Sun

The sun's even more suffocating than usual, and the thick, humid air turns his sweat-soaked clothes into clinging slugs. So annoying. And those damned birds that never stop chirping only add to his irritation.

Kaji makes a point to stay in the shade as he hacks down one tree after another. At least the work helps burn off some stress—a perfect fit for him. After yet another tree crashes to the ground, the nearby geezer speaks up.

"Good work, boy. You can head home for today, I'll finish up the rest." About time. Kaji walks over to the man for his payment. "You want to measure it as usual, right?" After nodding, Kaji takes out his scoop.

Every grain of rice counts, so he makes sure he's never cheated out of a single one.

"Y'know," the geezer begins, "it's too hot to be out here like that. You oughta trim that black mane of yours."

"I'm keeping it as it is." His sharp tone silences the old man. Kaji finishes measuring shortly after—six scoops, enough to feed his family for two days, if not for other expenses.

"Have a good day, boy." Kaji leaves without a glance.

༻──⋆༺𓆩⋆𓆪༻⋆──༺

The bustling marketplace carries a chaotic yet refreshing ambiance. It may be noisier than the forest, but the energy here feels so much fresher…

It also helps that he no longer has to work like a donkey and sweat like a pig.

A sweet scent tugs at him, tempting him away from his groceries, and a beautiful piece of fabric catches his eye. No, can't afford treats today. He's already bought all basic supplies for the day. Just need to find one last thing before heading home.

He finds it at a stall run by a lady as wrinkled as a raisin, glaring at him as if he'd spat on her path. He'd rather buy what he needs elsewhere—if he had the option.

Regrettably, it's getting late, so Kaji has no choice but to approach the woman.

"What? Got a problem, brat?"

"How much for the straw hat?"

"For ya, two fulls."

"Two whole scoops for a bunch of hay!?"

"Watch that tone, brat, or am upping the price."

Damned rice-pinching hag.

Kaji ruffles his hair with one hand. The hat's good quality, don't lose your temper over this. Reluctantly, he takes out his pouch, pays, and walks off.

She must've recognized him.

༻──⋆༺𓆩⋆𓆪༻⋆──༺

The bad taste still lingers in Kaji's mouth as he makes his way through the forest. Things only get worse when he realizes someone's following him. The thought of running crosses his mind—an idea he despises.

He soon gets surrounded by three sheep-brained jerks followed by their shepherd, Raba, wearing his usual arrogant smile. Mossy green eyes, a sharp chin, and a pointy nose—his face practically begs for a punch. Kaji's itching to paint this chump's face redder than his ginger wig.

Control yourself, at least this once.

"Hiya, Kaji, how ya doin'?"

"What do you want?"

"Just saw you round the city and figured I'd check in on ya. Gotta say, you look as nasty as ever. Ever heard of a thing called a bath?"

"Fuck off, I'm busy."

"See? With that attitude you never gonna make any friends that ain't crazy." Don't break his nose, you're better than this.

"Are you ever getting to the point or you gonna keep testing your luck?"

"I'm just here to make a small request." He takes off his fake smile. "Don't ever threaten my gran gran again, ya hear?"

"Who the heck is…?" Kaji pauses, realizing the similarity between two peas—no, two vultures circling a carcass. "So you mean that tight-arsed hag."

"Oi, don't call my gran gran names."

"I didn't threaten her, and she charged me two whole scoops for a straw hat!"

"C'mon, let's be real." Raba slips back into his infuriating smirk. "We both know you don't deserve a fair price."

"Whatever, I'm done with her crap and I'm never buying from her again. Now piss off, last warning."

"Listen here, my man, I don't appreciate the way—" Kaji cuts him off, punching the stupid out of him and introducing his face to the ground. His 'non-crazy' friends take a step forward.

"You bastard!" Oh, it turns out sheep can talk.

Kaji takes the hit like it's nothing, then retaliates with a punch that nearly sends the dimwit tumbling onto his butt. He follows up with a kick to the guy approaching from behind, but the third one closes in with a tackle, grabbing him by the waist. Raba, bloodied nose and all, gets his revenge with a solid blow.

Eventually, Kaji breaks free from the hold, and as the fight rages on, he dishes out as many blows as he takes. But their numbers soon begin to overwhelm him, and before long, they manage to knock him to the ground.

"Stop!" Another clown joins the fray.

"Now what!?" Raba eats a kick to the face, courtesy of the uninvited guest. He then proceeds to flex like he has anything more than bones and guts under his skin.

"It's alright, my friendo, now that I'm here you're safe." Kaji's so-called friend looks at him with a spark in his mud-colored eyes and flashes a cheesy, gap-toothed grin.

…

…

Eight, nine, ten—and he's down. Tokei, the scrawny wannabe hero, drops next to Kaji barely ten seconds after his grand entrance. Somehow, he looks more beaten up than Kaji. Raba spits on the ground between them.

"How about you learn to stop picking fights you can't win, ya beast?" Limping, he and his yes-men shuffle off, none of them unscathed. "Ugh, my nose… damn son of a psycho."

Kaji's chest burns, ready to burst. He grabs a nearby rock, fully prepared to split Raba's ginger head open—until Tokei grabs his arm.

"Chill, friendo. Let'em go, they've learned their lesson." Thinking about what he almost did, Kaji is for once glad that this high-pitched fool likes to stick to him like glue. He shakes off the puny grip, picks up his basket, and continues on his way. "Are you going home? Let me escort you."

"I don't need protection from a punching bag."

"Don't be so shy, friendo. I know deep inside you love me like a brother." One day, Kaji's going to grab him by that blonde mop and plant him in the ground like he's part of a wheat field.

༻──⋆༺𓆩⋆𓆪༻⋆──༺

Kaji's self-proclaimed friend trails him for a good while before finally showing mercy and leaving him alone. The silence, however, is short-lived.

"Welcome back, Nii! Did you buy it? Did you? Did you?" The chatty breadloaf called Gurumi starts bugging him the second Kaji appears through the foliage.

"Stop jumping around. Here." She snatches the straw hat as soon as Kaji opens the basket, then places it on her brown twintails.

"Awww, thanks. You're the best." She grins, her smile as wide as the horizon.

With her big amber eyes and freckles on her round cheeks, Gurumi would be adorable—if she didn't babble like a parrot.

"You better make good use of it cause it wasn't cheap."

"Yeah, yeah. Now I can take care of the garden nonstop. The sun will never stand a chance against my mighty helmet!" Kaji rolls his eyes, and seeing her chance, she leaps into his arms, trapping him in a tight embrace. Barely four feet tall, her head presses into Kaji's abdomen.

It's warm, and not just because of the hot day.

"Alright, enough clinging. I'll finish up with the garden. Go help your mother with dinner."

"Eehh? But I'm the one who takes care of the garden. You go and help Ma."

"Don't be such a child and do what I tell you. You're already twelve." Gurumi never says anything when Kaji comes home beaten up—either because she doesn't care or doesn't notice. But their mother? That's a different story, ironically.

"Don't fight, you two." The voice comes from inside their one room grass hut. "Kaji, come in and tell me about your day." Kaji sighs, and Gurumi flashes him a smirk.

Inside the small yet cozy bunch of hay they call home, his mother Garasa is chopping onions.

"How was work?"

"Fine." He places the basket next to her. Garasa extends her hand, feeling its contents before pulling out an apple, which she begins to peel.

"Did anything interesting happen?" Kaji walks out through the back door to the fire and pot, where he starts stirring. Unsurprisingly, rice today as well.

"No, nothing."

"Did you get into another fight?" How does she do it? Kaji remains silent for a few moments.

"I did." She doesn't sigh, doesn't click her tongue—no reaction at all. It makes Kaji's insides shrink.

"I know you're too old for lectures, but please, learn to control your temper. One day you'll get hurt real bad, then you'll be unable to work, and your sister and I—"

"I get it, alright? Next time I'll just run away or something!" The answer brings forth another cold silence.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's fine. I'm…" Sorry. "I'm not upset."

In an attempt to stay busy, he walks to a corner and removes a wooden lid from the floor. Inside are several sacks of rice. He dumps the remaining contents of his pouch—less than he'd like—and stares at it for a while.

"Can you pass me the carrots? I can't find where Gurumi left them." Snapping out of his trance, Kaji gets up to help his mother.