The Toy Shop pt.2

The child wandered the cobblestone streets, eventually stopping at a quaint brick building. A large sign swayed in the light breeze, a rustic style with chains holding the carved plank up above the doorway reading, Tony's Toy Shop. The front display had a variety of toys and other playthings, arranged in a haphazard manner behind the pane of glass. The beautiful colors of the toys attracted the child, as they drifted closer to the doorway. A hand pressed against the glass, then a face trying to get a better look, fogging up the window with their breath. After a few moments of just staring at the objects, they pulled away from the display and approached the door.

It was heavy, but MJ pushed open the door, the slight tinkle of a bell rang out across the store. He closed the door behind him, staring at the shelves filled of toys and other colorful plushies. The building had a sweet smell to it, a faint aroma of roses and honey. It was like entering another world, a magical and fantastic place. The perfect attraction for kids, drawing all attention to the shop. Well, it worked. MJ was almost mesmerized by the whimsical atmosphere. He stood in the doorway, clearly visible from the outside as the door had a two-by-two glass window frame towards the top of the wood.

Fuchihata ponders over the two items in her hands. In one hand, she held a small pink keyboard key. The other hand held an hourglass with glittery liquid sloshing within. “Hm.” If it were anyone else, they may start to feel a bit embarrassed for standing in the middle of a toy shop while looking over two simple toys.

"Whoa," came the small voice from the child. They passed by the cashier and counter, barely reaching the top. It was curious, seeing such a young child walk into the shop without an adult or guardian. This didn't seem to phase the child or the cashier, who found their phone much more interesting than the current customer staring at the wares.

MJ looked down the aisles, seeing the woman standing in the middle of one. Just past the woman, he say the lego section, prompting the boy to stride down the small aisle. The tiny sounds of sneakers hitting the wooden planks was noticeably getting closer to the other. He tried to be as respectful as possible, but simply forgot his manners and pushed past the woman. It wasn't much of a push, just a gentle brushing as someone of such small stature could do no more than that to an average sized adult.

The child paused, suddenly remembering their manners. "'Scuse me," they said quietly after passing by.

Fuchihata watches the child continue on after bumping into her, her eyes narrowing with annoyance before it quickly registers that who she was looking at is a child. “Oi.” She calls out to the kid softly, her usual gruff voice coming out a bit smoother. Fuchihata wondered what the child was doing here all on his lonesome.

Not only that, she felt a need to check up on him. It was a deep feeling she’s only ever felt towards her brothers, the two of them were probably a little younger than this kid. That thought hardly deterred her from caring about him, even if they’ve never ever met before.

“Where are.. You going, kid.”

The child looked up, blinking. It was a blank and somewhat confused stare, as they thought it was obvious they were heading to the Lego section. Apparently not. They looked from the Lego sign back to the woman, as if gesturing that that was their planned destination, a little ways down the aisle.

“The Lego section,” the boy said. Upon realizing the woman could be a potential friend, he smiled. “Ma’am,” he added quickly, remembering his manners to a small extent. His freckled face beamed like a ray of sunshine in an innocent and naive manner. It was a shame, really. Such a young life, here, in the land of the dead. A life cut too short.

Fuchihata stares the child down for a little while longer, “I’ll come.. with you.” The woman sets her items down before slowly dragging her lanky body to where the boy stood. She didn’t know how to properly express her desire to watch over him, so she instead decided to hover from a distance.*

Looking between the Legos and MJ, they chuckled a little. Even here, kids still loved Lego. "Are these your favorites? This..." They read the box, the words coming out sounding unfamiliar and odd. "Nin-Ja-Go? Why don't you tell me a bit about it? I'm looking for a present for my little sister, and maybe she'd like some lego too!" She wouldn't, she was well into her teens, but it was something to connect with him on. Maybe it'd keep him from noticing the oddness of the store, or maybe it'd be a welcome distraction for them.

“I.. like legos too.”

The child beamed brighter upon finding another Lego enthusiast. They nodded, hopping off a little down the aisle to meet the Lego section. Their eyes wandered to the top shelf, where the Ninjago sets were placed. Ah, the prized dragon sets. If you had one of those, you were the coolest kid on the block. If you had all the sets you were basically god.

The boy tried in vain to reach the boxes, which he obviously could not even fathom to reach. MJ pouted, then turned his attention to the woman. His big brown eyes stared at the woman, pleading puppy eyes. He really wanted the Lego set, the blue dragon. His mind suddenly went into a whole other direction.

“I’m MJ! What’s your name?” He suddenly asked, almost startling in a way. His attitude change was so drastic it was confusing, he smiled.

"Fuchihata.” She states simply before grabbing the lego set from the self. “Here.” The box is lowered so that the child may grab it more easily. Contrary to her earlier statement, Fuchihata knew little about Legos. She just knew that her brothers had enjoyed the tiny things, so she always did her best to scrape together enough money to get them some.

“How.. old are you?”

The child’s eyes seemed to sparkle upon the gesture, eagerly grabbing the box with their small hands. They held the box close to their chest as if protected it from further harm. What harm? Who knows. They certainly didn’t, nor did the cashier, who eyes the child with confusion. They grinned, but paused and quickly uttered a “thank you.” Mama didn’t raise no impolite child.

“I’m eight!” MJ said proudly, attempting to hold up eight fingers but couldn’t really due to the box he held. He fumbled, almost dropping the set in his childish clumsiness. His pure innocence and joy was almost contagious, the bright freckled face and the gaps between his teeth gave him a youthful appearance, because he was. It was a bright smile, illuminating the semi-darkened shop, was it his youth or was it some byproduct of his domain. Somehow?

“I’ll.. pay for it.” She gestures for the boy to put the toy on the counter. “If you’re done here.” Truthfully, there was a deep instinct in her mind that made Fuchihata want to herd the boy back to their home. It wasn’t safe to be out and about without supervision. She had learned such a thing the hard way at a very young age.

“You will?” The child asked eagerly. “Really? Really?” They were practically bouncing up and down at this point, the loose pieces in the box rattling around as they did so. Money was irrelevant for the child, why wouldn’t it be? Like me, they liked free things.They were still way too young to understand the true importance of it, and most likely would’ve walked out without paying if it weren’t for Fuchihata.

It was strange, the child had no adverse reactions to encountering strangers nor seemed off put by their own situation. It was almost as if he didn’t understand the gravity of it all, which was most likely the case. He was ripped from the living at age 8, and thus didn’t necessarily know what was going on anymore. He just assumed his friends and family were somewhere in the facility, playing some intense game of hide and seek.

“Thank you so much, Fuc- Fuch- Fuchiha-“ MJ stuttered, trying to pronounce the woman’s name without sounding offensive. He babbled for a moment before just saying “Fuchi” and leaving it at that.

"You.. can call me.. onee-chan, if you want. You don't have.. to. It's easier." This was probably the most Fuchihata had spoken in one go since she got here, it was just a major display of how flustered she was internally.

“Oh! Okay, onee-Chan!” The child said, feeling more relaxed at being able to easily pronounce that name rather than the other. “Onee-Chan… onee-Chan..” They kept repeating it for a few moments, as if trying to solidify the name within their small brain. They liked the sound of it, on-nee-chan, it sounded familiar but only barely. Being a child, they knew very little other than English, if any other language at all. They should have had plenty of time to learn, if only it wasn’t just cut short.

The boy followed the gesture, hobbling to the counter. Upon reaching it, he looked up and stood on his tiptoes, attempting to place the box on the top. He gave a small grunt before finally managing to precariously balance the Lego set on the marble counter. It was rocking slightly from the last touch, so he jumped up in order to fully place settle it.

Fuchihata patiently waits for the child to settle their toy before turning to leer ominously over the cashier. Her stormy eyes narrow at them while a hand removes a bill from her wallet. With the money handed over to the employee, Fuchihata takes the toy back to hand down to MJ.

“Here. no run.. Along back home.” For some reason, Fuchihata felt like she and this child may be one in the same in some way, but maybe she was just getting tired. She hadn’t taken a rest since she got here, so fatigue could definitely be a valid answer.