Brrrrrr...

Loosening the tiredness off his eyes was a chore on its own. Like heavy bells pushing them down, Netsui fought off the blurs by blinking repeatedly, the surrounding heat perspiring tears out of the corners of groaned in displeasure. His eyes hurt so much...

Brrrrrr... Brrrrrr...

Drunkenly swinging his arms to wipe the crusty dampness off his brow, he scraped a wet sensation running down his forehead. Mind still returning to the real world, he inspected the cause of the sensation until touched upon a hard lump denting his cranium. A stinging gripe jolted him into a more aware state.

Brrrrrr... Brrrrrr...

The volts of electricity coursing on his head forced his hand away from the damage. With the colors returning to his sight, he finally figured out what the liquid running down his forehead was. Red, thin, pouring, and it hurt when he touched it. Something must've hit him pretty hurt during his unconscious period. What happened to him? How did he get here?

Brrrrrr-

He sluggishly peered down at his pants. "Why's my pocket vibrating?" Netsui fetched for his phone, cringing at the burst of light as his full moon wallpaper appeared. He tentatively cracked a lid to gaze at the screen. "Holy crap, Itsuka called me so many times? How long have I been out?" he asked, astonished, before answering the call.

"Finally, you picked up! I was starting to get worried," Itsuka sounded both relieved and frustrated on the other line. "Where were you? Tetsutetsu, Shiozaki and I tried calling you all morning,"

"Hey there, Itsuka..." he sheepishly tried to calm her down. "How're you doing-"

"Don't you 'Itsuka' me, mister!" Netsui winced at her animosity. "We've been calling you for hours! Do you even know how worried I-we were?! We had to wait for the rest of our class to see if they found you anywhere - none of them did -, there was no authoritative figure to inform us here, we got berated by a fricking gate-" Netsui heard a soft gasp in the distance. "- and it said that you ran off somewhere else in the city, that I'm one hundred percent sure you never been to,"

Netsui blinked wordlessly at the end of her concerned reprimand. 'Dare I say this...' Akuma started, his voice dripping in a sheepish . 'She has a point, against both of us. Now I feel responsible for all of the mess...'

"You sure that gate got the right student?" Netsui asked, a hint of unease in his tone. A sudden thought came to him regarding the maniacal girl. "I don't mean to sound dismissive, but there was someone else who came after me, I think she had long hair too. Maybe it got confused over who was who?"

"It said you were making stupid faces."

"...Ah..." Netsui winced in embarrassment, rubbing his fingers on the lump on his forehead, clamping on the foreign object. 'Should've kept my mouth shut,'

"It doesn't matter anymore, I'm just glad you finally picked up. Thought you were lost in the city square and Tetsutetsu was going on and on about how you somehow got involved in the villain invasion aftermath,"

"Oh right, the villain invasion thing," Netsui cocked a brow before it spiked, a pang of pain shocking his head. "OUCH!" hardened hands pulled the tight lump on the dent.

"What was that?"

"Stubbed my toe. Anyways, tell him no. I wasn't there with 1-A or anyone else for that matter. If I was, Monoma would've said something by now,"

"So, pretty much what I told him too. Probably why we got the day off. Good thing they got out of there unscathed,"

"They did, huh?" Netsui sighed, scraping a finger to his temple and painting a stream of red across his finger. The contemplative young student peered at the blood stain in disdain as it soaked into his formerly dried skin like oil The dent throbbed against his chrome cranium, reminding him of his luck as the the hole slowly popped back into place. "Wonder how that feels..." he muttered lowly as to not upset his friend.

"But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about," Itsuka changed the topic of conversation, much to Netsui's relief. "I wanted to ask, where are you right now? 'Cause Tetsutetsu, Kodai, Shiozaki and I are in the city too and we thought we could hang out together. What do you say?"

"Tell 'im to to hurry up and meet us at the city square or we'll miss the premieres at Acherin!" a gruff sounding boy yelled near Itsuka.

"Shh! Be patient, Tetsu," she briefly addressed the rude boy before turning back to Netsui. "Sorry about that. Tetsutetsu is really excited about the movies, he wanted you to join in. If only he wasn't so insistent on it, maybe this would end faster." Netsui could feel the stern look she gave their friend. A chuckle escaped his throat.

"Oh man, I haven't been to the movies in years! I'd love to!" Netsui excitedly said, pumping his fist and later regretting it as a sore pricks spiked.

'Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but no, you won't.' Akuma interjected.

'What?! Why not?!'

'Take a gander at yourself and tell me you look like you won't be inquired by everyone,'

And he did, quickly glimpsing at every inch of his damp and tattered figure, his smile diminishing the longer he held the stare. 'Oh, I look like I got into a turf war or something,' he sniffed under his armpit, then gagging at the putrid assault on his nostrils. 'I, uh... really gotta take a shower...'

'Among other pressing necessities.'

"Ugh, sorry Itsuka-chan, but I have to take a rain check," his face fell as he said that.

"But, aren't you already here?" his friend inquired in confusion.

"Uh..." Netsui struggled to come up with a believable lie. "Not anymore, no! I, uh... was caught in a bit of a... f-f-fight... on my way home,"

'Netsui! You're disclosing too much!'

'You know, you're not helping!'

Itsuka gasped. "You did?! Oh crap, are you okay?" to hear his objectively more mature friend curse, even so lightly was... unexpected, to say the least. Akuma was also taken aback, but he made no comment.

"Huh? Who's messing with Netsui?! Does he need backup? Where is he?!"

"Should I bring my emergency kit?!" from the amount of concern, Netsui made out Shiozaki among the clutter.

"Shh."

"Yeah, I'm okay. You guys don't need to come here, it's over already," Netsui stood up hazily, dusting himself off with a free hand, several small foreign objects sliding off the holes in his uniform. "Besides... I'm not in the city anymore so you couldn't reach me anyway," he lied, driving the corners of his lips down.

"I figured." Yui's monotone reverberated through the speaker. "Still."

"You're... not in the city? But we thought you-"

"I was... but, um..." the teen fumbled for an excuse.

'You had no money to spend in town, especially when everything is so expensive,'

"... I didn't have money to blow out, not if it meant I couldn't go home,"

"You could've still come anyway. I can't speak for everyone, but I wouldn't mind paying for what you wanted, or for a ride home. Or just stick to sight seeing, there are a lot of things we could see at Musutafu," Itsuka happily reasoned with him.

"You'd to that for me?" Netsui's brow popped in utter astonishment. "Why?"

"We're friends, remember?" Itsuka said with a hint of a smirk. "I mean, you're on a first name basis with everyone since classes started, I would've guessed you were aware,"

"Right, right," Netsui sheepishly stated. "Well, kinda late now. I'm already home, cleaning myself up, doing chores and stuff," he bit the inside of his cheek.

"That's too bad, we could've had so much fun," a sigh was heard somewhere in the group, and Netsui was unable to tell who it came from. "Oh well, there's always next time. Not the end of the world. I'll quit stalling and let you get on with your day, make sure you relax, okay? You sound like you've been through a lot this morning,"

Netsui exasperatedly groaned. "Don't remind me," he combed through a tuft of hair strewn across his face. "I'll see you guys tomorrow then. Have fun,"

"We will. Oh, hold on..." Itsuka stopped talking for a moment, inaudible hushed whispering resounding on the speaker before she returned. "Tetsu said he'd save you a souvenir,"

"Haha! Tell him I said thanks,"

"Can do. You have fun too, alright?"

"Sure, I'll have tons of fun cleaning my house," with a final jovial bout of laughter, the two said their goodbyes to each others, with Itsuka having to pipe down a steel man crying. Netsui ended the call, and sighed in both relief and desperation. "That was hard. Why does it have to be so hard?"

'Such is the life we've been cursed with,' Akuma sagely incurred. 'Run along now, we needn't waste more time in these slums,'

"I get it," the demotivated teen began to walk to the exit door, a deep disappointed frown etched into his features. "Can't wait to hear how hobo-like I am... Gonna be hard to cover these holes, though,"

A yawn made its way out of his young lips as he stretched the tiredness out of his body. His body - mostly his legs and face - felt sore as he came to reality, like his developing limps ran a marathon without a single break. He wiped the remaining sleep out of his eyes with a free arm. He cracked his eyes open, the blurriness fading to focus on the environment around him, which was dark in contrast making it harder to discern what kind of room he was in. The moonlight shined through the window, the azure waves washing over the darkness to show off the wooden surface below him.

He fidgeted in his bouncy seat, which caused a realization to appear in his mind; this didn't feel like a street pavement, it wasn't cold, hard, nor did it pound at his nerves. It was soft, fluffy, elastic... warm. It was odd to him. This was the softest, warmest he had ever been in his life. The fabric hugging him was warmer than the feeling Akuma gave him when he was freezing at night. Netsui could collapse in the snug sheets, melt into the threads and forget the world exists, but his only friend had been quiet for a moment too long for his comfort.

'Netsui-kun! Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?' Akuma's worried tone bellowed inside the young man. 'Tell me immediately so I can remedy you!'

Netsui gasped inwardly. 'Akuma! You're back!' his inner voice sounded so jovial and happy Akuma couldn't but crack a slight 'smile'. 'I was so scared you went away and wouldn't come back, but now you're here!'

'It's good to see you as well, my friend. Even for a warrior like myself, that was most certainly a frightening experience. I'm simply glad you are one resilient child, or well I would have not even dared ask you how you were, I would activate your regeneration quirk the second I felt something troubling,'

Netsui's grin widened. 'Aww, thank you Akuma! Don't forget to take care of yourself too, okay?'

Akuma cocked a curious brow. 'Nestui, you are aware I have no physical form, correct?'

'So?' Netsu asked innocently, tilting his head.

Akuma 'blinked' with a vacant expression, before he burst into hearty laughter. 'Ah! You are too precious, my friend!'

Netsui closed his eyes softly as he absorbed in the brief moment of calming sanity, trickling hints of sincere giggles to travel the area. His sore ears no longer rang with the ravaging shower torrents, onerous thoughts splitting his cranium in two were reduced to mellifluous tranquility cracking in the city's underbelly. The regenerative properties of his power gnawed at the most raw body parts and innards, yet he made no noise in protest, no moan of comfort. In light of the fracas he dealt with for years on end, he'd take this over anything hell threw at him.

Akuma sighed silently to himself as 'held' Netsui's juvenile figure in his own way. Such sweet innocent wrapped around faded scars made him revel in his fury against the God responsible for cursing the little boy with this life. Netsui hummed under his makeshift touch, laying his head on the shoulder he coursed his presence to, and for the slightest second, the mental entity felt his own arm mellowing with warmth, and his rage dulling into awe. He 'blinked' wordlessly at the little boy snuggling up to the his shoulder. Akuma opened his mouth, to warn his best friend of his ridiculous pose - yet admittedly adorable -, but he digressed, letting the moment last.

Knocks came from the door on the other end of the dimly lit room, breaking Netsui's docile mood as it peaked into panic, bringing the sheets to cover his quivering lower lip. The door creaked opened slightly as a pleated hand nudged it to stop, a column of light shining on the wall with a silhouette shadowing its presence. "Um, hello there," a delicate female voice spoke behind the door, the gentle tone demonstrating lack of threat. Netsui did not answer all the same. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, you sound like you're having in there,"

An anxious lump formed on the top of his throat, tickling his uvula with every attempting to swallow it down. Netsui's breaths came in heavy klaxons out of his nostrils, sharply whistling as they hasted. 'Netsui-kun, calm yourself. I don't believe this one is trying to hurt you,' Akuma's words settled in to his child psyche, wavering his breaths to slow sobs. The pit in his stomach, however, still sent pangs at his core.

"Is it okay if I come in?" the woman spoke softly and invitingly, the shadow crouching to meet at his eye level. "I can come back later if you want. Only needed to know if you were feeling better,"

"..." Netsui shrunk quietly into the covers.

'Repeat after me,' the mental entity said patiently. With a nod, Akuma continued. 'Yes, ma'am. I'm fine. Just feeling kind of sleepy.'

"Y-Yes, ma'am," Netsui hesitantly did as was told. "I'm fine. Just feeling kind of sleepy," he mumbled as he replied, his tone barely above a whisper cutting through the awkward silence.

"Well, that's normal," an amiable giggle escaped her lips, easing Netsui's mind. "It is two thirty five at night, after all. Who wouldn't be?"

'It is?'

"It is?" Netsui repeated his friend's words, curiosity engrossing his mind.

"Of course, see?" a finger poked out of the gap, pointing at the night sky through the window.

"Oh... haha... right." he awkwardly said, coughing into his hand as silence overtook between the two physical beings. Nerve wracking seconds turned to unbearable minutes as the young boy tapped at the end of the sheets in boredom, though he dared not to vocalize it out of fear of the unknown.

The woman broke the lulling night time. "Mind if I come in?" she offered in consolation.

"... Mmmmm..." he unsettled young boy fidgeted in his seat, pulling slightly away from the door. His visage twisted into discomfort as he locked eyes with the floor boards.

'You don't have to compromise with her, my friend,' Akuma sensed his friend's concerns as they magnified his own. It's only been a short while since they've had a taste of freedom, piling more unnerving concepts would be counter-productive to the young man's growth. The panic already made him so stiff that he couldn't control his subtle shaking. 'There will always be tomorrow. We have time now. If you're not feeling well, maybe resting for the-'

'No.' Akuma's thought process came to a grinding halt as his 'eyes' widened at his friend's unexpected assertiveness. "Y-You can c-come in...m-m-ma'am,"

"Thank you, young man," she gratefully stated, placing her unladen palm on the plastic doorknob. "I'm coming in now, alright?"

He nodded, bravado leveling over his worries. "Okay."

Lightly and with no sudden motions, the door to the room creaked further as the silhouette and light expanded into the darkness. multi quirked clutched at the sheets as a protective shield, the young boy's eyes knitted into alert, but were quickly swayed at the sight of the woman.

"Hello there, young man," she greeted him, her smile getting impossibly wider as she motioned to herself with a frail hand. "I'm Geto Shikabe. I hope my bed is to your liking, don't want you feeling cranky so soon,"

Netsui's brows perked up as he looked down at the bleached covers, beads of sweat and dirt dampening the otherwise pristine sheets. He gaped at the elderly woman peculiarly, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oh, don't fret none, deary. It's nothing that a good old fashioned tub scrub can't fix," Netsui let out a suppressed at her speech. "I've been meaning to get it washed up anyway," her aged eyes glimmered along with her contagious, positive attitude. "You look better than you did when you barged in. Thank goodness that hero came when he did. I can't begin to imagine what you were running from when you two bumped into each other. At least to didn't have any bruises or cuts on you,"

His merry grin was pulled back into a confused frown. "But... why?"

"Why what, dear?"

"Why would you... help me?" he inched closer to her face, confusion palpable on his face. "You don't know me..."

Geto looked at him like deer in the headlights. "Well, you see deary, when less fortunate children like you get dropped off on my doorstep, it's my job and honor to take them in and give them a place they can call home," when she finished, she looked away, downtrodden. "Even if it is for a short time,"

"Dropped... off?" the words stumbled out of the young boy, trailing into fuzzy memories that recounted the most recent events he witnessed.

"Oh yes, thank you for reminding me!" she beamed. "A hero dropped you off while he was out during his patrol, and he came to me as soon as fast as his boots let him. That strapping young man was so concerned over your health, I nearly thought you two knew each other. Ah, I wish I took that picture when I had the chance..."

"He... he did?" the corner of his lips crept into a small grin.

"Of course he did! You needed help, and he helped you. That's what a hero does, you know? People like that don't come around very often, I should know,"

He furrowed his brow. "...Hero?"

"You're..." she paused, gazing at Netsui's puzzled visage with a dumbfounded expression. "You're not from around here, are you deary?"

His eyes fell, landing on the covers as he twiddling his thumbs. Shaking his head no, Netsui spared her a quick glance before returning to his nervously twitching digits.

The realization wandered through the air like a note dandling in Geto didn't press on. Instead, she offered solace through a melodious voice. "Hey, it's okay. You're not the first child I've seen who was a stranger to these parts and you won't be the last," she informed him with a twinge of pride. "So, can I hear the name of this cute little stranger in my bed?"

"..." the boy took a deep breath. "Netsui."

"That's a very cute name. Good to meet you, Netsui deary,"

"Can..." he broke eye contact with her. "Can I call you... Shikabe?"

"Aww, you're so sweet," Shikabe ruffled Netsui's stuffy hair out of place. "I'd like that,"

"Hehe!" Netsui giggle at the affection, cracking his lips open into a jovial cheer. "Thank you, Shikabe-sama,"

"I'm only doing what I can with what I got," she stood up from her seat and walked to the door to leave the boy to rest. She peaked over her shoulder one last time. "Oh, I almost forgot! Welcome to the Otome Orphanage, Netsui-kun. If there's anything you want, I'll be down the hall,"

A/N: Geto Shikabe = "Gate, Shield, Wall"

And that's the end of the first arc, which I think I'll dub "Hidden Outcasts Arc" - a neat little closure to the prologue that was totally planned from the very start...

... Shut up.

Also, some of you may have been wondering about the break, followed by two chapter in the span of a couple of days. Well, the thing is, I didn't feel likewriting at first, and in the process of writing "Martyrs" I accidentally wrote this one too. That's it.

I don't know how that works either.

Anyways, stay tuned for the Tournament Arc, where the canon divergence begins. Till then, don't forget to review!