DanganRonpa Fairy Tales

Gundham the Shoemaker

A shabby, lonely cottage held no reliable shelter from the harsh evening rain, especially for the young Gundham the Shoemaker. The youth adjusted his worn scarf, trying to cover his bare arms and legs from the harsh winds coming in through the crevices of the foundation.
It wasn't Gundham's fault that the warmth of his home was lost, it was always like this. Even without the element of rain, no amount of scarves could warm the home like his late mother's presence. The poor circumstances the shoemaker found himself in had come crumbling down on him the day he lost his mother.
But Gundham kept good faith that he could make it through the harshness the world had to offer, even if he had to do it on his own. Even the absense of his father did not deter Gundham from making end's meet for himself. He'd determined this by keeping to the routine he had before his sickly mother's passing. The last remanence of his job sat on the wooden table in the tiny eating area.
He stood to his feet, shouldering off his scarf and treaded over to the task on the other side of the room. Craft material layed strewn across the tabletop; leather, straps, fabrics, glue, scissors, etc. all where he'd left them from the last time. He never complained about having to make them when his mother around, she always praised him for his work, and they were well appreciated by those who purchased them. Plus it brought income. Nowadays, it was more taxing...
Taking a glimpse at the the clock, Gundhum nearly choked on the dryness of his mouth. It was really late in the evening, and he knew if his mother was around he'd be scolded for ruining his sleep schedule. He picked up his discarded scarf and took up his usual makeshift bed on the sofa.
His last thoughts drifted to the shoes he abandoned at his station, but he brushed them aside, hoping he'd have time for them in the morning before going off to school. 
* * * *
Gundham woke up routinely with an early start, checking the time. 06:04. It was enough time to make breakfast, get dressed for school, and work on the shoes for a bit before taking his walk down the street to the building.
Rubbing his eyes, the young shoemaker made his way into the kitchen, lightly bumping into his chair, with sleep still in his eyes. He opened the refrigerator and grabbed the loaf of bread, freshly sealed in its bag, and pulled it out. Placing the loaf on the table, he carefully unwrapped the tie and prepared to reach into the bag, when he noticed his materials were not messily lying about where he'd left them.
His eyes scanned the area, noting how his tools were in a neat row along the edge, and a fresh pair of boots sat next to them. Hmm...maybe he had finished the job late last night and didn't remember. Although, he had to admit, this was probably his best work! The shoes were polished better than he had ever done them while awake, and the stictchings were so elaborate and delicate! He would say he was impressed if he hadn't done it himself.
However, he continued about with his daily routine, it was only after he finished getting dressed that he returned to the shoes. Grabbing them from the table, he hurried outside and placed the label on them for sale, setting them gently on the still wet porch. Afterwards he set off for school, and didn't turn back.
* * * *
It was yet another exhausting day at his school. Gundham managed to avoid most of the trouble by staking out in his aunt's office. She was the perfect excuse to miss out on recess breaks, because she was the school nurse and he would feign light headedness to forfeit class participation in outside activity. However, it would only last for a couple of hours, before lunch period was over and he had to return to class.
On his way in, he noticed his money collection box he had for shoe sale was dinging, signalling the box had something in it. He crouched down and unlocked the box, emptying the tray into his palm. It was a lot heavier than he expected-- Which made sense, because someone had left much more than the normal rate cost! He admitted these shoes had been the latest of his works, but not so much to gain such a high gratuity!
He smiled gratefully and made his way into his home to start on his homework.
Later on that evening, Gundham once again found himself looking at a messy table, but this time, he'd begun some of the stitching on his craft to try and recreate the same pair he'd made for today.
Yawning, he slowly felt his eyelids growing too heavy, and began to doze off. That's when he heard his mother's voice gently nagging him, "Gundhum, don't overwork yourself, young man. I will not have you sleeping at that table, do you understand?"
A tired whine passed through his lips as he made his way over to his figmented mother's voice. He felt like a little kid again as he wrapped up himself in his scarf, embracing the little memories it carried of his mother.
* * * *
Gundham didn't remember falling asleep, but when he woke up, he jolted up, scared he had forgotten to finish his work on the shoes. But sleep-version Gundhum -he would call that his Shadow verision, because it sounded cool- had done it again!
While he settled his heart, he prepped for school following his usual routine.
After returning from yet another troublesome day, the young shoemaker froze when his eyes settled at his door step. The money collection drawer was so full, he could see the edges of some of the bills jutting out from the top of the collections box. He could afford to order a pizza for dinner if he wanted to!
And so he did. While he was enjoying the calorie heavy meal, his mind wandered to Shadow Gundham. Did he want pizza too? He should leave him a snack to have while he worked, because he was generous enough to do the work while real Gundham slept.
The young boy got up from the table and placed a couple of slices on a plate for Shadow Gundham, before placing the remains in the fridge for tomorrow's dinner.
He prayed a quick good night to his mother, and climbed onto the sofa again, heading straight to sleep again, but this time with a full stomach.
* * * *
This morning was a little different for Gundham. He wasn't sure what it was, but he felt as though his skin was crawling, and he didn't know what was causing it to happen.
He hoped he hadn't caused rats to invade his home because he left the pizza out. It wasn't that he was afraid of what others would consider rodents, in fact he adored animals and always desired to become friends with them someday. However, he already knew what his mother would have said had she been here.
Even though it wasn't rats -or at least that's what he thought- there were four furry creatures scuttling across his body. It was so dark, he almost hadn't seen them, it must have been still early in the day. Guess, that meant Shadow Gundham was expected to return...but not if his houseguests were to keep him up. Oh well...They appeared to be searching for something anyway, shifting around on the couch, and moving along in his clothes.
"...H-Hi..." he spoke gingerly, careful not to startle them. The four immediately stopped their scavage and looked back at the boy expectantly.
Gundham clearned the sleepy tone out of his voice and started to use his 'animal voice,' it was one he developed when he was younger and his mother was scared of a dog that was very hostile towards her. He later learned the dog wasn't barking at his mother, but the man he was forced to call his father at the time. That dog was able to sense the trouble that man was, and practically saved Gundham and his mother.
"I am called Gundham. Would it be okay if I pet you?" He learned that was also another way to establish trust in animals, although some did prefer not to be touched, he had other methods of calming animals.
He didn't see any signs of hostility in the eyes of the four creatures before him, instead, they actually seemed pretty inviting to the idea, which he granted.
Once he went through his process of getting to know the four creatures, he offered them food, which they gladly accepted. It turns out they had eaten the pizza that was left out for Shadow Gundham, but...
His expression slightly fell when he saw the twilight begin to slowly brighten up. Shadow Gundhum wasn't coming tonight...he didn't even get the pizza Normal Gundham left behind for him.
Gundham gently placed the four creatures on the table, and prepared to make breakfast for the five of them.
Hmm, he was going to save the pizza for evening dinner, but his friends seemed to really like it. He decided that it was a luxury he couldn't be selfish with so, he'd reheat the remains an-
He almost dropped the remanents of the food when he saw his furry friends working together with the materials he left out for Shadow Gundham. He had no idea hamsters could work together to make such fabulous crafts!
These had to be some sort of Shadow Angels, Shadow Gundham had sent in his place! Or maybe even his mother had sent them from her resting place. Either way, they weilded power greater than any hamster he had ever encountered. Perhaps, even more than any human.
To say the least Gundham, was relieved. If his mother had really sent these Shadow Angels and possibly even Shadow Gundhum, he no longer found use in being a shoemarker. Instead he would be an animal breeder, and breed more of these wonderful beings for the world to see how mighty these creatures were! The world would know and fear the name...um...he hadn't exactly gotten that far yet. What should he name these mystery beings?
While he pondered on that thought. Gundham knew one thing was certain, and that would be to thank his mother later for sending him his very first friends.
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Author's Note
Hey, everyone, Raphadelia here again with another series (maybe I'll actually finish this one this time). Anyway, I originally made this for DanganRonpa Amino and have it posted there on my account as well; but I figured if I actually posted the series here I may actually get to work on my next fairy tale. We shall see how that works out. Right now I have two more in line after this one, so I will be open to requests or suggestions if anyone has any. Til next time!
~Raphadelia