"We'd like the things written here," Deuce says, handing over the list with a shaky hand.
"And some cans of tuna!" Grim says, before ducking away again, making Xinyi sigh.
"No! We don't need any tuna!" Deuce yells at the monster, while Sam looks over the list.
"What what? Whip cream, eggs… A nice sweet line-up." Sam looks to Xinyi who smiles back at him.
"W-we're making a tart and n-need some ingredients." She informed him, but her words were soft.
"Ok! Coming right up!" Sam said, taking off to the back to gather the ingredients.
"Oh… do they really have what we need here?" Deuce looks at Xinyi but she only shushes him.
Sam comes back with two paper bags full of food. "Sorry 'bout the wait. It's a bit heavy, you got it?" He looks at Xinyi as he puts the bag on the counter. "If you order now you can get a one hundredth size floating plater to carry your purchases for thirty percent off."
"What's that, it sounds cool!" Grim says from Xinyi's shoulder.
"W-we're fine!" Deuce interrupted, taking one of the bags from the counter. "Time to go, Grim!"
"Fnyaa~ I wanna hang out more!" Grim cried, but Xinyi only shook her head while taking the other bag.
"We'll come back again later." She said, before waving goodbye to the shopkeeper.
"Ok, ok. Make sure to come by again, my little demons!" Sam smiled watching them leave. "Bye!"
Back on the main street, Deuce smiles enthusiastically. "That store was crazy."
Grim grumbled, not looking at the boy. "Deuce is so stingy!"
"Who are you calling stingy?" Deuce mumbled, glancing at the monster before looking at Xinyi who seemed to be having trouble holding up the bag. "Supervisor, that bag of cans looks pretty heavy. I'll carry it. I'm used to carrying heavy stuff."
He takes the bag from her before she can protest but she smiles at him in gratitude. "Do you usually buy a lot when you go shopping?" she asks when she notices how easily he carries both heavy bags.
Deuce nods, his face becoming somber. "Yeah. My mom always buys more than we need during time sales, and I get stuck carrying all the heavy stuff. Since I'm the only boy it was my job to take care of anything requiring strength…" he stops, looking back at Xinyi. "Oh, my bad. I've just been talking about myself."
"It's great you help your family," Xinyi said kindly, patting his back. "You must take good care of your mother."
Deuce is quiet for a moment, becoming slightly embarrassed. "...That's not true at all. I always made mom… ooof!" Deuce bumped into something sending one of the bags to the ground.
"Ah! The eggs!" Grim cried, watching as the top of the carton fell off and the yolk spilled from the shell.
"Shit, half of the eggs are destroyed! There's egg all over the bag…!" Deuce attempted to clean it up but stopped as another voice yelled.
"Hey, you! Watch what you're… wait…" The student smiled darkly as he realized the group in front of him. "You're the fools that wrecked the egg in my Carbonara earlier."
"It's you guys again. You can't catch a break!" His friend laughed from beside him, coming closer to the group.
"You were the ones who jumped out from behind the corner." Deuce declared stepping in front of the group. "At lunch, it wasn't like you couldn't eat the egg anymore but you still came to pick a fight… Just now, you destroyed half of our eggs."
"That's right!" Grim cheered, jumping onto Deuce's shoulders and leaving Xinyi behind them.
"And? You sayin' it's our fault?" one of the delinquents said, glaring at the two.
While Grim cowered a bit Deuce stood there definitely. "Yes. Please pay for the eggs. And please apologize to the chickens, too."
The other delinquent hummed, smirking at the boy. "You're getting all worked up over eggs."
Deuce narrowed his eyes. "Huh?"
"They didn't hit the ground, right? Don't sweat the small stuff."
"We saved you the trouble of breaking them!"
Both of the bullies laughed, not noticing the expression Douce had changed. Gone was the stoic attitude for something far more dangerous.
"...to laugh about it," Deuce whispered, barely catching the two's attention.
One of the students looked over and initially took a step back. "Huh?" The other looked at his friend, confused as to why they were now cowering.
"This ain't something to laugh about!" Deuce yells, grabbing the other man by the color. "You don't get to make decisions for us! These eggs… Instead of becoming a chick they were gonna make us a delicious tart!! You get it! Huuuh!?"
"What's this guy's problem all of a sudden!?" the delinquent that was still free whimpered still backing away.
Deuce didn't pay any heed to him, pulling the man in his grasp closer. "If you don't wanna pay for the six eggs you broke… I'll punch you six times instead.
"Whaaa!?" The delinquent cried, trying to escape the boy's grip.
"Grit your teeth, assholes!" Deuce yells, throwing a punch to the man's face.
Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg