Chapter Text
The day is sunny and a little breezy. The branches swing in the wind, the birds sing somewhere out of sight. The grounds of the Myoo Dharani are uncharacteristically empty, except for one boy.
Renzou is six and a half years old and on a mission. While all the important adults are over at the main building talking about important adult things and other boring stuff he can’t really understand, he has snuck almost all the way across the grounds, away from his friends and towards the kitchens.
The trio overheard that today would have a feast, and so they have hatched a plan. You see, in Myoo Dharani, a feast means there will also be some kind of desert, and that is something that doesn't happen often. And since it doesn’t happen often, the boys are getting impatient quickly. Waiting until the evening seems like an impossible task. They are taking matters into their own hands.
Bon and Neko have entrusted him with snatching some of the desserts the cooks had made for later today while they distract the monk left to watch over the three of them, since he is the quietest at tip-toeing and the best at hide-and-seek. Bon has given him his cool Gundam bag for easy transport of the goods.
Renzou approaches the mission with as much seriousness as a boy of his age can. He looks both ways before darting from one location to the next, he rolls and sneaks. He hums the theme song of some cartoon the three of them had been watching lately for morale, imagines himself as the main character of a thriller, on a top secret mission to steal something important, avoiding traps like spike-filled pits and arrows that shoot out of walls and guard patrols.
He flattens to the wall in the eaves when some adults pass and hides behind the sliding doors when there are no nooks available. He’s noticed through exploring which rooms are usually empty over time - they usually have a thick layer of dust on the floor. The temple doesn’t have that many people, so a lot of the space is just used to store junk and other weird objects they’re not allowed to touch. All that unused space is very useful to him now.
Once he reaches the doors to the kitchens, he presses an ear to the door and listens. This particular door creaks a little, so he needs some noise from inside to cover it up. Timing is critical. His friends are counting on him. Renzou’s tiny heart races, and his skin buzzes with the excitement of it all. The longer he stands in the hall unprotected, the higher the chances of being found, so he prays quietly to - something - that the distraction he needs comes sooner rather than later.
Finally - there is a clang from within - and he opens the door swiftly and masterfully, just enough that he can slip inside, close it behind him, and crouches. The two on cooking duty today are Miyaki and Takuya, so he’s in luck. They’re not usually that aware of their surroundings, at least nowhere near his dad or the head priest or some of the other monks, so they should be easy to sneak past. Not to mention - they have the radio on, which makes it that much easier. He almost pouts in disappointment at the seemingly easy mission but chooses to accept the favour given to him by fate.
He follows the movements of the cooks and crawls between the counters stealthily until he sees the platter with the sweets - they’re one of his absolute favourites, and he grins to himself in happiness. Renzou sneaks three pieces into the bag and hastily retreats, the slight sounds of his scurrying covered by the up-beat pop music coming from the radio.
Once he has escaped the kitchen, he leans back against the door and exhales a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. His heart still thuds, but now a thrill bubbles up at having gotten away with the main objective of this heist. Renzou can’t suppress the grin that splits his lips.
He wants to shout in victory and pump his fist - but just barely keeps it in. He reminds himself that he is not Scott-free yet. He still has to return to the others with his loot. He puts the bag on his back and sets off much the same way as he’d come.
The hallways are emptier this time around, and he’s almost out of the building when he hears approaching voices.
Renzou curses gently when he realises that he has to double back because there are no good hiding spaces around and instead scurries into a room a few halls over. When the voices near again he recognises them as his older brothers, talking loudly about this or something else. He’s glad he’s hiding in a room, as his brothers are good at sniffing him out.
Renzou sits tucked halfway behind a covered-up artefact and breathing slowly and shallowly through his mouth to make as little noise as possible when they pass by, voices audible through the paper-thin walls.
“-’ll be old enough soon, so we’ll see if the flames take, but ma-a-an would it suck if it chose him out of all of us,” the voice of Kin-nii says.
“Oh, don’t be like that. Father said that we have to trust the-” Juu-nii replies, and says something more, but Renzou doesn’t recognise the words he says next and assumes it’s more boring adult stuff he doesn’t need to bother with.
As soon as their voices fade down the hall he shuffles to the door and slides it open just enough to peek both ways before continuing his way back to Bon and Neko.
His friends welcome him back like a hero and they eat the sweets in secret after going further into the gardens when the monk watching them starts dozing off. Bon and Neko praise him over a mission well accomplished and he basks in the praise.
The fact that they all get scolded for it later doesn’t really matter. Renzou tries to keep as straight a face as possible and not cry while father dresses him down in front of his brothers and sisters who look on, some judgingly (Kin-nii), some with sympathy (Juu-nii and Go-nii), but maybe a part of him knows he’ll forget the burn soon enough and do it again.
He likes the thrill of it all too much to learn from his mistakes. And who knows, maybe someday he’ll get so good at it his father won’t even find out when he sneaks off with what he shouldn't have.