𝐒𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐭 ❄️

25: The Sheep

"Thanks for walking me to work," Tohru said as the tall building came into sight.

"No problem," I said. "You never know when you're going to run into some weirdo on the streets."

"It looks like I'll have some time to kill before work." She said. Then she stopped. "What's this shoe doing here?" She asked, crouching beside a lone lace-up boot in the middle of the sidewalk. It looked to be a child's shoe. I looked around and easily spotted a brown haired boy sitting on top of the nearby electrical box.

"Maybe that boy dropped it." I said.

The young boy hummed as he looked down to appraise me carefully. "Yeah, I dropped it." He said. "Pick it up for me."

"Maybe if you ask politely," I said, crossing my arms with no intention of doing what he asked.

But Tohru had already picked up the shoe. "Of course. Here you go," she stood up and handed him the shoe with a smile.

The kid smiled and then leaned forward so he was looking down on Tohru more directly. "Moron. I can't believe you actually picked it up," he said. "Don't you have any identity or agency? Would you dance if I said to dance, or trip if I told you to?"

"N-no . . . ?" Tohru blinked up at him, a confused smile frozen on her face.

"Ugh. I can't stand pushovers." The boy grumbled. Then he pointed at the shoe Tohru was holding. "Are you gonna give that back? Or were you planning to steal it?"

"I-I'm not going to steal it!" Tohru exclaimed, unsure how to react to his accusation.

"Then hurry and give it back!" He exclaimed. Tohru hastily offered the boot to him again, but I snatched it before the boy could and danced out of reach.

"Hey!" The kid almost caught the heel of the boot before catching himself from leaning too far. Refusing to hop down from the electrical box, he glared at me. "Give that back, you thief!"

"If you want your shoe so bad, come get it." I said, dangling the object from the tip of my finger by the shoelace. "Or can you not jump down from there? Too high for you?" I smirked.

"N-Natsu?" Tohru stared at me with wide eyes.

The boy frowned. "I thought adults were more mature than children, but you're acting so juvenile right now. It seems like you weren't raised properly. Didn't anyone tell you that taunting a child is deplorable?"

"You're acting rather deplorable yourself," I quipped. "Just because you're probably smarter than even some adults doesn't give you the right to pick on people. You were mean to Tohru, so I'm being mean to you. It's just the norm of reciprocity."

"No, it's bullying," the boy said. "All I did was ask for my shoe back and you're acting like a delinquent child. Pick on someone your own size."

"Dropping your shoe on purpose and making someone else pick it up only to insult them for it could also be considered bullying. And no one said you had to listen to me. You can be your own person. But I don't have to give your shoe back. I can even throw it across the street if I want to."

"What kind of weirdo would do that?"

"Me."

The boy stared at me for a moment, probably wondering if I was just bluffing or serious. After a moment, he hopped down from the electrical box, careful not to put his sock-covered foot on the ground as he glared daggers at me. "Happy now?" He asked. "Or do you want to watch me hobble over there for your own amusement?"

I smirked. "Actually, yeah." I said. "I do." I swung the shoe lazily.

Surprise flickered across the boy's eyes before he quipped back. "What kind of sadistic sicko enjoys tormenting a child? I'm not here for your amusement! You're awful."