had long since passed. He was still lost in thought, and was not even on his guard, which he had allowed himself to drop in the peaceful village. He did not hear the shouting merchant in the distance until the small boy he had seen earlier collided with him, and six large apples rolled loose onto the grassy path as the boy toppled over. Kronik stooped to help the child stand, as the angry owner of the shop approached, breathless. It only took a brief second for the skilled fighter to understand what had happened. Kronik reached out and aided to boy to his feet, but held him fast to where he stood, whispering as he did. "don't move, don't speak."

"Is there a problem sir?" kronik asked, with an air of ignorance.

"Yer durned straight there's a problem! Tha' little theif ran off with my merchandise!" He moved to take the boys arm, drawing a blunt stick carved to appear similar to a wooden sword, from his belt. He stopped in mid step, however, because somehow, the assassin was now standing directly where the merchant could not possibly strike the boy without also hitting the grinning man in front of him.

"There must have been a mistake; you see I gave this boy enough money to buy six apples, with the promise of fifteen gold coins if he did not merely run off with my money. He must have forgotten to pay in his excitement. You'll find he has the exact amount in a small red bag in his left pocket." He turned to grin at the boy, who stared incredulously at the man who was weaving a lie for someone he had never met, and a good one at that! "isn't that right?" he asked, as he stepped back , putting the boy again in between himself and the confused merchant.

The boy stared at the assassin for a moment before turning to the merchant, who was equally confused. "Go ahead, pay the man," Coaxed the still grinning assassin. "red bag, left pocket." The boy reached into his tattered left pocket, and to his surprise, in his pocket there was indeed a small red pouch, containing the exact price of six apples. He blinked a few moments before handing the silver pieces to the salesman. Kronik produced fifteen gold coins and placed them into the red pouch, and pointedly handed them to the boy, whispering to him to go home. The child stared for a few more moments, before apologizing to the merchant and running down a path opposite the direction of the man's shop. The salesman grunted, obviously suspicious of what had just transpired, but content at being paid just the same. He turned to leave, muttering something about people should shop for themselves, but kronik ignored him and turned to walk down a path that would take the longest to return to the village square.

Shortly after the merchant was out of sight, kronik paused for a moment under a tree, and smiled. He held out his hand, where the small red pouch fell from one low but fairly disguised branch into his hand, followed by the little boy who landed on his feet beside the now grinning kronik.

"why did you help me?" The boy asked, again staring curiously at the man. "I don't know you, and I cant pay you for your help, so why did you help me?" He waited for a reply, as the man made his way to sit in the shade against the tree. He grinned, and motioned for the boy to join him. He obliged, and repeated his question, this time not in a demanding tone, but one of curiosity.

"I've been poor, alone, and hungry. I remember when I was young I too had to steal food on occasion." He paused, as he remembered his first encounter with artemis. "once, I met someone who did the same for me as I had just done for you."

"where did that bag come from? I had no money when I ran into you!" the boy asked eagerly, interested in how different this man seemed.

"I slipped it into your pocket when I helped you up." Kronik grinned. Indeed, in the time it had taken to help the boy to his feet, he had counted the apples on the ground, placed the exact amount into the bag, and slipped it into the boys pocket in a single motion.

"Ari." Stated the little boy, who had stood up and presented his hand to be shaken. I've seen you around here, but I don't know who you are or why you're here.

"I am a friend, that Is all I can say." He too stood, however instead of shaking the boys hand, he placed the red bag into the boys hand, the coins jingling with the bag's movement. He turned to continue on his way, but was surprised when the boy tugged on his sleeve.

"Please, I don't talk to many people outside the walls." He looked down the road, then all around at the many winding paths. "and I kind of got lost when I was running from the fat guy. Could you at least take me back to the village? That way I can listen to your stories, for as long as it takes to get there, then we never see each other again, ok?" His eyes seemed to be pleading with kronik to walk with the boy, at least to town.

"Ok then. Ill take you to the town, but I don't know of many stories worth telling."

Ari beamed, surprised again that the man had agreed.

"Keep the gold. Perhaps you can get some food, or stay at the inn for a short time."

"why would I do that?"

"You don't want to sleep on the streets hungry, would you?"

"oh, Im not homeless. Not anymore."

"anymore? Where are your parents?"

"gone. Im an orphan. At least I was." Ari looked up at the man astounded that he was so interested in the fate of a boy he didn't know. "I was sort of adopted."

"Does he know what your up to?"

"Not he," Ari corrected, "She. A woman took me in. she cared for me, even though no one did after my parents died." He smiled at the thought of the woman who had saved him. "our small home caught fire, and she saved me. My parents died in that fire. When she found that no one had taken me in, she did." His expression turned solemn. She said she lost everything in a fire once, but she wont tell me about it."

"Perhaps the memories were too painful?" kronik offered, honestly interested in the boy's story. He found it difficult to think of someone as kind as the boy was describing.

"maybe, but after she told me she didn't want to talk about it, I didn't ask again. She is really pretty," the boy suddenly pointed out with a sly grin, "you might like her. A lot of men do. But she doesn't like them. She says they are always fooling themselves, and they should find someone they truly love." Kronik thought for a moment on what the boy had said, and for reasons he didn't understand, he thought of tess again.

"Perhaps she is right." He said at last. "I cannot say, because love is not something I have never known." After a brief silence, kronik and the boy spoke until they had made it to the town. They continued to converse until they had reached a doorstep kronik thought seemed familiar. Ari had barely stepped onto the top step when the door flew open and A beautiful woman rushed outside.

"Ari!" shouted the woman, as she hugged the boy. "I told you to tell me when you go outside!"

"Im sorry," he said, as he pulled away. "you were right. I got into trouble, but this man helped me, and then helped me get home when I realized I was lost." He turned and pointed , as the woman stood, finally noticing the boy had brought someone else with him. She stared at the man before her, who, like her, was in shock. For the second time, kronik and tess looked into each other's eyes.

"I had better be going," kronik said, turning to walk away, and to hid the burst of emotion he could not explain.

Tess struggled with her own emotions for a moment, before taking a step forward and asking, "would…" She found the words stuck in her throat, as the man started to walk away. "Would you like to come inside? I made tea." She felt like slapping herself, until the assassin stopped walking, and after a moment turned to face her. Before he registered the movement, he had nodded and taken three steps toward her. His breath seemed so very odd to him, as he crossed the threshold of the door into her home. Tess could barely contain the argument between her heart and her head, as she sat in a chair, and offered that he should do the same. She swallowed her uncertainty, and spoke slowly.

"I don't think I've been fair to you. Please, tell me who you are, and allow me reconsider my judgment of you." They both smiled, and kronik slowly began to talk. As the conversation progressed, they seemed to lose control of their own mouths, telling each other parts of their past that they had not shared with anyone before. For some reason both kronik and tess seemed to have an inexplicable trust in the other. After an hour had passed, kronik announced that he had to prepare to leave. Tess rose to open the door for the man, wanting both to hate the man, and to continue their conversation. As he was leaving, she found herself asking him to stay for three more days, untill the end of the festival that would begin that very night. Before turning to walk away, kronik heard himself agree to stay, for exactly three more days