A bell rang in the silence of the night, announcing the arrival of a new customer. Nobara had planned on closing the shop a while ago, and she would have done so if not for the message that had reached her a little earlier. Knowing who it was that had just entered, she walked out of the kitchen intending to berate him. Before she could say a word, however, he called out to her first.
"Old hag! Can we get a pack of ice over here?"
His request seemed odd, but not as odd as what she saw after climbing on her stool. The boy she was expecting had brought someone with him, and from the looks of it, he was a youngster as well.
"Oh! You brought a..." Her voice died down, and her eyes gradually widened.
The second boy was blue like a corpse—the battered corpse of someone who had taken a bat to the face. His left eye was swollen black, and his lips were split in more than one place. His nose seems to be broken as well, and his cheeks were puffed, making him look like a blue squirrel.
Snapping out of her daze, she quickly turned her gaze to the first one and was momentarily relieved to see that he was completely fine. A moment later, she came to understand what had happened, and that ignited the flames of her fury.
"Boy! What in the world did you do to him!!?"
Her shout echoed through the empty shop, and the red-haired youth winced under it.
"Why are you immediately assuming I’m the one who did it?" He asked.
"Of course it’s you! Who else could’ve done this!!?"
Though it didn’t appear like it, the old cook could tell that the youth was feeling a little guilty, hence why he bothered visiting her shop. That’s what gave it away.
Jumping down to the floor, Nobara rushed back into the kitchen and returned soon after with a first aid kit.
"Boy! Come here! Let me see your face!"
As she pulled two chairs from a nearby table, she noticed that the younger of the two hadn’t moved from his spot. He was looking at the older one as if waiting to hear his opinion, but that didn’t go well with the old cook.
"What are you looking at him for!!? I told you to come here!"
The younger boy shuddered then ran over. Looking at the chair she pointed at, he hesitated for a moment then reached behind his head. Seeing him unplug cables from it as if he were a machine of some kind, Nobara froze for the second time.
"I’m gonna help myself to a drink, then." The red-haired youth made his way to the refrigerator behind the counter.
Sparing him a glance, the old cook turned her attention to the boy in front of her, noticing that he had placed the yellow bag he was carrying on the floor and sat down.
"Take your jacket off." She said while taking a few things out of the first aid kit. It’s in the way."
He did as she said, and for some reason, he suddenly appeared much smaller than he was a minute ago.
"Sheesh, what in the world happened to you?"
Seeing as the bleeding had stopped, she took a piece of gauze soaked in sterile saline and began rinsing the wounds before cleaning them with cotton dipped in disinfectant. The boy flinched from her touch but tried to stay still after that.
"Remember when I told you about my stalker problem?" The youth said while popping a beer can open. "Well, here he is."
Nobara did recall the youth telling her about someone following him around for some reason, but that was a couple of weeks ago.
"I thought you already settled the matter."
"Turns out he’s way less smart than I gave him credit."
"But did you have to hurt him this much?"
"Hey, I held back quite a bit, you know? Why do you think he’s here instead of a hospital?"
Seeing how much he had messed the boy’s face, Nobara didn’t even want to think about what would have happened if he hadn’t held back.
She helped fix the boy’s nose, then asked him to open his mouth and check his teeth. Thankfully, all of them seemed to be intact, so she covered the wounds in bandages then applied some cooling pads to the bruises.
"This much should be fine for now." She said. "Make sure to replace the bandages after regularly."
The boy nodded, then his eyes widened a little, as if he had just remembered something.
"Th-thank you." He said in a small voice.
Despite his battered state, the old cook couldn’t help but think he was a little cute.
"What’s your name, boy?"
"Um... Finn... Finn Ward..."
"Alright, Finn. Are you hungry? With your mouth like that, you probably can’t eat anything too hot, but I can fix you something cold if you want."
Though it seemed like he was about to refuse, his stomach spoke up first and demanded a meal. Seeing him get all bashful, Nobara couldn’t help but chuckle.
"Alright, just wait here a little."
"Old hag," Having sat at the counter, the red-haired youth placed his drink down and raised his hand. "I will take the usual."
Looking at him through half-lidded eyes, Nobara clicked her tongue several times.
"The only thing you’re taking is plain white rice."
"I don’t know what happened, but you shouldn’t be beating kids half your age . You’re an adult now. Learn to show some restraint!"
She was about to go on a proper rant when the boy, Finn, opened his mouth to say something, though he was a little embarrassed to say it the first time. Trying and failing to hide his embarrassment, he spoke in the same soft voice as before.
"I’m... I’m actually fourteen."
It took her a moment to process what he said, and when she did, another shock struck her for the third time that night.