Chapter Text
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Bacchus was a normal kid — at least, as normal a kid could be in the Red Chanpuru.
They were the ones left behind, abandoned by people who they no longer remember — how would they remember? They were too young.
But hey, things had gotten better for them. Being under the care of the Red Chanpuru —the protectors of their town— was certainly better than whatever they had going for them before, considering many of them had.. pretty much nothing.
Some of the kids did talk about their pasts, but many didn't, and no one prodded. It was like a silent agreement among them all.
When you want to tell us, that's when we'll want to hear it
Bacchus was no exception. Despite his rough, cocky exterior, it was obvious that he had a soft spot for them all — especially the ones who were younger than him. If they didn't wanna talk about it, who was he to force 'em?
Besides, the curiosity and mysterious-ness of it all didn't really bother him, he could live without knowing that kinda stuff.
Except for one guy..
Rakta, what was his deal?
Or more importantly, what the hell could he have been through for him to be such a prick?
"Tch-" Bacchus clenched his jaw after he failed to land yet another hit on the guy. Can he ever fight for real instead of dodging?
"Stop dodging all the damn time!" the blonde yelled, his frustration palpable.
But the dark-haired boy looked like he couldn't care less. "Then don't make it so easy to dodge, birdbrain" he spat.
Rakta was a relatively quiet child, but it was like he couldn't shut up when in the blonde's presence.
Bacchus didn't really too flattered about that..
"Ugh-" he rolled his eyes, his body tensing, winding up for another hit. "Bastard!" he yelled as he swung his arm for another punch. And this time, Rakta planned to counter-attack it, aiming for the other's midsection, which was wide open.
But at the end, they both traded blows, getting a grunt out of both ten year-olds.
"Gah-" Bacchus muttered, his hand covering his stomach — dammit, that hurt! Rakta also winced, his side was slightly hurting from the hit that Bacchus managed to land. Despite that—
"That's not a win for you" he said lowly, lifting his gaze to meet the blonde's, "you still got hit"
Bacchus clenched his jaw at those words. "You asshole!" he yelled, pointing at the other, "can you not be a smartass for once—!"
"Now now Bacchus" came another voice, along with the soft sound of someone clapping their hands to capture their attention. Both boys immediately forgot their bickering as they turned their heads towards the approaching figure.
"We don't use language like that" their Sensei —or as others called him, 'Master'— said as he walked up to the two, his voice carrying a hint of authority yet still managing to sound so gentle.
"Ah-" Bacchus said, scrambling to stand up straight, before he bowed his head slightly, "sorry, Sensei" he said, his voice uncharacteristically polite-er — Rakta grinned at the sight.
But in response, Bacchus simply felt a hand on his head, ruffling his hair lightly. He looked up to see the man looking down at him, his smile soft as always. It calmed it somehow, every single time.
"Just don't do it again, alright?" he advised, not ordered. "At least not in front of the others, especially the younger ones" he said, bringing a finger to his lips as if he'd shared a secret.
And Bacchus let out a low relieved breath. He was relieved to hear that honestly. Because after all, it was just kind of natural to him now, taking like that
Mainly because he lived in a really 'noisy' household, where people preferred to curse and yell at each other instead of directly talking about what bothered them.
Or at least, he used to live there...
"Right, I'll try my best" he perked up, and the man reached out to ruffle the boy's hair again before shifting his gaze to Rakta, standing nearby.
"You two were sparring?" he asked, despite knowing the answer, and Rakta nodded. "Though it wasn't much help" Rakta added, "it's like fighting a test dummy"
"HAH—!?"
The man —Suo Wenxiang— chuckled again. "Now now, Bacchus is very capable" he said in the blonde's defense, and Bacchus puffed out his chest with a proud look on his face. And Rakta rolled his eyes.
"Well" the man began, looking at both of them now. "I had come out here to call you boys for supper" he said, before shifting his gaze to Rakta again, "but if you're still unsatisfied, I can spar with you" he offered, and Rakta's eyes lit up at those words.
This time it was Bacchus to rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm going" he announced, turning and making his way back into the building where the rest of the kids would be. "I'll make sure to eat your portion for you" he said over his shoulder, grinning.
Rakta gave him a look, and their Sensei laughed again. "You two never change, huh?" he said lightheartedly.
After Bacchus had left, the man looked back towards the child in front of him.
"Now, Rakta" he said, his hands behind his back, "do you remember what I told you?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.
And immediately, the irritation he felt from before was gone in an instant. A small smile made its way to his face as he nodded, his limbs shifting to enter a fighting stance.
"Yes, of course, Sensei"
"Good, now don't hold back on me"
Bacchus walked through the corridors, making his way over to the dining hall. There was no one else in the halls, but the sound of other children laughing and talking audible through the walls.
It made sense, he thought to himself, everyone was probably there already.
But at that exact moment he heard footsteps, so he turned his head in the direction of the sound. And he caught a glimpse of a figure —much smaller than him— around the corner, slipping out of his frame of sight.
"Hey-" Bacchus called out, changing his direction towards that corner. "Hey- we're all going to eat. Why aren't you there—?" but as he turned the corner as well, he was met with another empty corridor.
Huh. He didn't even hear any footsteps, where did they go..?
This person just… disappeared..? He furrowed his brows, looking down the hall as if that would give him answers. Like a ghost, he thought to himself.
Wait- is it actually a ghost?
He pursed his lips together, before he eventually gave up and headed back towards the dining hall.
He's too hungry for this…
He made his way over to the dining hall, where everyone was already seated. And wait… Rakta was already there?
Ugh- what's his deal?
Bacchus rolled his eyes as he made his way over and sat at the only empty spot left, next to Rakta.
Rakta gave him a look as he approached. "You're late" he commented, "did you get lost on the way, idiot?"
Bacchus' eye twitched.
"I was washing my hands" he lied, sitting down, purposefully taking up a lot of space. "Ever tried it?" he asked mockingly, "or do you just eat the germs too?" Rakta rolled his eyes, eating his food in silence.
"Actually, that's explain things" he continued. "You're full of shit, literally"
"Language, Bacchus!" the cook said as they walked past the table. "Actually, don't talk during mealtime" he chided gently, ruffling the boys' hair as they walked past, "finish your food, then you two can argue as much as you want"
Both boys rolled their eyes and had annoyed expressions on their faces, and they were mostly silent after that, listening to the man and actually eating their food.
Until, well, Bacchus spoke again — of course he did.
"Hey Rakta" he murmured, his voice low to not alert the cook again. Rakta huffed, already done with his presence, but Bacchus continued anyway.
"I think I saw a ghost in the halls" he said casually, picking at his food. Rakta raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "A ghost?" he repeated, and Bacchus nodded.
Rakta sighed, shifting his attention back to his food, eating as if the blonde wasn't there.
And Bacchus' brows immediately furrowed. "Eh?" he said, a bit louder to get the other's attention, "you think I'm lyin'—!?"
"Bacchus! Eat your food" a voice called out, "chat later!"
The child grumbled as he grabbed his spoon again, taking a spoonful of rice and shoving it in his mouth. And the corners of Rakta's lips tugged upwards at the pouty look on the other's face
Ridiculous, he thought to himself, absolutely ridiculous.
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Rakta was an easy kid — he woke up on time, slept on time, did all his chores on time, and was a lot more respectful than most of the other kids.
Although it made it easier for the adults to take care of him, it wasn't all that easy for the kid himself.
Being raised in an overly strict household would do that to him, a household where anyone was angered easily in a split second- and the poor kid would try to fix everything between everyone.
Even if it wasn't his fault
He only did it because… well, they were scary when they were mad
And that same household that would abandon him soon later…
It hurt for Wenxiang to see, just how the kid kept himself in check all the time. And the man truly tried his best to bring the life back in his eyes, the childlike innocence he should've had.
And well, he's glad to see that spark back — subtle, but there. He's noticed it a lot more when he's around Bacchus, those two really are something…
Rakta would never admit it though.
Speaking of the boy, he was currently leaving his room late at night. It was unusual for him, but he was just thirsty.
So he walked through in the quiet of the night, being on high alert as he stepped through the dark halls.
As he got closer to the kitchen, he heard a low sound behind him, shuffling.
Immediately, he hissed and rolled his eyes. "Bacchus, stop it" he spat, immediately assuming the blonde was sneaking up on him to scare him. "It won't work" he muttered, walking towards the source of the noise.
He looked around a corridor, and all he caught was a figure —undoubtedly a child— go around another corner, disappearing in an instant. His brows furrowed, it was definitely a child, but it wasn't Bacchus. No, they were much shorter.
Now he was a bit confused. Why would someone else be up this late? And why would they run from him? Rakta was pretty sure the rest of the little ones liked him, or maybe saw him as an older brother.
Despite his confusion and curiosity, he had to let it go. So he just went to get his glass of water before returning to his room to sleep.
Admittedly, he was keeping an eye out, in case he'd see another figure around the corner. But he didn't
He really didn't want to agree with Bacchus, but could it have been a ghost?
The thought makes him shiver
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The next day, Rakta had tasked himself with asking all of the younger kids if they had been awake the night before, and wandering outside.
"I'm not mad about it" he clarified, "I just wanna know"
But all the kids looked up at him with big, wide eyes, as if they had no idea what he was talking about.
Right, that's a no then.
Well… that left only one person to ask…
He groaned, rubbing his face as he prepared for the inevitable. And he almost considered dropping this whole thing, but then again, the curiosity was nagging at him as well..
So, when the both came to the same spot to spar again —because yes, they sparred together daily— it went normally at first, since Rakta didn't bring it up for a while.
But as Bacchus was once again mid-swing, Rakta suddenly blurted out.
"I think I saw that ghost you talked about"
Bacchus' movements faltered, "huh?" he blurted out, momentarily thrown off.
And Rakta used that opportunity to quickly sweep his legs across the floor, kicking the other off his feet.
"Agh-!" the blonde grunted as he fell onto the grass beneath. "Tch- you bastard!" he yelled, "did you seriously just say that to fuck with me? You assho—"
"Language" Rakta interrupted, standing up straight, fighting back a smirk as he looked down at the other. "But no, I didn't just say that, I meant it" he clarified, and Bacchus' annoyance faded for a moment, "huh, really?" he asked, standing up and dusting himself off.
Rakta nodded, putting his hands behind his back. "Last night, I saw someone running around a corner, and apparently it wasn't any of the others"
"I did too!" the blonde said, his eyes widening.
"He was small" Rakta added.
Bacchus nodded quickly, before making an estimate with his hand, just below his chest. He looked up to see Rakta nod again. "Yeah, close enough" Rakta muttered.
"So we both saw it.." Bacchus murmured, rubbing his chin as he thought. "So did we really see a ghost?"
Rakta shrugged, and Bacchus rolled his eyes — very helpful.
"Well" Bacchus said, thinking out loud, "should we ask Sensei about it?"
Rakta gave him a look, "do you think Sensei would tell us if a ghost was walking through the halls?" he deadpanned.
Bacchus' face scrunched up in annoyance, before he tried sounding a bit more cheerful,
"It's worth a shot!"
"It's really not.."
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