"All done!"
Pika pulled a young woman up from the manhole, dusting his hands off as he smiled at her. The young lady smiled back at him with gratitude, pulling her little brother close to her side.
"Thank you, sir," she said, her eyes teary. "Thank you for saving us."
The young boy with her clutched her clothes, hesitant at first, before he quietly said, "Thank you, good sir."
Pika opened his mouth to reply, but in the end, he simply closed it. He offered her and her little brother a broader smile and nodded in understanding.
They smiled back at him, and even without repeating their words of gratitude, the emotions in their eyes screamed with appreciation.
Pika watched them go, joining the rest of the evacuees at the station where Tomie's men were waiting.
