Mother(Gyutaro & Daki + OC Backstory)

Snow

No one cared.

No one would help them.

The little boy shivered as the cold of winter seeped through his ragged straw blanket.

But he tried not to show it while he glanced into the curious eyes of his little sister.

He smiled when her beautiful eyes lit up when she reached out a hand to catch the falling snowflakes.

"Pretty, oni-san look!"  She smiled happily before he pulled her back into the warmth of the blanket.

"Ume,"  he scolded, "don't wander off".  

"Oni-san,"  The little girl frowned, "Oni-san why is your voice scratchy?"  She asked, her large eyes staring at him.

"Its nothing,"  The boy dismissed her question as his eyes flickered worriedly to the sky, gray clouds had rolled in from the north and a winter blizzard was on it's way.

His eyes widened when he heard the crunch of footsteps on freshly fallen snow and he clutched his sister tighter while he looked warily around them.

The alleyway which they had hidden themselves wasn't a very common route for people going anywhere so anyone who was there meant trouble.

The boy shuddered at the thought of having to make a run for it but he tried to send his sister a reassuring look as he tried to hide both of them with the straw blanket.

Then he saw a pale hand reach toward them.

He felt himself freeze in fear then, he was almost surprised as a pair of blue eyes looked down at the two children.

But not in fear nor disgust, not in anger nor menace.

Instead the eyes of the woman held reassurance and even pity for the two children in front of her.

"Are you two alright?"  She murmured as she backed away, bending down onto her knees to assure the children that she was not a threat.

"Oni-san is cold."  His sister blurted out, honest as she always was.

He felt his face morph into a scowl as his eyes looked toward the ground.

"Are you two lost?"  The woman asked quietly but her eyes showed that she knew, she had guessed why these children were on the streets.

The boy shook his head as his arms tightened around his sister.

The woman hesitated as she looked at the two freezing children, then she stretched out her hand.

"I won't hurt you.  I won't hurt you."  She reassured the little girl who hesitated before reaching out her hand.

The boy snatched his sister's arm back as he glared up at the stranger.

"Who are you?  What do you want?"  He snapped as his eyes darted around for a possible escape route.

"I, I am Airi Hāsu, and I could provide you and your sister with a place to stay, I promise you I have no unsavory intentions."  She replied as the boy felt cold air catch in his chest when he looked up at her.

Could he trust her?

Could he trust this woman who he had not known of just minutes before?

He looked down into the eyes of his sister and he decided to take a risk.

"My sister's name is Ume, and I hold no name of my own.  Are you sure you want to take in two orphaned children such as us?"

Edited 9/25/2022