Life Beneath the Fires - Part 05

The door to Emma's shop jingled and opened.

Emma and Sam gazed at it and spotted Blythe and Chiaki. "Oh, you're back!" Emma smiled, gently dropping the fruit. "Emma!" Chiaki swung her arms, throwing the basket in the air. "Woah!" Blythe hurriedly caught it before it fell on the ground.

He observed Chiaki sprinting behind the counter and happily jumping into Emma's body. She noticed Emma squatting in front of her, hugging her back. "Look at you! Energetic as always." Chuckled Emma, slowly picking up Chiaki into her arms and standing up.

"We got loads of fruits and greens! And on the way back home, we even saw a lot of singing butterflies! They were so pretty and small!" Chiaki enthusiastically squeaked, raising her arms in the air. "They were dancing so gracefully!" She called, showing the motion of butterflies' wings with her arms.

"Oh? That's fantastic! I'm sure those butterflies would love to see you do the same." She rubbed her own cheek against Chiaki's, who giggled and enjoyed it.

Blythe stepped in front of the counter and placed the baskets on it. "Hello, miss Sam. I guess you came here to get your weekly greens, right?" Blythe inquired and gently removed the napkin. "Aw, look at you, Blythe. Already know me like a sister!" Sam laughed, "But since Emma hadn't had any, I decided to stay and help her. I hope you two brought me some fresh Zibberind."

Blythe nodded and shared a kind smile. "Sure we did. It just needs to be washed, but then it'll be ready." He explained, moving behind the counter past Chiaki and Emma.

"Great. I've been waiting to prepare the Zibberind soup for a few days. Never came around to actually visit the place that sells the best Zibberind in this city." Sam added, watching Blythe enter the storage room.

He crouched and began placing the vegetables into the fridge. "I'm sure your family will love it. If you came yesterday, you could've gotten it sooner." Blythe explained and grabbed the Zibberind in his basket.

He moved the basket on the shelf and stepped toward the sink, cleaning the fresh Zibberind. "Well, you know me. I'm usually a late person."

She accepted the cleaned Zibberind into her hand and thanked Blythe. "Wow... That's a big gift for me, huh?" She answered in confusion. "Yeah, we found some big ones and some little ones. But you know how we do. Our favorite customers always get the bigger ones."

Sam placed the Zibberind into the basket she came with, "Aw, how polite. I thought you had other customers better than me." Sam smiled, scratching the side of her cheek. "You're the most regular here. Besides, you help a lot. You deserve the best and the freshest fruits and vegetables we find."

Sam shook arms with Blythe, followed by a friendly hug, and giggling. "Well, I better get going. I put your payment on the counter. Just dial me if you need any more help. I'll be happy to lend you a hand, Emma."

Emma slowly shook her head, holding Chiaki in her arms. "Thanks, Sam, but I'll close the shop earlier today. I still have others things to do." She explained, yet was interrupted by Blythe.

"You don't need to close the shop. Chiaki and I can take care of things while you're gone. Besides, more work, more customers. And we love to help as many customers as possible."

Blythe's response startled Emma. She didn't expect him to respond with such care. "Are you sure? It'll take a while for me to get back to the shop. Most likely a few hours."

She needed to make sure that they were up for a challenge.

"Emma, come on. You've been working hard every day at the shop. We can take care of a few customers for those three to five hours. You've taught me enough to manage a shop, and with Chiaki's help, it'll be even easier."

Chiaki raised her arms in the air, "That's right, Emma! My big brother and I will take care of everything." She squeaked with happiness.

Sam giggled and looked at Emma. "Looks like you don't need to worry about closing the shop."

Emma smiled, hugging Chiaki tightly. "Aw, you two are the best!" She gently placed Chiaki on the ground. "Okay, then. If I'm not home by 8 O'clock, close the shop on your own. And make sure to check the price for every vegetable or fruit in case you forget. It's Saturday. So, not many customers will come by, but you never know."

Blythe nodded, hugging Emma. "And don't be late," Her voice became more serious, "You better put Chiaki to sleep at 9 O'clock minimum. She needs sleep, okay?"

Sweat trickled down Blythe's cheek, but he nodded in awkwardness. "Yeah, sure! I won't forget that. Did you hear, Chiaki? You'll have to go to sleep at 9 O'clock tonight and not any later."

Chiaki puffed her cheeks, crossed her arms, and looked away. "Fine..."

Emma stepped toward the hanger where she kept her coat and put it on. "Remember! Close the shop at 8 O'clock!" She grabbed the doorknob. "I'll remember, Emma."

"Good. I'll be home at around 9 O'clock!" She pulled the door open and with Sam, left the shop after greeting Chiaki and Blythe goodbye.

"Well, Chiaki... We better start and make Emma proud." He claimed, turning his body to face Chiaki. "Okay! So, what do I do, big brother?"

Blythe grabbed a bucket, filled it with warm water, and grabbed a napkin. "Since there are no customers at the moment, you can go clean the tables, and I'll resupply the counter with resources. Can you do that?" He asked, slowly moving the bucket in front of Chiaki's hand.

"Yes!" Without wasting a second, she grabbed the water bucket and the napkin and hurried toward the tables.

"And be careful! Don't spill the water on the ground! We don't want customers slipping on the tiles."

While Blythe grabbed the menu, Chiaki cheerfully started clearing the tables. "Huh? I'm sure I can figure out how to prepare some of these mini dishes. They aren't particularly spectacular. Just a handful of quick, cold, and easy-to-make fruit or vegetable appetizers."

He placed the menu on the side but spotted a random newspaper on the counter, picked it up, and read it for himself.

"The world government prepares to cleanse the world of the final few Yasuda family members."

Blythe's eyes shook in terror as sweat trickled down his forehead.

"5 years ago, a Japanese family known as Yasuda attacked the world government by joining forces with the pirates in order to prevent the disastrous war known as the 'Deadly Rain.' Because of Yasuda's alliance with the pirates, the world government considered them threats and is prepared to compensate the individuals a $1,000,000,000 reward who were to locate their whereabouts and bring them to la Isleta Cortada alive. The reports assert that the escaping Yasuda family members are siblings who escaped the 'Deadly Rain' 5 years ago..."

The newspaper continued, but what horrified Blythe the most was, "We're the last two Yasuda family members? Hunted down? T-That means that our mother... she... she's..."

He couldn't finish his sentence without stuttering,

"Dead?!"

To be continued...