Sentarō immediately dropped to his knees, bowing so low that his forehead touched the earth.
"Oh my, I'm really, really sorry!" Senatro pleaded.
"Are you okay?!" Sentaro askeed, his head still bowed in guilt.
The girl pushed herself up slowly, rubbing her forehead. But instead of scolding him, she also lowered herself onto her knees and bowed.
"I'm so sorry, please forgive me!" she pleaded.
Sentarō raised his head and blinked. His mouth dropped slightly as shock painted his expression. "Wait… why is she apologizing?"
"Of course, I'm apologizing. I got in your way, please forgive me" He pleaded, her voice soft and gentle.
"No, it was I who swung the weapon recklessly, please forgive me" Sentaro pleaded as well.
Both of them awkwardly scrambled to their feet, deciding to stop pleading awkwardly. Panic jolted through Sentarō, and he bolted to the nearest stall that sold paper bandages.
"You stay right here, I'll be right back" Sentro instructed her. Even though there was no blood, he couldn't bear the thought of leaving the bump on the girl's head untreated. He returned quickly, carefully unwrapping the bandage and pressing it gently onto her forehead. His hands, though trembling, were surprisingly steady.
"Alright, done" he said softly, adjusting it with care.
The girl's face flushed pink. "Ehem, Thank you so much." she whispered, her voice so gentle and pure it melted into the noise of the market like a bird's song.
Sentarō scratched the back of his head, laughing awkwardly. "Not a problem, it was my fault anyway, so please stop your worries." Sentaro said reassuring her.
He leaned forward. "Ehh so… If I may ask, what is your name?"
The girl adjusted her purple kimono, eyes darting shyly before meeting his.
"My name is Asano Yoshiko," she responded softly. Her voice was delicate, almost angelic.
Sentarō grinned. "Well, nice to meet you Asano, my name is Sentarō Hachibei."
"Nice to meet you too, Sentarō," she replied, her pink hair flowing in the evening breeze. Her gaze wandered around for a while finally arriving at Sentaro's wooden sword.
"Do you wish to become a samurai for the Shogun?" Her tone carried genuine curiosity.
"What?" Sentaro asked confused.
"I asked if you wish to be a samurai guard to the shogun?" Asano asked, pointing to the wooden sword in Sentaro's hands.
Sentarō puffed his chest out, brimming with energy. "Well, my dream is to become a samurai but not for the shogun."
"I want to serve in the Shinsengumi" A smile tugged at Sentaro's face as he said those words. It was the joyful face of a young boy ready to chase is dream, but a single word passed his mind completely ruining his joy. Conviction.
"Really? You too want to be in the Shinsengumi? That's quite the dream" Asano said
Sentarō's face brightened but with a forced smile. Even with his secret training and his determination, it will all amount to nothing if he lacks a reason to keep going and Sentaro knew that.
As Sentaro was deep in thought he noticed something, Asano's joy dissolved into sadness or the joy was never real but forced. Her smile faltered, leaving only a hollow expression. Sentarō froze.
"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" he asked, confused.
"No, you didn't do anything wrong." She forced a smile, but Sentarō could see straight through it. The sadness behind her eyes gnawed at him suspecting it is personal but he couldn't do anything about it, he just met Asano, and interfering in her personal matters is one thing he can't do.
He leaned closer, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Asano, I don't really know what's going on with you but-"
"ASANO! WHERE ARE YOU?!!"
The deep, harsh voice shattered the air, echoing across the market.
And upon hearing it Asano's entire body trembled. Her eyes widened in terror and her breathing sped up. It was obvious that she feared the person yelling out her name.
Sentarō whipped his head around just in time to see a tall young man with yellow hair and a blue kimono storm into the scene. His glare locked onto Asano.
"There you are, you little Asano!" The man said, mockingly with a smirk on his face.
Sentaro kept his eyes locked on the man and thought to himself, "I have a bad feeling about him"
"It's getting late time to go" the man said stretching his hand forward to Asano.
But for the strangest reason she refused to move. Her eyes were widened in fear as cold sweats poured down her face. She was obviously terrified of this man.
"Hey!" Sentaro yelled out to the man as he stood in between Sentaro and Asano. "What is your relationship between you and Asano" Sentaro asked, genuinely worried about Asano.
"Huh, who are you, brat?" The young man asked, "My name is Sentaro-"
"I don't care" The man said, he then proceeded to give Sentaro a glaring that froze him in place, it was a look of pure disgust. But the worst part about it was the glare wasn't for Sentaro, he glared through Sentaro to the one who actually disgust him. Asano.
Who would have thought that a man can posses this much disgust for someone.
The man then proceeded to walk towards them but before Sentarō could even process, the man seized Asano by her long hair and yanked hard. She stumbled forward, tears spilling down her cheeks, but she didn't scream. She only cried silently, her lips trembling.
The sight burned into Sentarō's chest like a hot blade. He tried to move but he couldn't the fear he felt from the man's glare and the fact that he isn't one to meddle in the lives of others.
NO!! these where all excuses and Sentaro knew it.
He looked around and what happened with the needy girl he met earlier happened again, no one batted an eye.
"Damn it, is this really the reality of the world? A world where everyone turns away from the obvious troubles of that exist? How can people do such a thing?"
Memories began to flood Sentaro's mind, Ujiyuki forcing him to ignore those in need. Garou, his father telling him of how cruel the world really is and Ujiyuki telling him the truth that he lacks convictions. They all played in Sentaro's mind with one central question.
"Why do I want to be a samurai?"
Sentaro stood there in lost in his own thought, he had only just met Asano, and he didn't know yet he felt the reason to help hers. And in this moment, something ignited within him causing his instincts screamed louder than reason.
Sentaro mustered ounce of courage from his thirteen year old body, gripping the wooden sword in his hands tightly and ran towards the young man.
With every fibre in his being he swung the wooden sword, slamming it into the arm that held Asano by the hair. "GHAAHH" The man yelled in agony releasing Asano's hair.
Then with a clumsy motion and rhythm he grabbed Asano by the arm and pulled her behind him to protect her.
"I don't know who you are but I do know that you're being bit harsh, Mister," Sentarō said, trying to calm his breathing.
"What do you think you're you doing, you little brat?"
Asano's eyes filled with panic as fear etched itself on her face. "W…wait, Shino! L…let's just go home and-"
"Shut up, bitch!" Shino barked, and Asano recoiled, covering her mouth with both hands, shivering violently.
"I'm about to teach you're new friend about respect?" Shino said, with is jaw tightened and veins bulged in anger.
"Sentaro stop, my brother is going to-"
Before she could finish, Shino dashed towards Sentaro and swung a fist straight into his stomach.
"Guhhh!"
The blow knocked the wind out of him. Sentarō crumpled to the dirt, clutching his stomach, face contorted in agony. Shino laughed cruelly.
But Sentaro immediately stood up and leapt back positioning Asano behind him again to protect her.
"Stay behind me, Asano. You can see, even after seeing what's happening, the people have choosen to ignore you in pain because." Sentaro said mustering a brave smile on his face, "They choose to because it's easier to ignore, it takes someone willing to notice and risk their lives to through themselves into these situations." Sentaro thought.
"But I choose not to ignore but to fight" Sentaro yelled in determination. Shino then smirked, "I liked your courage, but that won't stop me, filth" He said.
"No, Sentaro you'll get hurt. You don't know what you're doing" Asano pleaded, "My brother is a Samurai-in-Training".
Shino then dashed towards Sentaro, but-
"Is that so?" Sentaro didn't waver nor let fear bring him down. Sentaro stomped on the ground to harden his stance and with a determined look on his face but with a smile, a smile because Sentaro had finally what he was looking for.
In the heat of the moment, Sentaro yelled-
"COME, LET'S TEST MY NEW CONVICTION!!"