In the morning, Nobu walked outside, moving down the street excitedly. Someday, somehow, he would venture outside his city to find a perfect home for his family. As he strolled past a store, an ear-splitting crack could be heard a block down. Multiple men were bearing guns and shooting at each other, which was definitely more than enough to scare the boy.
He ran to the alleyway, shoving himself between the small crevice between two buildings. There was a lot of gang violence where he lived, and he told himself he thankfully didn't have anything to do with that. Being shot was already bad enough than hanging around bad old guys.
Near Nobu, a lone trashcan started to rustle. He shook, stepping away and curiously watching it. Was it a raccoon or a cat? The trashcan tumbled to the floor, so the top rolled off, leaving a little girl's head to pop out.
She had raggedy brown hair and brown eyes. When her head spun at Nobu, she squealed and ran on all fours into the corner. He knelt forward, attempting to keep quiet so he wouldn't scare her.
"H-hi... are you alright?"
Nobu questioned shakily. The girl didn't say anything as she moved more into the corner. Nobu had no idea what to do, so he sat on the dirty floor, observing her. And then he had an idea.
He took out a piece of a cracker, tossing it over to her. She hesitantly picked it up, sniffing the bland food before popping it in her mouth. Nobu knew if he kept doing this, he might be able to persuade her to talk to him.
She also had a missing tooth, which added to her filthy appearance.
"What's your name?" Nobu asked softly, not wanting to frighten her more than he did a while ago.
"Shig."
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