It was, quite frankly, an incredibly irritating experience to wander around and hear murmurs of things like ‘haha, what’s that kid doing here’ way more often than he should. Going off appearances alone, he pretty much did look like a kid by human standards, but he was really hundreds of years old, for god’s sake! And at this point, combining that with the headache that was starting to feel like it was pounding against his skull, he’d just about had enough.
“Heey,” Fudou stops and turns towards the small group of people that’d uttered the most recent comment towards his appearance, since they’d looked harmless enough on passing. Like a bunch of brats who were just trying to be snotty, or something. “You’re really noisy, you know~? Pickin’ on someone who only looks like a kid…”
His eyes narrow a bit, watching the lot as they seem to be mumbling about themselves while giving Fudou the occasional glance that put him on edge. They were up to something, weren’t they? Thankfully he had hitched that wooden sword to his side; his hand hovers over it instinctively as they turn their full attention back to him.
“Ah, really sorry, lil’ buddy. Hey, wanna like, hug it out or somethin’? Promise we’ll make it up to ya.”
The middle one–must be the ringleader or something–spreads his arms out with some awkward-looking smirk, and the one next to him snorts a bit after his words. That’s enough of a red flag, frankly, and he wants absolutely nothing to do with whatever they’re planning.
“Huuuh~? No thanks,” Fudou responds, turning on his heels to go off on his own way again. “Why would I do that? Don’t you people say to little kids, ‘don’t trust strangers,’ or whatev–”
His words get cut off, as do his footsteps, when he’s suddenly jerked backwards, one arm holding him in a vice grip and a familiar sort of cold metal pressed against his neck. He should’ve known it wouldn’t be as easy as walking away, dammit. Why did he think it was a good idea to say something in the first place?
“Hey, hey, c’mon, kiddo! It’s rude to not listen to yer elders ain’t it? So as punishment, all we’re gonna ask is for your lunch money, got it? If ya just give whatever ya got to us, we won’t leave any kinda cut or anythin’ on you! We clear?”
Oh, wonderful! He’d spent what, a number of hours here? And already something like this was happening. Damn it all–okay. Well, he definitely didn’t have a single coin or anything on him, so that wasn’t going to go well. He’d dealt with bigger enemies before on the battlefield, but he’d had his real blade with him then… would a wooden one even do him any good?
Damn it. Seriously, damn it.
It’d been a while since he’d seen humans interact. And to think they were just the same, no matter what time they were in. Incorrigible.
He’d spotted what appeared to be a standoff of some sort, and felt compelled to listen in, keeping himself hidden so not to cause any trouble just yet.
Masamune had seen this before. He’d experienced it once before, before...he was changed. Skipping grades had put him in similar situations, where the taller would look down upon the shorter.
The beast’s blood within him would stir, his eyes gleaming with an almost malevolent light as, wooden blade in hand, he would use his agility to seek out the one aiming something at the unfortunate stranger’s neck.
The only warning of his arrival would be a very quiet voice, just loud enough for the stranger and the one holding him would hear.
“You should be careful around here, mister. There are monsters walking the streets, ready to attack once your back is turned.”
With a slash with his wooden sword accompanied by a snarl being ripped from his own throat, his strength had been bolstered momentarily as he’d deal a lot more damage than he would normally do with a wooden blade. Thankfully, it was enough to cause the other to release the stranger, and Masamune would speak to the other in a calm voice.
“I don’t suppose you’re incapable of running, are you? Are you unharmed? If you wish to leave this situation, follow me.”
He would only say this once, before he turned his back on the stranger. The others looked...rather pathetic, in his gaze. His body wanted to stay and fight, but his mind wanted to get this stranger to safety. So he would force himself to move, moving with surprising agility to an alley, turning only to gesture to the stranger.
“Come. Those fools aren’t worth the effort of fighting. Let’s get out of here.”
