Chapter 6: 04 – It all goes up! And down…

*****

"You want to cook? But do you even know how?" May playfully asked before taking the knife away from Abhi and saying, "And this is dangerous, so give it back to me." Feeling like she was being doubted, Abhi raised the ladle with a determined expression using her right hand.

Abhi was used to cooking. She had lived her past life providing for herself at the young age of eleven when her parents stopped caring for and providing for her. When she turned fifteen, she would go around town comparing prices of ingredients she needed and would stock up on them with the small amount of money she made from selling various goods made from scraps, regardless of their condition.

She never had a phone until twenty so she would spend ten to twenty minutes at internet cafes learning budget recipes and would make them even cheaper. She was skilled at cooking small, nutritious meals. Although the same can't be said for the taste, that's beside the point. 

Seeing how eager the girl was, May decided that it would be fine to let her do some cooking. She would be there to help and make sure that nothing went wrong, so there shouldn't be any problems. It would also be beneficial for Abhi in the near future.

Syr saw the interaction and smiled. It was nice to see something sweet first thing in the morning. Abhi had unknowingly raised the mood of both the hostess' employees and customers. The atmosphere inside the pub had also become much more peaceful, much to Mia's delight, due to the appearance of this hardworking little girl.

Abhi believed that she was currently the happiest and most content she had ever been in her life. And she was right. Everyone at the pub cared for her, unlike her previous family. They were considerate enough to laugh off her small mistakes, unlike her previous family. They didn't place heavy expectations on her, unlike her previous family. Abhi was more than content and wouldn't mind spending the rest of her life working at the pub with them. They had become more of a family to her than those tied to her by blood. In that short period of time, it was even possible to say that she saw Mia as her actual mother, not just her mother, but a loving mom.

She has also been learning as well, and although she still can't communicate properly, she remembered the names of different ingredients for different recipes and the name of the recipes themselves. Well, it's probably her past experiences that aided her when it comes to remembering food. Although family transcends beyond such things as language barriers, being able to convey what you feel is still a must, and being unable to speak the common language is just simply too inconvenient.

But right now, Abhi could only suck it and continue learning the language.

*****

After finishing mopping the wooden floor of the tub, Mia wanted to visit her adopted daughter and teach her the language herself. She couldn't keep relying on others to teach her own daughter. With this in mind, Mia approached Anya, who was fidgeting with something on a table nearby, and asked her.

 "Do you know where Abhi is?" Mia inquired.

"Mia! I think she went outside to throw out the trash in the back. Why do you ask?" Anya quickly hid whatever she was holding and replied with an awkward smile on her face, as if she had been caught doing something wrong.

Mia chose to ignore Anya's actions and thanked her before heading outside. As she left the room, Mia could hear Anya sigh in relief.

"I bet she's up to some ridiculous prank again," Mia thought to herself as she turned around and walked into the dim alley.

Upon arriving at the back of their building, Mia was surprised by what she saw.

There, standing in front of her, was Abhi embracing and comforting a hooded woman covered in blood and dirt, tears streaming down her face. It reminded Mia of the moment she first found Abhi, minus the blood.

"Abhi," Mia called out.

At the sound of Mia's voice, Abhi's ears perked up and she turned to face her. The hooded woman also looked at Mia, her eyes swollen from crying and tears still streaming down her face.

Mia couldn't help but smile at the strange sight. It was bizarre to see the same girl who had been crying just days ago now comforting a woman who was probably a decade older than her, in the same way that she had been comforted.

Mia walked up to them and embraced them both, causing the woman to cry even harder. It wasn't until a few minutes had passed that Mia noticed the woman's injuries.

Mia tapped the shoulders of both girls, signaling for them to release the hug. She then held out her hands to the woman.

The woman looked hesitant at first, but eventually took Mia's hand and allowed herself to be pulled up, her hands resting on Mia's shoulders to help her walk. While Abhi took the woman's other hand and held onto it gently.

As they entered the pub, they were all startled by what they saw.

The dumb cat Anya was tickling May, whose hands were tied to a table. Being a normal person, May couldn't break free from the rope, which had balls on each end. Mia was right - it was another ridiculous prank.

Upon seeing this, Abhi quickly scanned the pub to make sure no one was looking. She then smirked and formed a white snowball between her small hands. It started out small, like an airsoft pellet, but quickly grew to the size of a tennis ball.

Both the woman and Mia were surprised by what Abhi did, though for different reasons. They were even more surprised when Abhi threw the snowball at Anya's head.

Anya was just about to turn around after she felt a soft but cold ball hit her head, and then she let out a high-pitched squeak as she felt something cold run down her back skin. Laughing audibly, Abhi had run up to her and made small ice chunks slide down her back.

"Abhi, you little-" Anya tried to grab Abhi, but instead grabbed onto a chunk of ice, which she immediately let go of due to the intense cold.

The woman couldn't help but laugh a little through her nose, her face immediately turning red with embarrassment as everyone in the room turned to look at her. Syr, who had just finished taking a bath, walked down the stairs before pausing to say "Oh dear."

Overall, one could say that Anya's prank was timed perfectly, as it helped to lighten the mood in the pub for the newcomer.

*****

One day after taking in Ryuu, Abhi took the responsibility of caring for her on behalf of everyone.

Abhi was used to cleaning and patching up injuries due to her already known past experiences, but even she was unsure of how to treat Ryuu's wounds due to their severity.

Despite the difficulty, Abhi managed to properly treat Ryuu's wounds without causing her too much pain. It would have been better if she had hydrogen peroxide to clean the wounds, but she had to rely on warm water instead.

Throughout the process, Ryuu tried to speak to Abhi a few times, but only received a sweet, childish smile in response. Ryuu realized that she hadn't heard her speak a single word to her or anyone else. "Is she mute?" Ryuu thought to herself. However, she remembered that earlier today, Ryuu had heard her taking orders at the counter.

Maybe she just doesn't talk much? That's what Ryuu thought, but when she asked about it, she was surprised to find that Abhi spoke to her in a completely different, foreign language. It didn't sound like Eastern either. 

Before she knew it, Ryuu was completely patched up and left to rest on her own.

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As fatigue set in, Ryuu fell into a peaceful sleep that she hadn't had in a while.

*****

At morning, Ryuu woke up to the loud noises of panic coming from downstairs and was immediately confused. She stood up and left her room, then went downstairs to see what was happening.

Ryuu walked up to Syr, who was standing behind the counter with a worried look on her face. This only served to make Ryuu more worried as well. Syr noticed her and gently smiled, saying "You should stay in bed, Ryuu. You need more rest…”

Ryuu shook her head, rejecting Syr's suggestion, and asked "What happened?"

"If you're wondering why they're doing this, it's because they're fans of Abhi. Did you know? Abhi is currently the mascot of the Hostess of Fertility. She has brought many smiles to people, even though she can only speak about food and a little more," Syr said with a giggle as she sat down next to Ryuu. Ryuu didn't know what to say, but she smiled at the thought.

"About an hour ago, May and Abhi went out to restock on ingredients, and they were both knocked unconscious. Abhi is missing now - she was abducted," Syr explained in a calm manner, though the grief in her eyes was still evident.

Upon hearing this sad news, Ryuu's heart sank.

Abhi has been abducted. Her savior has been abducted. Ryuu refused to let the grief take hold in her heart and ran up to Mia, taking her hand.

Mia's face was filled with anger, but Ryuu pushed through and said "Let me help!"

Mia's tense expression relaxed slightly, and she said to Ryuu, "If you really want to help, then go rest more. I'll let you know when you're in a better shape. Let's just hope that this ordeal will be over by then, okay?"

Ryuu was speechless. She had expected to be denied, but not in such a gentle way. She could only agree and go sit on a bench near Syr, watching the armed adventurers coming and going from the pub.

"If you're wondering why they're doing this, it's because they're fans of Abhi. Did you know? Abhi is currently the mascot of the Hostess of Fertility. She has brought many smiles to people, even though she can only speak about food and a little more," Syr said as she sat down next to Ryuu. Ryuu didn't know what to say, but she smiled at the thought.

"I… I hope she's at least not being hurt wherever those scum took her," Ryuu said, still feeling angry at her own weakness while her savior was out there possibly suffering.

"Un, let's hope…" Syr replied while she patted Ryuu on the back.

*****

It's dark…

Where am I?

I can't hear anything…

Abhi was lost and confused, but this was not a new experience for her. Earth was filled with kidnappings and human trafficking, and it was common for people to see a child alone and see them as a potential profit. Abhi had experienced being targeted by these people on multiple occasions. Luckily, she had always been saved by the police and returned to her previous parents' house... only to be kicked out again.

Abhi then heard the sound of metal doors being opened, along with voices and words that she couldn't understand from possibly two or more people. She couldn't feel anything below her neck, so it was possible that she had been drugged.

Abhi tried to access the magic within her heart and was successful. Although she didn't know how, she wanted to make the poison in her body dissipate so that she could move again. As if in response to her desire, the magic within her body began to spread throughout her body, cleansing her of the poison.

Abhi flinched at the sudden reconnection she felt as the poison in her body was disposed of. This small movement made a silent rustling sound, but even though it was so quiet, the people talking before her seemed to have heard it.

The people paused in their conversation and tried to talk to Abhi. She could hear the word "awake," which she recognized from Mia whenever she would see her already awake in the morning.

Abhi wanted to pretend to still be asleep, and it seemed to have worked as the people left and locked the metal door again.

After confirming that the people were gone and out of earshot by the sound of their footsteps, Abhi sat up and removed the sandbag covering her head. They didn't seem to think that she would be able to overcome the poison, so she wasn't tied up and only had her head restricted. Oh how wrong they were. 

"Now where am I?" Abhi asked herself as she looked around the room. As she had suspected, the door was made of metal with a small hole at the bottom, possibly for sliding in meals. The room was dim and didn't have any holes or windows aside from the door. The walls were made of smooth, large bricks and there was nothing else in the room aside from her and a set of thick cuffs chained to the wall.

"How medieval," Abhi blurted out after seeing the cuffs.

Despite this, Abhi didn't know how she would escape from this place. She couldn't just wait for the police like she had before, as there seemed to be none around at all.

Magic, perhaps? Maybe she could blowup the doors? Or maybe the walls? The walls may not be the right choice, since they might be underground.

Could magic be the answer? Maybe she could blow up the doors or the walls? However, the walls might not be the right choice, as they might be underground.

Abhi was startled when she heard heavy, rushed footsteps outside and the door flung open, not giving her time to pretend to be asleep again.

The person who entered was adorned in heavy metal armor and golden accessories. He also wore a helmet that made it impossible for Abhi to see his face, the darkness of the room didn't help either. 

The person started shouting at Abhi, but she understood none of it. Then she heard the name "Ryuu" among the words the person was saying and her ears visibly perked up. The person laughed sinisterly under their helmet and repeatedly said the name "Ryuu" in a sentence.

The person then left, as if satisfied with whatever they were saying. Maybe they were badmouthing Ryuu? Abhi didn't know and because of that, she didn't care.

Now, Abhi must try to come up with a plan for how she's going to escape from wherever she is being held.

*****