Young girl with black hair? I heard people talk about it. The further I walked, my ears opened more.
More, and more people spoke of that young girl.
Yukina?
I see her, she's curled in a ball and covering her ears. When I got closer, she was shaking badly.
"Yukina…"
I bent to get closer and called her name one more time. Every time, she curled even further and started to whimper.
What should I do?
I'm not her father. I never had kids of my own. Never got the chance to..I must do something. For James.
"..."
I bent down, grabbed one of her trembling hands. "Yukina…"
I felt her hand jerk and tighten in mine.
"Yukina." I said her name in a louder voice.
"..."
Her fingernails started digging into my hand. I didn't feel a sting, but blood started to seep out. She was having it rough. That was the worst I've seen Yukina ever since meeting her.
She was a smart girl, tough to deal with, sassy at times, but smart. Lately she's been worse for wear..
"Can you look at me, Yukina?"
Again, I asked her— each time she raised her head little by little.
Her left eye was shut. And the square pupil in her right became a dot in size.
"S-Shaun-?" The first thing that left her mouth: my name.
What's wrong with her?
"Why are you out here alone?" Yukina started to shake more. "You know your dad won't like you being out here by yourself."
Yukina looked to the side and nodded.
"Your parents are worried." I repeated from what they told me. "You shouldn't be out here."
"I-I wanted to explore."
We know. Yukina left a note in the dining room. I saw her leave and went down there. James and Melinda were ready to leave. I found her not too far but relatively far from the manor we were staying at. She seems to have run a lot too. You could tell by looking at how much messier her hair was that she was struggling.
The only reason I'm here? I wanted to get food and find her.
"You could've brought someone with you."
Tears started in her eyes. "I thought- thought I could be by myself-"
Even as dense as I am, that was not a good idea. I'm still fighting to be isolated in my room… Yukina's not ready to go alone. Her state after frosted peaks was abysmal.. Though I'm not one to talk.
I set my free hand on her head whilst holding her hand tightly. Everyone was watching her, whispering… for an animalkin it must feel scary.
"Please… please don't get mad at me!" Yukina begged, her tears were starting to spill. "Please- please don't get mad-"
She started to bite her lip and tried to pull away from me.
"Come back home."
No matter how hard she tried, I didn't let her go.
"I-I want to…" Her voice immediately went quiet. The efforts she tried went limp and she sat down. "I want to- to buy things…"
Things?
"M-Mom and d-d- James gave me this…" Yukina tried explaining. With her free hand she tried putting her hands in her pockets. "W-Where is it?!"
"Where's what?"
"My- my coin purse?!" Yukina got to her feet and started looking around quickly. "I-I think I left it- Where- Where are we-?"
Turns out, she dropped it somewhere. In her panic she ran and lost it.
I held her still as I set my hand on her head and started rubbing. "We'll find it. And if we can't, I'll pay."
I have utmost confidence in the people in Ard. When I was a child I lost so many things and got most back. I wasn't too smart, I was clumsy to all hell. But the people in Ard were honest enough to give the guards what was lost.
Did that work..? Yukina's shaking stopped and her face started to turn pink. "Where do you remember having it?"
"I-I can't-"
"Where were you last?"
"..."
Yukina looked at the ground, a slight frown came to her face.
"An accessory shop." She replied.
"Hm?"
"An a-accessory shop." Yukina repeated herself. "I-I don't know where it is-"
"Do you know the shop name?"
Yukina shook her head.
Looks like food can come later. I shrugged and helped her back to her feet. She held my hand firm.
Accessory shop… It sounded familiar. Where was it…?
Guess we have to explore. When I opened my hand, Yukina didn't let go. Her other hand was over her chest.
…Alright.
I had Yukina step behind me as we began to look for her coin purse. We were in the market square where a lot of people walked through. So I wanted to block the eyes looking at her.
"Thank you…" Yukina randomly thanked me after the first person.
"What for?" I asked without turning around. Just to the right.
"..."
"Yukina?"
"Calming me down." Yukina stated, her voice was a bit different. It sounded quieter, but loud enough. "Everyone keeps staring at me, talking about me."
Well…
"You're rare." I replied. I could remember the first day James and us saved her. "You're a wolfkin. A black haired one too. You'd find a S-Threat dungeon before finding one."
"... Everyone says that."
"And you're Yukina." I stated when I noticed that familiar accessory shop. James's old friend was at the front talking to people. "One of a kind, no one else is you."
"..."
Yukina stayed quiet when I walked up to him. Immediately he started to apologize to Yukina.
Once we got her coin purse back we went on our way.
Yukina… We'll have to start the shopping now. Hopefully it isn't like with Vivienna….
"Where do you want to go?"
"..."
She stayed quiet, which caused me to turn my head. Her eyes were focused on a clothes shop. Oh great.
Despite my hesitance, we walked inside. A lady in her early twenties came up to us.
"Oh?"
I felt my hand get squeezed.
"Ah~ H-Hello-"
"Welcome, welcome! Are you here for yourself?" The lady tilted her head, and I felt Yukina shift her weight to just beyond me. "Orrr is it for her? We have many things to suit a cute one like her!"
"Ah, Yukina." I remarked whilst turning to the side. "Go ahead."
"O-Okay…" Yukina finally let go of my hand and took a deep breath.