It was completely quiet in the dark house.
With a practiced ease, a small pair of hands gently unlatched the back door and slid it open as noiselessly as possible. Inching himself out of a slight gap, a dark-haired boy oh-so carefully slid the door shut again. He stayed frozen in place, hands raised in front of him, waiting several seconds in complete stillness, as if he were facing down an angry snake rather than a sliding door. But as time snailed past, it seemed as though he had not alerted anyone to his actions.
The young boy turned to face the rather small backyard with just a hint of a smile on his young face. The sun was out on this summer day, and the sky was clear. He had wanted so badly to be out of that dark and shuttered house, and here was his chance.
He couldn't be loud, though, that much was for certain. If he raised just the slightest amount of ruckus, Father would find out. And then he'd be dragged back inside and punished for disobeying the Number One Rule.
Sky blue eyes shone excitedly, practically eating in the scenery before him. The backyard was sparse with overgrown patches of grass, and a wood slatted fence barred him from wandering, but this tantalizing glimpse of the outside world was as wide open as the ocean to him.
Dirty bare feet slapping against the bare ground, he picked up a stick lying in a thicket of weeds. He grabbed it in both hands, wielding it before him like a katana before using it to slice at a waist-high knot of grass. His imaginary foe didn't stand a chance against his downpour of attacks. He turned and swiped at the air and then stabbed downwards into the dirt.
Finally, he yanked the stick back upwards and spun around to take down his final enemy. An exhilarated "ha!" escaped his throat in the midst of his pretending.
Immediately, he dropped the stick, clapping both hands over his mouth. A mortified pair of bright blue eyes swept over to the back door, waiting in anticipation for the door to come flying open and Father to come marching out. His heart thudded rapidly against his thin chest.
It felt like hours passed before he slowly released his clamp-like grip on his mouth. Relief flooded through his small system when it looked like his slip-up had gone unheard. If Father had found out…
He shook his head silently and picked up the discarded stick. This time, he vied for just scratching about in the dirt, making crude stick figures. One for him. One for Hiiro. A taller one for Father. He carefully etched a smile on all three faces. Sighing, he brought his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on them, staring at the childish stick figures with something akin to longing in his eyes.
He sat there for a while, losing track of time. He was startled when his gut shattered the silence, growling voraciously. He had come out here to try and forget how hungry he was, but his empty stomach only ached more. Father wasn't going to be giving him food any time soon. The small boy cast his gaze around the small backyard, looking for anything he might be able to eat. He looked doubtfully at the grass and remembered a time when Hiiro scolded him by saying that people couldn't eat grass. It didn't make it any less tempting. He tugged a blade free and experimentally nibbled on it. He made a face and dropped the strand of grass.
Still clutching the stick, he stood up, combing over the yard for anything to assuage his malnourished stomach. As he debated on whether trying to catch some ants would be worth it, a spot of dark red- almost brown - caught his attention. Curious, he drew closer.
A cherry lay on the ground, half eaten by ants and long past the point when anyone else would even consider it edible.
The boy didn't care. He merely recognized it as food, and plucked the woebegone cherry from the dirt and shoved it, scurrying ants and all, into his mouth.
He winced, not even bothering to chew the rancid-tasting fruit and swallowed it and its pit as quickly as possible. The dark haired child shuddered, a terrible sour aftertaste staining his mouth and throat.
But the question occurred to him. Where had that cherry come from? Glancing up, he saw a glimpse of a lush green branch just barely overhanging the wooden fence. Bunched along the tender leaves dangled bright red little fruits. By the dozens! Blue eyes widened at the delicacy hanging so close, yet far out of his reach.
Struck by sudden determination, the boy placed his hands flat on the fence and looked for a way up. Hunger drowned out the part of him that feared his Father's retribution for breaking his Number One Rule. Never leave the house. Technically, he already broke it, but leaving the yard was practically leaping into shark-infested waters.
At this point, the only thing that mattered to him was the prospect of food. Tossing his stick over the fence, he jumped up as high as he could, fingers finding purchase in between the rough wooden slats. He struggled up over the tall fence, wincing as some splinters dug into his skin. Bruises hidden under his baggy clothing stung and smarted under the exertion. He wriggled and squirmed and heaved his small body onto the top of the fence, but overshot it, and with a yelp of surprise, he fell to the ground in a heap.
His sides were on fire, bruises protesting sharply. Groaning slightly, he rubbed his head and pushed himself to his feet before scrambling for his stick. He glanced around wildly, just in case he would be attacked. By what, he had no idea, he just knew he broke his Father's Number One Rule, and expected monsters and demons to come flying at him, ready to drag him away for his misdeeds.
But again, only silence followed, and he slowly allowed his thin shoulders to relax. He blinked, suddenly realizing that this yard looked so much different than the one he'd just come from.
A nice carpet of soft grass, trimmed and neat covered the small area. To one side lay a house- not shuttered up and dark like Father's- but bright and cheerful, with windows open to let in the summer breeze. And in the center was a cherry tree. It wasn't enormous by any means, but its sloped branches were still out of the boy's reach, plump cherries swaying enticingly.
Mouth watering, he ran to the base of the tree and began to scramble up. He was not used to climbing trees, and slipped down, earning a nasty scrape on his elbow and knees, but he was not about to give up. It took the boy several more tries, but he eventually managed to fight tooth and nail onto the lowest-hanging branch.
Hand trembling, he plucked the nearest hanging fruit and held it at eye level, staring at it. It was a much healthier shade of dark red, no ants or cloying smell attached to it. It gleamed fat and ripe in his palm, and he bit down into it.
Flavor and a shock of pain burst into his mouth. He'd bitten down on something hard, and quickly fished out the small pit within the cherry. He frowned at it, but his moment of irritation was quickly replaced by the taste of a fresh cherry blooming over his tongue. Sky blue eyes widening, he abandoned all hesitation and started grabbing fistfuls of the small fruits. He crammed them into his mouth, juice dripping from his chin.
He didn't care that he occasionally chomped down on the rock-hard pit, it was delicious, and it was everywhere! His stomach demanded more of the stuff.
He had to bring some of this back for Hiiro! She had to taste it! Father had never given them something as good as this.
His small hands reached for yet another bunch as he stood precariously on the branch, reaching upwards, a bright smile on his gaunt face.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
(~)
What is it with me and starting new projects lately? Probably had something to do with the finale of Noragami's second season. Merry Christmas, in the meantime!
I'm working on fleshing out an All Human!Noragami AU. No gods, no Regalia, everyone living human lives. I am still working on how certain characters will fit into this plan, but quite a few fell into place extremely easily.
Just note that while it will reflect some of the canon plot and timeline, things will be changed about, alternate characterizations will occur, and of course, everything is being brought to a more mundane level.
In the future, it will be a Yatori fic, but there will be plenty besides romance, and I still have a few chapters of the prologue to write out first before we can begin to scratch that surface. Enjoy!
-Akira