(A/N) Onward we go!
Ojiro didn't say anything as he carefully checked over Hitoshi's leg, then gently put disinfectant on it. Hitoshi actively suppressed any flinch, not wanting to startle him. He didn't look angry, but Hitoshi knew better then most people that it didn't mean much if someone didn't look angry.
He carefully wrapped up Hitoshi's leg once he was done. "Your other leg?"
Hitoshi blinked at him. Ojiro stared back. "You and I both know this is an issue on both legs. So, other leg please."
Hitoshi didn't really have a choice, so he rolled up his other pant leg. Ojiro made a soft sad noise, and set about doing the same thing to that leg.
It certainly didn't feel any better once Ojiro had finished, but Ojiro seemed slightly more relaxed about the whole thing.
"I'm sure Toru will understand if you want to go to sleep now," Ojiro said carefully, and Hitoshi blinked at him blankly. Why would he be sleeping now? He could barely sleep on good nights, and that was in a relatively familiar bed. He doubted he'd actually sleep here with unknown people and in an unknown bed. It probably just wasn't possible. Even with that weighted thing from earlier.
Ultimately he just shook his head, unsure as to if he was supposed to respond some other way.
Ojiro offered Hitoshi his hand. "Alright. Let's go back to the kitchen then, hm?"
Hitoshi accepted the hand, letting Ojiro tug him up to his feet and carefully followed him back to the kitchen. He had to admit walking did hurt just the slightest bit less though.
"Hitoshi!" Hagakure chirped as they entered the kitchen. "Can you sit up here and stir this while we make the pretzels? Sometimes the water and the baking soda tries to separate a bunch and that causes so many problems so can you stir it to make sure that doesn't happen?"
Hitoshi appreciated her effort to make him useful, so he nodded.
Hagakure gestured to the spot she wanted him to sit, and he tentatively sat up on the counter, and took the spoon she handed him. He started stirring the bowl she placed next to him, and basked in her easy grin at the action.
"The thing I used was a grounding technique," Yaoyorozu offered up in a lull in conversation. "I'm glad it helped, Hitoshi."
He inclined his head to her politely, although did file the technique away in his brain. It had been helpful, maybe he could use it some other time.
"Woah, Mash! That's a super good spiral!" Hagakure picked up the pan they'd been putting the shaped pretzels on. "Look Hito! Look at that super pretty spiral!"
Hitoshi nodded, not quite getting what was so special about the spiral, but agreeing that it was a very nice spiral all the same.
"It's just a spiral," Ojiro pleaded, taking another chunk of dough. "It is not that special."
"But you made it like perfect! My spirals never come out looking like that!" Hagakure complained.
"It's not that special," Ojiro protested.
"Just leave it be you two," Yaoyorozu scolded. "We still have a fair amount of dough to get through and Hitoshi can't stir forever."
Hitoshi nodded agreement. His arm was getting kind of tired already.
Hagakure stuck her tongue out at Momo, but grabbed more dough. "You can probably rest for a minute or two Hitoshi, I don't think it requires constant stirring. Just semi-regular stirs every once in a while."
Hitoshi nodded, pausing in his stirring of the water with baking soda in it.
Almost ten minutes later and all the dough had been shaped. Now they just had to wait.
"So, we should totally do a get to know you game!" Hagakure cheered. "We should do never have I ever, Hitoshi can just not say a thing he hasn't done if he doesn't want to. Otherwise he wouldn't need to talk!"
"Just standing around here?" Yaoyorozu asked curiously, glancing around the kitchen. Hitoshi followed her gaze, looking at the bowl next to him, the flour stained counters, the dishes and ingredients used but not put away.
"We'll need to be here to swap out the pretzels," Hagakure explained easily. "So why not? We start with five fingers and whoever goes out first eats their pretzel last." She located some gloves from somewhere and pulled them on so they could see her fingers.
"I'll go first. Never have I ever had an elder sibling," Ojiro said.
Hagakure pouted, putting a finger down. Hitoshi tapped the table to get their attention then tried signing 'foster' at them. Did foster siblings count?
Yaoyorozu was quick to pull a notebook and pencil out of her arm and hand them to him. "Here! Use these to communicate!"
Hitoshi quickly wrote down his question then showed it to them.
"Huh, I dunno, would it?" Hagakure wondered. "What do you think?"
"It might as well," Yaoyorozu offered. "It's close enough I suppose. Let's count it."
Hitoshi put a finger down in response.
"Right, well, never have I ever been to an aquarium," Yaoyorozu offered. Hitoshi didn't put a finger down, but Ojiro and Hagakure did.
"We're taking you both to an aquarium the first chance we get," Hagakure huffed. "Aquariums are awesome!"
"They're very cool," Ojiro agreed easily. Hitoshi didn't doubt that, he'd just never been to one because no one wanted to let him outside of the house except to go to school.
"Alright, my turn! Never have I ever… had a younger sibling. I'm getting back at you for that Ojiro." Hagakure stared at Ojiro, who put a finger down. Hitoshi, who'd had multiple foster siblings younger than him before, also put a finger down. He was down to three fingers now, but so were Hagakure and Ojiro. Yaoyorozu still had all of her fingers up.
"Do you want to go Hitoshi?" Hagakure asked.
Hitoshi nodded, then quickly wrote down a thing he'd never done. Never had he ever been hugged after the age of four.
That took everyone down a finger, although all three looked horrified afterwards.
Hagakure, who was closest, immediately hugged him. "There! Now it's not true!"
Hitoshi didn't mind the contact, and leaned into it slightly. She just squeezed a bit tighter for a moment and continued hugging him.
"Never have I ever pranked someone with the help of a classmate," Ojiro said, looking altogether rather proud of himself for that one.
Hagakure pouted, but put down a finger.
"What did you do?" Yaoyorozu asked, looking somewhere between horrified and curious.
"We swapped out all his pencils for black colored pencils painted to look like normal pencils," Hagakure admitted. "And all his colored pencils for actual pencils. It was pretty funny. He was super confused for a while before he realized who did it and glared at me for a week. I caught him laughing about it with someone else tho, so no feelings hurt!"
"At this point, what haven't you done?" Ojiro asked, sighing.
"Hmm, hard to say, but probably gotten A's in every single class. I'm a good student, but not that good!"
Yaoyorozu and Ojiro both put fingers down.
"Really guys!?" Hagakure complained. "You're making us seem dumb!" She just clutched a mostly confused Hitoshi tighter, not that he was complaining.
"It was expected of me," Yaoyorozu admitted sheepishly. "And I was tutored in most subjects one on one instead of school."
Ojiro shrugged. "I have a head for academics."
Hagakure just huffed in their direction. "Well, Ojiro, you're down to one finger! Momo, take it away before that timer goes off!"
"Uuuh, never have I ever taken any sort of martial arts classes."
"Now it's just targeted," Ojiro huffed.
"Oh please, you aren't the only one that took a class or two," Hagakure said, huffing right back. "But you lost anyway… and there's the timer for the first round of pretzels! Momo, can you get some butter in a bowl?"
Momo nodded and moved towards the fridge, grabbing some butter out of it while the oven door opened and Hagakure put on clunky oven mitts.
She put the pretzels on the oven near Hitoshi. "They're hot, and once the butter's melted and mom's back, we can totally finish them! Maybe by then they'll be cooled too."
A door closed somewhere in the house, and Hitoshi turned slightly to watch the entrance to the kitchen.
"Or she'll be back now!" Hagakure chirped. "That works too, we'll just have to wait for the pretzels to cool a bit before we can eat them!"
Ojiro had since slid the next pan into the oven, and set the timer for them.
"Hey mom!" Hagakure chirped as her mother entered the kitchen, a white plastic bag on either arm.
"Hello dear. I have the right salt for the pretzels right here." The woman pulled out a thing of salt and set it on the counter next to Hitoshi.
"Er, what am I supposed to do with the melted butter?" Yaoyorozu asked, standing there with her bowl of melted butter.
"Oh I'll show you!" Hagakure replied. "Hey Hitoshi, pull your legs up for a moment? We need under them."
Hitoshi pulled up his leg obligingly and watched a weird thing with what looked like some kind of soft brush on the end.
"There's silicon on the end," Hagakure explained. "We use it to brush the butter over the tops! Momo, can you spread the salt on the pretzels after I butter them?"
Yaoyorozu nodded, grabbing the salt.
In the end, Hitoshi was very glad he helped with the pretzels, even if it wasn't much. They were really good.
They settled in for the night, and he heard them fall asleep one by one. He'd closed his eyes, but as with any even vaguely new place, sleep wouldn't come. So he continued laying there, listening to their quiet breathing and the other quiet sounds of the house. It was as good of rest as he was going to get really.
(A/N) Aww, my poor baby. A bigger sort of incident next time. Should be an adventure. We're well on our way to getting Hito some help. Finally. I hope you liked their never have I ever game, I don't know where it came from, but I'm glad they played it. It was cute. A nice temporary reprieve before next chapter.