Shinra - Village - Ayame, Yasei
He noticed that the village had suddenly come to life somewhat. Not to the scale of festivity, but for what it was worth a great interest seemed to have spread among the villagers (or what's left of them, at least). One by one, he started to see people walk past the kitchen window, headed for something in the village's center perhaps. At first only silent, single individuals, then whole groups rife in conversation began to pass by not before long, eyes twinkling with curiosity for the best that he could make out under the light of mid-day. Still the young man busied himself with the baking meat and flour in front of him, hoping it to be a fantastic treat for the family of the woman that took him in temporarily. Just as he thought of them, he heard their excited voices coming from outside. The exasperated commands that threatened to break out with anticipation turned into a name that made him look out the window for any signs of sprightly children.
"Shin! Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin! Shin! Shin!" shouted a young boy, whom dashed by and almost stumbled at the corner when he'd anchored a hand at the kitchen door.
"What's up? Did you need a new shin?" joked Shinra, otherwise known as Shin, wiping his hands on his apron as the younger fellow caught his breath. Moments later, an older girl came up to the tired boy, carrying an even younger boy in her arms. She gave him a solid whack on the head, which did little to wipe the calming smile off Shin's face (though a drop of sweat did trickle down the side of his face).
"Ensui, what were you thinking?! Running headfirst into the people like that... I didn't think anyone would be as excited as Shin-san would, especially not you... But being too excitable is dangerous, you know!" scolded the older sister, hair neatly tied into a bun with a single spike of hair protruding upwards from said bun.
"Eh? Excited...? What happened, anyway? Seems there's a commotion--" said Shin, his mouth turning into an open smile full of inquiry, even when he was cut off.
"WHO CARES ABOUT THAT?!" boomed the younger boy suddenly, perhaps still reeling a bit from the pain of his sister's working arm. "Can't you smell that, sis?! Shin is cooking something from the city! It smells won-der-ful...!" said the boy, fists balled and raised up in front of him in a common gesture for excited people. Easily, he spotted the wok being used by the golden-haired lad, whom was frying something. "Ah... the pops and cracks sound like music..." said Ensui.
"Eh? But... it's just prawn... Besides, I'm not even from a--"
"Hmm...?" the sister began to take in the scent of cooking food herself. "You're right, that does smell nice." remarked the girl, but then she remembered why she was there in the first place. "Ah! Shin-san, weren't you anxious about when the hired warriors would get here?" she turned to Shin, hand stroking her second younger brother's head gently, whom was as calm and quiet as ever himself.
"Oh, that...?" Shinra's expression changed into a solemn stare, and he turned back to the fry before he spoke further. "I wouldn't call it anxious, but fascination, really. Sure, I've been waiting for days for them to come, but I think, Fuu-chan, that watching after the house and you guys while Kiriko is working is much more important." he said, choosing not to bring up the fact that demons have been coming closer and closer to the village in the past few days. After all, it's been only a slight while since it seemed to have vanished from Ensui's and Tohru's minds, though Fuu still had it lingering inside her thoughts; the fear of it all. But she was most likely the most level-headed thirteen-year old he'd ever met. Even now, when the matter of safety came up, her expression didn't seem to change in the slightest. Ensui, on the other hand, watched the flour-coated prawns inside the wok like a ravenous wolf. Tohru, the youngest, was struggling to stay awake in his sister's arms. When the prawns turned to a golden hue, Shin lifted them from the wok and left them under a food cover to cool. "So I shouldn't be--"
"But they're here. Now." said Fuu. For a while, only the sound of the cooling oil and the voices outside can be heard. Tohru yawned once.
"Ehh?!" Shinra looked at her with the face of a man left without secrets. "Oh. Well, that's great. I guess you kids can go check them out... then." he said, and began to mumble, flustered. He excused himself, torn between many different wants and fears. But before he could leave, a pair of small hands caught him at the back of his shirt. Shin looked over his shoulder. It was Ensui.
"Hey. When can we eat?" he asked.
"When the rice's done, I... suppose. That shouldn't be too long--"
"Then let's hurry, so that we can come home in time and have lunch." Ensui grabbed him by a wrist, and started pulling.
"Huh...?"
"You really sounded like an old man back then, Shin-san." said Fuu, smiling. "You even forgot that you need to be there with us. You're our guardian, remember? So quit being a bore, and let's go." she continued, walking outside.
"Yeah, let's!" Ensui pulled on, and, eventually, Shin gave out and followed the children outside. And as they walked, the siblings began to joke and laugh. Shin thought it was impossible, given the circumstances of their lives. What was this, he wondered. Without him realizing it, it only made his resolve to battle the demons stronger. And yet, along with resolve, fear grew. He wanted to do so much more for everyone. But just how much was he capable of? For the moment, Shin decided to push it off his mind.
Only for it to force itself back in when he heard a shout from the village's front entrance.
Someone called for a doctor, causing a great deal of the crowd to turn around to set eyes upon this new brewing commotion. Among them, Shinra saw one bolt towards the voice. A young woman in a white kimono. Letting go of Ensui's hand with a heavy heart, he asked a neighbor to watch after them for a short while.
"I'll be over just as quickly." Shin told the children and him. With that, his feet began to move out one after another, he himself careful not to draw an accident between him and one of the villagers, towards the source of the voice calling for aid.
