Chapter 2: A Safe Place
Mika knew that change was a hard thing to get used to. Every child in the Hyakuya orphanage had been through that phase, so when Yu had made several not-so-subtle indications of it happening early that morning, the blonde really wasn't surprised. Maybe the sooner he gets through that phase, then the sooner he can accept our family.
It wasn't until half-way through the day that their newest brother hit the breaking point. Story time had just ended, with the black-haired boy sitting a well amount of distance away from the group of children. Mika had been helping Akane cut up vegetables for the soup that their caretaker was making for dinner.
Story telling was a bit different now that some of the older children were starting to learn how to read. Either that or they would take the pictures from some of the books and make new stories out of them. The amount of creativity that the other orphans possessed made Mika happy. It gave them something to do while he helped out.
The blonde glanced over at the boy closest in age to him. Yu was sitting in an old wooden chair in the corner of the room, eyes partially closed. It was possible that the other boy was starting to fall asleep, especially since the blonde knew he hadn't been getting a lot of rest since coming to the orphanage. Maybe Yu-chan will read to them one day, when he's more comfortable here.
Mika smiled as he went back to cutting the carrots, making sure to take care with the small knife he was using. The sounds of the other children putting the books away echoed through the room.
"Yu-nii, did your parents used to read you books?" the question came from little Taichi. The smaller boy was looking towards their newest occupant as the rest of the children crowded nearby. Mika could tell instantly that the dark-haired boy was uncomfortable. The other children started to rattle off their questions too, most on Yu's former home.
Just as the blonde had finished cutting the carrots, he heard Yu utter a small curse before fleeing through the doorway. The room was silent for a few moments as the younger children looked confused. He shared a glance with Akane, who went to explain things gently to them: Yu wasn't ready to talk about his former family, and maybe he never would be, but they needed to give him some time first.
"I can go check on him," Mika volunteered as he glanced at the caretaker, who shook her head with a kind smile.
"Give him a few minutes alone. He'll think things through and come to an understanding, just like you did."
Her words made him stay put as he continued to help with their next meal. Yes, Mika would follow his own advice and give Yu a bit of time to think.
Yu came up gasping for air as the hands that had held him down relinquished their force on his small body. Cold water filled the bathtub to the brim, a few streams of water cascading down its sides as he struggled. His body instinctively shivered to warm itself as the room slowly stopped warping.
His father had left the bathroom door partially open, where several empty bottles of alcohol were scattered on the hallway floor. His mother's screams had stopped a while ago, just shortly before he had been forced into the bathroom, but not before he had seen what had silenced her.
His father's absence was both a relief and a disturbance. Noises came from a few rooms down, floating through the partially open doorway. Yu wanted to get out of the bathtub, to go and lock himself in his room and hope that he was safe, but the weight of his soaked clothing made movement hard.
Did his father think he was dead? Normally, the question wouldn't have invaded his mind, but the fact that his father had left the room and hadn't returned made it likely. Yu had felt like he had been held underwater for hours, but he knew it couldn't have been that long; not if he was still alive. He had felt like his lungs were going to burst, but now that feeling was quickly fading.
His mother was dead and his father had tried to kill him… Why? What's going on?
His hands had latched onto the side of the bathtub, fully prepared to pull himself out, when he heard glass shatter from another room. The sound startled him, making him duck back down into the water again. Black hair danced in the water at the edge of his vision as he peaked out at the door again.
It took him three seconds to realize that the room outside was changing colors, from the normal brown of the carpet to a bright orange. Flames leapt up from the floor, quickly consuming all in their path.
"Yu-chan?" a voice startled him awake, causing him to jolt a little in the small space. Confusion ran through him before he recognized his surroundings. His face was currently pressed against the cold inside of the bathtub where he had run to, getting away from the rest of the children. "Are you alright? Can you open the door? It's been five hours."
Now that the blonde had mentioned it, the light in the room was dimmer than it had been. He sat up and glared at the door, remembering what had caused him to retreat and lock the door in the first place.
"Go away," he answered irritably, shifting his position in the just big enough tub. He didn't want another lesson from the other orphan. In fact, he felt like he could stay here for a long time.
"Dinner's going to be ready soon. I tried opening the door, but the lock won't budge." Like that will make a difference on whether I'll open it or not. "Also, some of the other kids have to go to the bathroom."
"Go find another bathroom."
"This is the only one," Mika's calm answer made him utter another small curse. He did remember now that this was the sole bathroom of the orphanage – the other boy had told him that on their 'tour' – but he was determined to not come out.
"Then tell them to go pee in the bushes," his answer was met with the most unlikely response: from the noises coming from outside, Mika had kicked the door and then tried to unsuccessfully rattle it open. So the blonde did have a temper…
"Yu-chan!" the other orphan's annoyed tone came from the other side of the door as the noises died down. Of course, the other boy was hinting at the horrible suggestion he had made: they couldn't even go to the bathroom outside because it was winter. Yu really didn't care though. A sigh came from the other side of the door as Mika slumped against the wall. "Taichi really didn't mean any harm by it. They were all just curious."
Yu didn't feel as though he needed – or wanted – to answer. He simply lied back down in the bathtub, waiting for the other boy to get the hint to leave him alone. Sure, it had been five hours, but the memories were too fresh in his mind.
Another sigh, followed by more noises, came from the other side of the door. The black-haired boy didn't pay much attention to them and he found himself dozing off again. Maybe Mika could just let him rest for a while longer…
"That took a bit longer than I would have liked."
Yu cursed in surprise when he found that Mika's voice was now closer. In fact, the blonde was now standing in the bathroom, closing the wooden door – that was supposed to be locked – behind him.
"Get out!" Yu hid himself in the bathtub again, finding anger filling him when the blonde laughed a bit. "How did you even get in here?!"
"Paperclips are very useful against locked doors," Mika's tone was light, but his blue eyes were weighted with concern. It was a strange contradiction, one that wanted to make the dark-haired boy hide again.
The other orphan put the seat of the toilet down, sitting a few feet away from where Yu was 'hiding' in the bathtub. He was silent for a few moments, blue eyes watching, before he spoke.
"Hey, Yu-chan. I'm just curious, but…"
Not another question about my past, he mentally sighed at the other boy's words, wanting more than anything to be left alone.
"Why did you hide in here?"
"Huh?" Yu sat up from the bottom of the bathroom, green eyes looking at Mika's blue ones in surprise. Out of all of the things that the older boy could have asked, he wanted to know that?
"Well, it's just that it seems like you could have gone anywhere; you could have even ran away – which I'm glad that you didn't – but why the bathroom?" A bit of amusement was laced into the boy's words, but curiosity and concern were more apparent. Yu simply stared at him for a moment before he redirected his gaze to the wall.
What harm is there in telling him the truth?
"Because… it's the only place I feel safe," Yu expected the other boy to laugh again, but he didn't, which was a relief. At least Mika didn't think he was crazy right off the bat.
"What do you mean by that? No one here is going to harm you."
The black-haired boy shook his head, not quite believing what had been said but knowing that so far, they hadn't hurt him. "It's not that. It's just… when the house caught on fire, a filled bathtub was the only thing that saved me from dying."
Mika was silent; blinking a few times as understanding seemed to fill him. Endless compassion filled his blue eyes. "Oh, Yu-chan… that does make sense."
"You don't think I'm crazy?" Yu gave him a skeptical look, causing the blonde to emit a small laugh.
"Of course not. We all have a place we feel safe at, but… the other kids really do need to use the bathroom."
The orphan stood up and leaned at the edge of the bathtub, giving Mika a look. "You need to go too, don't you?"
The blonde simply smiled and hummed for a moment. "Maybe."
"Ulterior motives," Yu mumbled as he passed the other boy on the way out the door. Mika laughed again, following him.
"I'll let the others know that the bathroom is open again, and then we can eat dinner."
As Mika ran ahead of him to the main room, Yu figured that this place couldn't be all bad. Maybe he could get used to it.
So I know this is a bit later than I wanted it to be, but here is the second chapter! To explain, Yu's backstory in this probably isn't like it is in the manga. This came off of another roleplaying prompt that my sister and I did ("Yu tends to hide in the bathroom when he's upset") and it warped into this chapter. As to if Mika can picklock doors… I'll leave that up to you :) I broke the rule a little bit when including Mika's POV at the beginning, but I thought it was necessary to understand both parts of the chapter. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and please let me know any suggestions in a review!
-AnimeWolfGirl9