The Vagrant

A myriad of thoughts rushed to Haoyuo as he faced his death–the infamous truck-kun of Japan. Blinded by the headlamp, he could only hear a screeching sound as his body flung into the air and made its impact on the ground, face down.

He clumsily opened his eyes, revealing a pair of crimson glazed orbs as blood trickled continuously down from his head to the ground. And more and more, he felt his heart beat slower with every minute that passed before eventually coming into a hault.

A silly thought came to his mind, [Am I actually, really, going to die a virgin?]

[Soul fragment detected.]

[Searching interface for system compatibility.]

[Initiating host and system bond...]

•••

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The rain poured harshly, soaking the inside of the run down hemp bungalow as though it were a waterfall. On a small makeshift bed made of bamboo at the side of the room was the figure of a ragged looking boy curled up like a baby in the womb of his mother. But compared to this boy, he lacked the warmth and protection every child is offered at birth.

The boy slept shivering with visible discomfort on his face which, in his situation, caused by the dripping rainwater on his head. The boy's scrunched forehead and pouted lips increasingly intensified before his eyes opened in an abrupt manner.

Searching for the cause of his discomfort, his eyes roamed his surroundings before eventually looking directly above him. And as though in a cue, the weeds he'd left to patch up the gaping hole on the ceiling just the night before gave up, causing the rainwater that had accumulated there to give him an untimely cold bath.

The boy grumbled in absolute disdain at his unluckiness. Now he has no choice but go down the mountain and beg for small change to buy the necessary materials he needed to patch it up properly.

The boy stood up from the soaked bed and headed to the hammock on what was supposed to be his front porch, where he decided to wait the rain out before setting off for his destination. Climbing the hammock placed on the highest point of his ceiling, he looked at his empty food storage and sighed, realizing that his food for the following winter is nonexistent at the moment.

Reaching the top, the boy's stomach growled and he could only close his eyes. He imagined the most delicious looking food he'd often see from outside of the large restaurants the nobles squandered their money at. He imagined the delicious smelling food he'd smelled and even the very first dish he'd tasted when he, out of the generosity of a lady's heart, was given the lady's servants' leftovers.

His joy of that memory couldn't have been greater and in all honesty, he treasured the taste of the aromatic dish as he chewed on it rather loudly, he was aware. His mouth was wide open as he chewed and paired with his black stained nails, his audience scrunched up their faces, like watching a wild animal eat a dear alive. The oil slipping down his throat gave him an even more burst of happiness and never once did notice the trace of distaste on the faces of his audience which left abruptly, seemingly on a rush.

When the boy heard the galloping of the horses was the only time he looked up, waking up from the sudden rush of happy hormones he'd experienced to convey his gratitude. But to the beggar's surprise, his generous benefactors was already rushing away.

The boy shrugged if off. All the years he had spent going back and forth the mountain and town had given him an idea why people seemed to avoid him.

Waking up from his reverie, the boy's eyes fluttered open, still glazed with desire.

Shaking his head, his slanted obsidian eyes stared directly on his feet before eventually squinting and doing it again for a second time just to be sure of what he was seeing—for, just above his feet, was a moving white blob of some sort of creature which he was sure he never owned one for an obvious reason.

He wondered, [Is it one of those beasts that the nobles at the town own? But how can it be here?] He scratched his head in wonder. They are miles away from town and he'd never seen a beast of this appearance in the mountains before.

The boy stared at it in silence, feeling its bouncy and soft external texture through his feet. A glint of adoration passed by the boy's eyes before it was replaced by naught. He slowly raised half of his body, aiming to reach the thing with his arms when he lost his balance and the hammock turned in a 360° angle.

"AHHHHH"

To protect himself from the fall, he assumed a fetal position only to hit his rib cage on a protruding medium sized rock on the ground.

The boy screamed in pain and remained in his position, waiting for the pulsating ache to subside. He had only wanted to grab the thing and bring it back to it's owner so he may be rewarded but what he got is an unbearable pain instead, he lamented.

A few moments passed by but the boy felt it to be hours as he endured his body's aching when, all of sudden, relief washed over him. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

Not seeing anything but his usual environment, he proceeded to look at his flank, only to see the thing he'd seen earlier attached to his body—seemingly sucking the life out of him as it wiggled constantly.

In his shock, the boy hurriedly pushed the blob off his stomach only for his hands to slide through it no matter how much force he exerted. In the end, he gave up dejectedly and wiped his arms off of the sticky white goo that the beast excreted on a now damp cloth that hung on the wall.

The boy opened his mouth then closed it again to swallow his saliva before once again widely opening his mouth—trying to utter a word. It had been a long time since he felt the need to speak. He repeated his action a few more times as the first sign of daybreak came into view and the once heavy rain stopped all together.

"What... are y-you...doing...Will return...owner" The boy uttered with a struggle, looking suspiciously directly at the blob with knitted brows. In an instant, it quivered and shot itself off the boy's flank like a catapult.

SPLAT!

The thing landed on the ground and in an instant, vanished was the blob and appeared a small beast resembling that of a tiger that the nobles usually tame as pets, although smaller, as it strode forward while its tail haughtily wiggled in the air. The boy marveled at the whitest creature he'd ever seen, comparable to the very first snowfall of winter when it's all yet but dangerous and cold.

"Meow, Greetings host! I am system 143 but you can call me anything you like! Meow." The beast talked with much enthusiasm while it stared directly in the eyes of its unfortunate host.