"Miss Katsumi already left?" Yasune asked, seeing that Nashiro walked back in alone.

"Yeah, something came up," he closed the door behind him.

"That's a shame, I was just putting on some tea for us."

Nashiro looked at the mess around the place.

"Say, why does this place look like a storm went through it?"

Yasune' face went a little red. It was embarrassing for her to admit it but since the question was posed, she had to.

Her long blue hair, tied by a piece of cloth to make it seem shorter and her plain antique fuchsia coloured dress made her an interesting sight. She was most certainly beautiful with her thin brows and amber eyes.

"Y-you see… I don't have an assistant," her gaze turned to the side, "When I make clothes, I just throw them aside and don't touch them unless I need them for something."

She rubbed her hand. He noticed how uncomfortable she was talking about the mess that he wanted to change the subject.

"Ah, no problem. Sorry to bring it up."

"It's fine. I'll get someone eventually to help me get this in shape."

She forced a smile.

"Want some tea?"

"Sure," he goes along with her upstairs to the kitchen table and he sits down while she gets some teacups. The pot whistled and the tea was ready. She turned off the stove and carefully grabbed the pot, bringing it over to his cup. Pouring both of them some tea, she brought some sugar.

"Want some?"

He nods and takes a small spoon of sugar, placing it into his cup, twirling it.

She only puts half-a-spoon.

"How old are you, Nashiro?"

"I'm 16."

"You're young. I thought you might have been a bit older."

He took a sip.

"What about you?"

"I'm 26. Not as young as you are but I still have a lot to do before I'm old."

Her voice was like that of a mother but he didn't see any kids running around the place.

"Do you have any kids?"

She giggled.

"No, I am married but I'm in no rush to have any right now."

He turned his attention to her hands and she had a ring. It was a fancy diamond ring that he hadn't noticed up until now.

They chatted with each other a bit and surprisingly she didn't ask anything about his past. Perhaps, she knew it would upset him.

"You should go take a bath while I make some dinner."

"Can I?"

He asked again to be sure. He hadn't cleaned himself since he woke up in the forest and maybe even beyond that. Who knows how long it had been the last time his skin was properly washed.

"Of course, the bathroom is on the third floor next to where you'll be staying,"

she stood up, "I can show you."

He finished his tea and stood up. He climbed the stairs to the third floor and Yasune led him to the door of the bathroom.

"This is it."

She opened the small bathroom with just the wooden tub in it and it was full of water.

"I've already filled it up for you. Try and relax while I make some dinner."

She started to walk back and stopped.

"Oh right, I also have some new clothes for you in there. I don't know your size so if they are too big, you may leave them."

She smiled widely and left.

'She's acting like a mother towards me. Feels kinda nice to have someone care about you, although I'm just a guest here so I shouldn't do anything that would upset her.'

He closed the door behind him and entered the bath. Surprisingly, it was still warm. He could finally relax a bit. After two days of emotional and physical struggle, he can let out a big sigh of relief.

'God, how nice it feels to finally let loose a bit.'

He leaned back a bit more and enjoyed the warmth of the water and the warmer air. He got lucky. If he hadn't met Katsumi, he would probably be dead by now by either those monsters or whatever else that came his way.

'Thank you Katsumi… I didn't manage to say that to her or even that guy. What was his name again?... Oh, well, he was kind of an ass.'

He started to wash his hair.

'I want to give her a gift eventually. I've decided on that. Once I get my life sorted and have a stable income, I'll give her something.'

He smiled and squeezed his fist to that thought.

Once Nashiro felt like he had had enough, he dried himself with a towel and put on the new clothes. They looked like night clothing, perfect when heading off to bed.

"She picked my size almost perfectly,"

He pulled back the sleeves to his elbows and went to the kitchen.

"Oh perfect, dinner is ready!"

She exclaimed happily.

"Did you have a good bath?"

"Yes, It was very much needed. Thank you!"

He decided to help out and grab the plates that were next to her. He placed them on the table while she put on some mittens and took the pot.

"I don't know how hungry you are but I made enough for four people."

She giggled and put the pot down.

He raised his plate and Yasune poured his share.

It smelled great. He couldn't wait to try it out.

Once she sat down with her plate, she clapped her hands once.

"Let's eat!"

Nashiro didn't waste any time and dug in.

'I didn't even realise I was this hungry.'

"Slow down, you'll choke," she warned and immediately after that he grabbed his throat and coughed.

She sprung up quickly and brought him some water.

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He drank down the entire thing and took a few deep breaths.

Yasune looked concerned but seeing that he was okay she sighed.

"Don't scare me like that," she put her hand on her chest as her heart was beating rapidly.

"I didn't know I was this hungry. I couldn't control myself."

She laughed.

"I did say there was more so eat as much as you desire."

He curled his lips into a smile when the evening turned into night.

"Thank you for the meal miss Yasune…"

He leaned in his chair, satisfied with the amount he ate.

"No need to thank me so much," she beamed before yawning, "I should head in. I wake up early and do some work before breakfast."

"You love working, Miss Yasune."

He noticed and stood up.

"I've always wanted to run my own shop and it just happens that I had the talent to make clothes. Of course, my… uh, shop hasn't been the most popular, but I'm always learning and I won't give up until I reach my goal!"

She held her arm muscle and showed her strong biceps. She wasn't overly buff but she had the passion and strong will to keep going.

"I'll help!"

He volunteered.

"I can't ask that of you. You're my guest."

"I feel bad if I just sit around and do nothing while you work. Allow me to assist you in cleaning up the place. I have to repay you somehow."

She bit her lip, thinking about it. She didn't want him to work since he had his own issues.

"You make it difficult for me but okay, you may help."

That put a joyful smile on his face.

"I won't disappoint, I promise!"

The next day

"I'm ready!"

He stretched and did some basic arm movement to get his muscles ready.

"I'll show you how to fold the clothes. Come here!"

She gestured with her finger and went to her work table.

"Watch carefully,"

She went step by step, showing him how to fold a shirt first. Going from the sleeves to folding it into a suitable package that was simple to put to the side. She showed him a few times and then it was his turn.

"Like this, right?"

He repeated the same steps as her and got it on his first try.

"Great!"

She clapped with pleasure, seeing him succeed.

"Now, for the bottoms and dresses."

It didn't take him long to learn how to fold those too. She was impressed by what a quick learner he was.

Yasune sent Nashiro to clean up the piles of clothes left in the other room, while she makes something new.

One pile after the other, he was getting the hang of it. His hand movement was quick and he was folding the clothes within a couple of seconds. About halfway through his ears picked up the sound of the bell which only meant someone just entered.

“Hello. How can I help you?” He turned around and an old man stood in front of him.

“Hello young man, I'm looking for Miss Yasune,” the man had his hands behind his bentover backside. He was in his 60s now but he wore a blue deflated cap and some dry clothes that had a few torn holes in them. He was shaking a bit as he stood there from old age. His wrinkled face showed its age and Nashiro was certain he couldn’t see very well with his left eye since it had no colour.

“I’ll go get h-”

“I heard my name being called. Is someone here?” she noticed the old man standing next to him.

“Oh, it's you mister Aki,” he took off his cap as a gesture, putting it back on straight after.

“You know each other?” Nashiro wondered.

“This is our postman,” She told him, “Did something arrive for me?”

“Why yes! A letter from your husband.”

“He doesn’t usually write unless it's important;” she took the letter from him, “You’re approaching retirement aren’t you, Mister Aki?”

“The post office is removing the old guard with fresh blood so I only got another month or less. I’ve done my duty so I can’t wait to enjoy my retirement.” The old man popped a slight smile that wasn’t very visible.

“You’re always welcome at my home at any time.”

“Thank you, i’ll be going now,” he opened the door and stood there, “Did you decide to adopt a son?” he posed the question.

Yasune blushed at the question.

“Oh, n-not really. He is just a g-guest.”

“I see. He looks like a good child either way.”

He left with those words and continued on.

Yasune carefully opened the letter and started reading the contents her husband sent. She was moving her mouth as she read the words as if she was imagining him saying this in front of her. When she finished, she sighed.

“...Is it something worrying?”

“No,” she shook her head gently, “My husband took another job and he’ll be gone for longer than anticipated. He said here that he won’t be back for another couple of months.”

She wasn’t saddened about it, she seemed okay and had her genuine smile like this was normal for her. It was inspiring to see.

“Your husband must be a hard-working person like yourself.”

He went back to folding the clothes and only had a pile or two left.

“He is. Whenever he’s home, he would always talk about his next job and the place he wants to go. It genuinely concerns me sometimes. Oh right! I need another favor from you.” She called as she went over to the counter.

“Favor?”

“You don’t have to, but it would be a great help if you can go to the market,” she took out a paper and wrote a few things but she quickly tapped her head, remembering that he doesn’t know where it is.

“I’m sorry! I'm sorry!” She stood up and panically moved her arms around, trying to apologise.

“No! Don’t apologise. I can do it, just give me some directions and I'll be fine.”

He told her.

“Are you sure?”

"Yes, I'll be okay. I may have no memories but I'm not going to let myself be useless."

He moved his hair out of his face and showed her that he meant it.

She sat down and gave him the paper with the list of stuff to get.

"The market is on the other side of town. From this shop, you go left and continue straight until you manage to reach a gate and to the right of it is the market."

“Got it!”

She took his hand and gave him a small pouch of coins needed to buy the ingredients.

“This should be enough. Be careful of your surroundings, there are a worrying amount of pickpockets in recent times.”

He nodded. The entire town, on the outside, looked like an innocent, well-run settlement. But on the inside, it was plagued with desperate people, looking to get their way and steal from others.

Nashiro placed the pouch in the deepest pocket he had on him. Tapping it a few times, he promised to himself that, no matter what, he won’t lose it.

“I’m going!”

He announced and left through the door.

‘Okay, keep calm and remember what Miss Yasune told you.’

He took a deep breath and turned left and walked.

Nothing drastic has changed overnight. If anything, it seemed more populated. Rush hour was in full swing as men and women were opening their shops and welcoming their customers. Nashiro was approached a few times by some merchants that were selling some interesting items. He didn’t pay any attention and turned them down right away. His curiosity was biting him as every item that has been shown to him was interesting. He was certain some of them shined and had some sort of magic in them that he couldn’t explain.

‘Some of those items were cool but I can't afford it even if I wanted to buy one. Do I have any amplitude for that stuff?'

He rubbed his hair with both hands and made a mess of it. His hair was too long for him but he had no idea how to deal with it yet. His curiosity was rising to dangerous levels but he can’t stray away from what he was tasked to do.

He made his way to one of the gates that was the entrance to the town.

‘Almost there. Thankfully, I observed the area while horseback with Katsumi so I vividly remember where it is.’

He got around the building and the market was there in front of him. It was so crowded that it was going to be difficult trying to find a free stand.

Nashiro had his hand in his pocket just to be safe and no one tried to rob him without noticing.

Eventually, he finds a free stand somehow.

“Welcome! How can I help you?” The salesman smiled and rubbed his hands, seeing him approach.

“Yeah, I would like-” He then noticed a problem.

‘What the!? I can’t read this,’ The paper he was given was unreadable. None of the letters made sense to him. Shaking his head and rubbing his eyes didn’t help either. Looking over at the prices and what was written on them, again, Nashiro didn’t understand any of it.

“You okay kid?” The salesman asked.

“Just give me everything on this list!” He forced the issue on the salesman and gave up in trying to understand the confusing writing.

‘Looks like I can’t read. And if I can’t read then I must not be able to write either’

he sighs,

‘Why did my life have to be like this?’

He looked up at the clear sky and wished for better fortunes.

“THIEF!!! SOMEONE STOP HIM!!!”

Nashiro turned to see the thief dash into the crowd, pushing people over as he made way for himself.

“I’VE BEEN ROBBED, SOMEONE HELP!!!”

No one was getting in his way. Nashiro thought there would be some noble soul who would put an end to it but that someone didn’t arrive. The guards were missing too and he had no idea where the closest one was. This was not his problem. He shouldn’t be concerned with this and just mind his own business and problems he was facing.

But something in him wasn’t letting his mind be at peace.

“Hey kid! Where are you going?!” The salesman shouted, seeing Nashiro run off.

His legs started moving on its own and before he knew it he was in pursuit.

What was he doing? He didn’t know himself but a sense of equity was driving him to put a stop to this thief.