Chapter Text
A low growl and vibration in Hitoshi's stomach woke him up from his slumber. He groaned quietly and curled into himself more to preserve the warmth trying to fall back asleep. His stomach protested and cramped oddly with the movement that made it nauseous and the faint smell of cigarette smoke didn’t help. He sighed when he sat up slowly then flopped back down, wishing he could just rest a bit more, but he knew he needed to find food eventually.
He hasn't been fed in five days and it was really starting to bother him. He had gone off without nourishment for longer than that, but this time it didn’t seem like he would be able to last any longer.
He shifted from his place on the hardwood floor, facing the bed beside him, an arm hung over the edge and soft snores could be heard from the other child. Eicho. He recalled the other's name dully.
Though he thought it was selfish and ungrateful, he wished he was allowed on the bed with a soft cushion cradling his body and warm blankets surrounding him. But, he knew that wish would never come true. He was a villain child after all, he doesn’t deserve it. No villain does. He was always told that, why would people lie to him about it? He lay there for a while, too weak to motivate himself to get up. No one was calling him or complaining, he should be fine.
“Boy! Come down here!”
Jinx. The small boy groaned but made sure it wasn’t too audible. She was calling him, the tone was unmistakable. He was about to shout back and say he was coming but he stopped himself, he would get in trouble for yelling and talking. He ran down the stairs, his bare feet hardly making a sound on the wood floors which was a habit he had picked up years ago. He maneuvered his way around beer bottles and cigarette studs, the smell of them getting stronger. The two foster parents had broken the fire alarm though so they could smoke in the house with no worries. When he got to the small kitchen, he was met with a scowl on the woman’s face.
“Finally! What took you so long? Do you know that today is a busy one for me? Are you trying to mess it up?” Taylor, one of the foster parents, bombarded him with questions.
The smoke from the cigarette in her mouth puffed in his face tickling his nose with the strong smell. He didn’t dare scrunch his nose though, for fear of angering her more. The answer he could give was shaking his head ‘no' in response to her questions. He really didn’t take that long.
“Well? Why did you take so long, huh?” Hitoshi’s shoulders hunched and he just wanted to fade away right then. He knew this was a trap to get him to talk, he would get in bigger trouble if he did.
“Don’t ignore me!” Taylor growled, slapping the boy on the head surprisingly light in comparison to what he was used to. Hitoshi just shook his head, feeling the frustration build up in his gut.
“Ugh! Useless piece of shit- just do the dishes. Eicho cut his finger last night and Ray needed time to herself so neither of them could do them. I don’t know where you were though. When you're done, get going on cleaning the house, I’m having guests tonight and, it better be done right. Lazy brat-.“
The young woman mumbled and grabbed a beer from the fridge, then disappeared into the living room. The TV was turned on to a show Hitoshi had seen a few times briefly, but he didn’t really care.
“I was searching for scraps at the neighbor’s house. Not that you need to know.”
He turned to the heaps of dishes he had to wash and stifled a tired sigh. Guess this isn’t the worst morning he’s had. He should be grateful.
~Time skip~
“Hey, is the food ready yet? I’m hungry!” Ray, the oldest child 2 years older than him whined, her long brown hair brushed against his cheek as she leaned into his personal space. Hitoshi leaned away and stirred the food he was cooking one more time before hopping off the stool and speed walking over to the cupboard where the dishes were to set the table. His growth spurts had been lacking since he was eight and even then he was kinda small. He figured it was probably because he didn’t eat enough. Not his fault. He nodded tiredly, setting the table as best he could. His stomach rumbled constantly from the smell of the food he made. He only had a few tastes to make sure it was seasoned right.
He had forgotten to set some food aside secretly, so he would have to wait and see if he was allowed to eat with the others or not. He hoped so. Hitoshi’s hopes sunk when he heard the front door open. Chisuke, Taylor’s husband, came home from work. There was no way he would be allowed at the table now. The boy's shoulders slumped as he placed the food on the table, he waved over to Ray telling her the food was ready to eat. She thankfully got the hint and began to call everyone to the table. She was rude at times, but she could be kind when she felt slight pity for him.
“The food is ready! Welcome home!” she greeted man walking into the room. He huffed, a smile appearing on his face only for it to turn into a glare when he saw Hitoshi.
“What are you still doing here?” Hitoshi flinched, lowering his gaze to his toes. He knew this was going to happen, the entire family hated him. He didn’t blame them.
“Oh.” Taylor eyed the boy with annoyance. “Get out boy, we don’t need you right now. Our guests should be here soon and they don’t want to see a villain in the house. Be back by ten p.m.” She waved her hand in a shooing motion.
Hitoshi lifted his head quickly to look at her, his eyes filled with panic. It was somewhere around 6 o'clock! Why were they sending him out so early? Could he take some food with him? He turned slightly to the stove motioning to it carefully.
“She said get out!” Chisuke stepped up and grabbed Hitoshi's arm, harshly yanking him to the door. The boy yelped when he felt his arm that was being pulled jostle. His shoulder and temple hit the door frame while he was roughly shoved out of the house. He caught himself before he fell on his face and jumped when he heard the door slam behind him. Hitoshi’s eyes pricked with tears of frustration before he blinked them away. He was so hungry! What was he supposed to eat?! The dumpsters in the alleys didn’t seem very appealing, but he was beginning to get desperate. For now though, he'd rather starve.
“Not like I haven’t done it before. Just suck it up.” He sighed for the umpteenth time that day, running down the rugged streets and run-down houses. His home was located in a small town between Musutafu city and another town nearby. Outside his town was a forest preserve where Hitoshi often ventured off to.
When he got to the edge of the preserve, he crossed the road and slid down the steep slope that led to a more flat clearing, hidden by the bushes and leaves. Hitoshi huffed when he stepped on a sharp stone as he picked his way towards a river he always went to, brushing off the pain.
The lavender haired boy rushed to the river, a small smile spreading on his face. Finally, the solitude and fresh air is his for a while. A few hours at least. This thought made his shoulders slump and eyes dull. Sure, he’d rather be here than at the house full of smoke, beer bottles, and yelling, but his belly wasn’t relenting with it's growls and groans.
“I could fill up with water.. that sometimes helps.” Hitoshi walked along a faint path, that looked like it hasn’t been walked on in years, that lead to a more hidden and quiet area.
The rocks and pebbles where smoother here and easier to walk on with his bare feet, the skin underneath had toughened so sharp things couldn’t harm the pads of his feet much, but it still would cause him pain. He hopped up on a large rock that he loved to sunbathe on, the rays of light felt like a warm blanket on his body. The aching bruises that were appearing on his body from being forced out of the house pulsed with slight relief. He hummed happily before kneeling down and dipping his hands in the cool rushing water. He splashed a few times playfully, most of water landed in his hair causing the fluffy tufts began be weighed down and turned into curls that reached his shoulders. It was rare that he got these hours of pure freedom, even though it was sometimes miserable. Since he wasn’t able to go home until late evening, he had all the time he needed to himself.
Hitoshi looked down into the water and turned up his lip at his reflection. His temple had a large nasty bruise that came close to reaching his eyebrow as it trailed down family to his cheekbone. It looked a lot worse than it felt, he frowned at the ugly sight.
Everyone told him he was ugly and plain, this would just add to it. The boy shrugged, dipping his hands in the water again and brought it up to his lips. He was able to take in a few swallows when he stopped suddenly. His body froze when he heard slow, rhythmic thumps coming his way, he could hear a merry whistle adding to the noise. The half dried leaves that crunched told him that whoever was coming was definitely a human.
He scrambled up and was about to jump up the small slope near the river to run into the bushes, but he was too slow. His eyes locked on a tall figure. A man he believed. He had long blonde hair that was tied into a half-bun and piercing green eyes. He had a short-sleeved black shirt that had Rock-n-roll printed on it and orange glasses that hung on the collar. He had a red sweater tied around his waist and jeans.
“What a strange combination.” Hitoshi had only seen a person dress with so many styles a few times in his life, so this man was certainly something interesting to stare at. He tensed when the whistling stopped and the man along with it. Hitoshi's eyes met the man's orbs, he sucked in a breath. He looked familiar, where had he seen him before?
An audible gasp brought Hitoshi back to the present, he waited for the man to start cursing him out or throw rocks at him for being a villain child. That, or the man ignoring him all together. What he wasn’t expecting was the stranger to start walking directly to his direction and walking off the path.
“Hey kid. You lost? Why are you here alone?” The man’s voice was smooth almost melodic, but he couldn’t think to long on that right now.
“He’s come to kill me. I heard a few thugs talking about it the other day, they didn’t want me around. Why else would this guy be here?! He’s probably not gonna pull out a weapon ‘til last minute.. that's what the others did.” The boy stepped back and whipped around to run, but he was trapped between a large fallen tree on the bank on his left and large sharp boulders bigger than himself to his right.
The only route he could actually take was to go across the river, but there weren’t any stones to hop on and the current was too strong. It would surely pull him under.
Hitoshi’s breath picked up when he turned to face the man again. A snarl ripped from his throat as a warning when he bent down to pick up a stick near his feet. He wished he learned to speak properly, he never really felt the need to speak, even after his quirk came, he was mute since he was a child. Now, he wasn’t allowed to speak and his vocal cords were not used to the sounds it needed to make words. And if he did manage to say something, it would be slow and choppy.
“I need to get out of here. What does this dude want!?” The boy's eyes scanned everything in front of him, looking for an exit. He pick up a rock and threw it at the blonde, not hitting him but close enough.
“Hey! Don’t throw stuff at me! Why're you doin' that?” The strange man set a small lunch box on the ground, something Hitoshi didn’t notice. He eyed the box before looking back at the man.
“Why can’t he take a hint?!” Hitoshi backed up a few steps, he could feel his feet begin to get too close to the water. He couldn’t stop the small whine that escaped his throat.
“It’s okay. I won’t hurt ya.” The man held his hands up, slowly inching forward. He was about 3 meters away from Hitoshi, close enough for him to see the strange light green swirls in his eyes.
“Don't believe him! There’s a small cave on the other side of the river. Jump over it.” Hitoshi’s mind nagged, his eyes darted from looking at the water and the man.
“Kid-?”
He decided to take a chance. He ran forward towards the blonde, startling him and making him back up. He got as close as he dared and sharply turned to face the river and sped to the edge as fast as he could jumping when he was about to run into the water.
He landed swiftly with a light ‘thump’, and scrambled up the rocky slope that led to a small cave that could only fit a small person in.
“Hey, wait! Where you goin'? Come back please!” The man reached out as he was jumping but was too far away to catch him. Hitoshi squeezed through a small opening in the cave, and couched down so he could keep an eye on the man but also keep out of sight.
“Hello? Please come back.” The voice pleaded, the young boy could feel his eyes search for him.
“So you can kill me? Haha, noo thank you.”
After a long pause he could hear some footsteps begin to walk away and fade into the distance.
“He’s leaving..” Hitoshi peeked out and saw the blonde slowly walking out of sight, his frame getting smaller the farther he walked down the path.
When he fully disappeared, his heart began to slow back it’s normal heartbeat, he wouldn't be dying today he supposed. He carefully crawled out of his hiding spot and walked down the river to the small stone crossing that couldn’t be seen on the other side of the fallen tree. The boy climbed up the slope and hopped up to the path. He looked over to where the left and then where he came. His eyes widened when he saw the lunch box still sitting in the same spot the man placed it.
“Did he forget it?” The young boy approached the box with interest, a mouth watering scent wafted to his nose that made his stomach rumble.
“Whatever it is, it’s mine now.” Hitoshi greedily snatched the box up and plopped down on his sunbathing rock. He opened the box carefully to reveal a small western style lunch.
“This looks amazing! If this is poisoned I’d gladly die this way!” He quickly dug in, not caring that he had dirty fingers, he was too hungry to care. Most of the food he had never eaten before, but it was the best he had tasted in literal years.
When he was done licking the remaining food on his fingers and neatly packed the empty lunch box again, placing it back where the blonde left it. Even though the amount of food would normally be considered a snack, it felt like a thanksgiving feast to him.
He sighed happily, flopping down with his hands cradling his head as he soaked in the sun’s heat. Soon, with a full belly and the calm sounds of nature surrounding him and the river running near his feet, he closed his eyes just to take a little nap.
The nap was longer than Hitoshi had originally planned, though he knew it wasn’t time to go home yet. Maybe another hour or so. But that wasn’t what he was thinking about right now, he was more focused on what had woken him up from his peaceful sleep. He could've sworn he heard a few crackles of the leaves and snaps of twigs nearby. He could feel eyes on his frozen form, he was on his knees looking around the forest and bushes.
The sun was beginning to set which made it harder to see. He shakily grabbed a rock bigger than his fist and raised above his head, ready to throw it at any moment. He let out a pitched grunt, letting whoever was our there know he knew they were around and waited for an answer. He heard another snap of a twig to his right, where the blonde had disappeared.
“Did he come back? Will he be mad about the food?"
The boy crouched down and huddled near a bush closest to the river in hopes whoever it was didn't have a hearing of or sight quirk.
"Hello? Come out where I can see you!" A low voice demanded, directed to his hiding spot. Completely different from the one he heard earlier.
"Shit, he noticed me." He shrank back deeper into the bush, biting his lower lip with worry. "I can't let him find me. Why are so many people walking down here today?!"
"I said come out! I'm a licensed pro-hero. I will not hesitate to fight and report you!."
The boy's eyes widened with fear. "Pro-hero?! Here, and now of all times?! I'm gonna die this way. That, or I'll get reported and be in big trouble. If he is local he'd know what my quirk is! I should probably come out, I don't want to make this worse for myself than it already is." Hitoshi slowly crept out of the bushes, he had his hands up to his waist showing he wasn't holding anything. His eyes were downcast, listening to the running water to calm his slowly growing stress.
There was a long pause between the man and Hitoshi. The silence was broken by the pro-hero asking a question.
"Who are you?"
The lavender haired boy didn't look up. He almost didn't hear the man's question. He just wanted to leave and go back to the house. He body shook and he felt tears form in his eyes, he felt too scared to even move. His mind continued to form different outcomes of this situation. All of them negative.
"What if Taylor hears about this? She will tell Chisuke and they'll both beat me for causing trouble! I need to get out, now!" Hitoshi raised his gaze to meet the man's, if he had water in his mouth, he would surely choke.
Erasurehead.
"FUCK!" Hitoshi twisted around and ran down the path toward the other side of the large preserve, opposite of his town.
"Wait- were are you going?" He could hear the light thump of footsteps trailing after him. Hitoshi sped up if it was possible, his legs a lower back began to tingle and his lungs ached.
"Get out! Get out! Get out! Turn to the side, hide!" Hitoshi jumped over a few bushes and zig-zagged occasionally, the dark shadows helping him disappear momentarily. He couldn't hear the footsteps anymore but he saw the capture scarf the hero was wearing, he knew he had to be up in the trees, following him silently.
"You do realize it's against the law to run from the law, right?" Erasurehead called out from above, making Hitoshi slip and almost fall with the sudden voice.
"Don't care. I'm not going to get caught so it won't matter! Just run faster Hitoshi, don't let him get close." The boy quickly recovered from his blunder and went behind a large tree. He covered his mouth to try and muffle his wheezing pants, his heart was beating in his ears loudly. He watched carefully when he caught sight of the pro-hero swinging from tree to tree. He held his breath when the man perched on a tree limb a few trees ahead and looked around calmly. His long raven hair fell around his face as a small breeze brushed by.
A few agonizing minutes went by before he got up from his spot and started to swing by his scarf once again towards the town Hitoshi was running to. The boy watched him disappear into the darkness and let out a breath.
"That was close. Too close. I should be more careful from now on. Speaking of being careful.." Hitoshi looked up to the sky, and saw that it was almost pitch black.
"I should be going to the house soon." He tiredly walked back to the river, the adrenaline rush was fading. He had run a lot farther than he expected. When he climbed up the steep hill to the quiet road, he looked down the other side of it, wondering if Erasurehead was still looking for him.
He shrugged his shoulders and walked down to the village to the house. He quietly slipped in through the back door, and tip-toed up the stairs. He crept into the room he shared with Eicho and curled up on the cold hard floor. He winced when all the strain in his back near his spine shot with pain and he tensed before fully relaxing.
He was about to fall asleep when he felt something brush up against him. He jumped and opened his eyes to see Eicho leaning over the edge of the bed, his black hair and soft brown eyes were barely visible. He had a thin blanket in hand, hanging it over Hitoshi's body hesitantly.
"U-um, Taylor and Chisuke were mad when you didn't come home on time. Better sleep as much as you can 'coz tomorrow they're gonna be harsh." Hitoshi could hear the sadness in his tone. "I borrowed some books from the school if you are up to looking at them tomorrow. I-I got you one that taught JSL too. Hope you'll like them."
The lavender haired boy nodded with a small smile on his face, reaching up and giving a feather light touch to Eicho's cheek as a 'thank you' when the blanket rested on him.
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight." Hitoshi turned when the other boy did. He was about to drift to sleep when one last thought came to mind.
"I actually ran from my idol hero. Haha, what a day." The he fell asleep with a full belly and a warm blanket.
Hello hello! I hope you enjoyed this chapter so far! This is my first time writing here so I know it's not very good, but I will do my best!
Feel free to comment your thoughts of this below. Let me know if you want me to write more on this by leaving some kudos or comment that as well. 🙂
Thanks for reading and have a good day/evening!!!😊