#I just think Mahiru deserves an adult from his chldhood that either a) didn't look down on him for being a single mom's child

[infearbutstillhere]

It was the day before Mahiru's birthday.

He and his mom were at the supermarket shopping for groceries. As they passed the bakery section, Mahiru saw a cake in the display fridge. It was just simple looking cheese cake with no frosting or toppings But it looked like it would taste good, and it was cheap! So he begged his mom to get this cake for his birthday. He probably didn't notice it then, but he remembered his mom looking sorry for a short moment before finally relenting.

When they finally reached the cashier, Mahiru was bouncing off his feet. He couldn't wait to have this cake on his birthday tomorrow! But then-

"Sorry ma'am, but I'm afraid there's not enough in your card."

Mahiru didn't fully understand how 'cards' worked for adults, but he knew what 'not enough' meant. Just as his mother was fretting over the payment, he took the cake away from the cashier.

"It's ok Mom. I can just put the cake back. We don't have to buy it."

It was the obvious choice. They needed everything else, the cake was just an extra expense. He tried to ignore the looks and whispers from the other shoppers as he made his way to the bakery section.

Suddenly, the cake was lifted out of his hands. "I'll pay for the cake."

Mahiru looked up to see who it was that offered to pay. It was a man who was standing behind them in line. He had white spiky hair and green eyes. He was super tall, probably taller than Uncle Tooru.

"O-oh! You don't have to do that, sir!" His mom quickly said to the tall man.

"It's fine. I'm not really buying much for myself. I can just pay for the cake." The tall man started rubbing his ear for some reason. When Mahiru looked at the the man's basket, it was filled with instant noodles and bottled water. Even so, the man still paid for his things and the cake as well. Mahiru thought that he would just leave after that.

Except that wasn't all he did. Not only did he pay for the cake, he also helped to bring the groceries back to their apartment. As it turned out, Arago-san (he later told them to call him that) was renting the apartment right next to theirs.

Mahiru had heard about guardian spirits sent by the deities. Maybe Arago-san was one, it would explain why he was so pale.

Suddenly, Mom got a call from work. She needed to help cover a shift for one of her coworkers. And Uncle Tooru was also busy with work. Koyuki and Ryuusei were also busy that whole day, though they didn't tell him why. Which means that Mahiru was going to be home alone the whole night.

Which was fine. Mahiru's a grown boy anywa-

"I can help accompany him for the night." Arago-san suddenly volunteered.

Mahiru looked at Arago-san with wide eyes. Not even the aunties that live next door would be able to make time to take care of him. And Arago-san was willing to do it even if they've only met that day?

"A-are you sure? I wouldn't want to trouble you anymore." His mom was concerned.

"Yeah, I'm sure. As long as you can make it for Mahiru's birthday tomorrow, right?"

That day, Mahiru saw his mom show the happiest smile he had ever seen.

"You are a saint, Arago-san."

That made Arago-san's entire face go red. "G-geez, you don't have to go that far. I'm sure anyone would've done the same," he stuttered out.

Mahiru's mom chuckled. "Oh, how modest. I'm sure your parents are proud of you."

That made Arago-san look a little sad suddenly, and he started rubbing his ear again. "Yeah, I'm sure they are...." He let out a small cough. "Anyways, don't worry about it."

"I just wanted to help. That's all."

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Mahiru was buying supplies at a local supermarket alongside Koyuki, Ryuusei and Sakuya for their school festival. They were waiting for their turn to pay as Sakuya was sharing another of his silly ghost stories (something about Hanako-san and how she lived at their school) and asking them how much of what he said was a lie. Just as Mahiru was about to smack Sakuya on the head,

"Sorry ma'am, but I'm afraid there's not enough in your card."

That caught Mahiru's attention and he turned to the front. The woman had a few groceries on the counter. To the side, her daughter seemed to be taking a set of colour pencils off the counter.

"It's ok Mama. I can put these back. We don't have to buy them."

Subconsciously, Mahiru stepped forward. "Wait, I can help pay for those."

The woman immediately interjected, "O-oh no, it's fine. You don't have to do that."

"I don't mind. I'm not buying much for myself. I can pay for the colour pencils."

Mahiru ignored the weird looks his friends were giving him as he paid for their supplies and the colour pencils. They bought quite a lot to prepare for the festival, but he was going to claim whatever amount of money he spent on the supplies from the class budget so it wasn't like he was lying.

After that, he helped the woman and her daughter to load the groceries into their car. "Oh, thank you. You really are an angel."

The comment made him blush, and he started rubbing his ear. "Don't worry about it. I just wanted to help. That's all."

As he and his friends walked back to Koyuki's house to organise their supplies, Sakuya suddenly piped up, "Hey Mahiru, why do you rub your ear at times?"

"Huh, seriously Sakuya? He's been doing that for years now!" Ryuusei shot Sakuya an incredulous look.

"I-I know that! It's just that I never thought to ask him why until now!"

"That is true, we've been seeing Mahiru doing it for years now, but I don't think we ever questioned it," Koyuki added.

All three of them stopped walking and looked at Mahiru hoping to get an answer. He just sighed and said, "It's not some grand story or anything. I just accidentally picked it up from one of my neighbours. You guys know him."

"Oh, you mean the gaijin from England?" Ryuusei asked as the four of them continued walking.

"Who...?"

"Don't you remember him Sakuya? He accompanied Mahiru while we were planning his birthday surprise."

"Uuummm... oh! Yeah, that's right Koyuki. Shit, I'm sorry Mahiru, for not being there for you when you were alone."

Mahiru sighed. "It's fine Sakuya. I know you guys were just trying to make my birthday more fun that year."

"Anyways, Arago-san helped to take care of me whenever Mom or Uncle Tooru was too busy for about a month before he had to go back to England to deal with something. Must've picked it up from him during that time."

Everyone hummed in agreement before Sakuya started speaking. "Y'know Mahiru. You could've met an angel."

"....Is this another one of your jokes, Sakuya?"

"Wait, wait, hear me out first! They say that each child is blessed with two guardian angels to guide them through life. When the child is going through hardship, one of them would appear to the child in a form that is most welcoming. The angel would help to care for the child until they believe the child is in a good situation and then leave to return to their post."

Everyone went silent at Sakuya's words. Mahiru thought about how Arago-san went beyond the kindness one would normally show a stranger. Maybe angel was a bet-

"Now who wants to guess how much of what I said was a lie?"

"Ow! Hey! Mahiru! You didn't need to hit me that hard!"