Running.
That was all she knew at that moment, that moment of fear and pain crunching together into shards of glass being laid beneath her feet as she ran. Xeratino didn't even take a moment to think of her bare body on display to show exactly what was happening to her. Her only goal was to run as fast as she could away from the men Mizunoto sent after her. She heard the labored breaths behind her but she kept sprinting, despite her fragile state. Threats were being thrown towards her by the men. Some she knew, some she didn't. It didn't matter. She was escaping, even if it cost her life.
Suddenly she slams into something hard, wait. Someone. Xeratino looks up to see a very strange and oddly scary-looking man towering over her. He cursed under his breath and looked down to see Xeratino's bare body covered in small but noticeable scars along with a light purple bruise on her right arm resembling a hand mark and a yellowish blue bruise on her waist resembling some kind of rope or wire.
"What the fuck?"
Was all the scary-looking man said before Xeratino heard the men catching up around the corner and she stood up wobbly again, running frantically, shoving past the man and continuing her chase. She heard the men speaking, along with a new deep and raspy voice and abruptly, there were screams and shouts of pleading. From behind Xeratino a flash of deep blue light filled the alley around her. Xeratino suddenly stopped and looked behind her only to see the man she bumped into alone. Standing in front of a pile of ashes.
Seemingly sensing there was no more danger, Xeratino's adrenaline faded and the next thing she saw was darkness.
Xeratino gasped and woke abruptly sitting up in what she seemed to deduce was a bed. The room was dark but as her vision became used to it she saw a bedside table and a chair directly next to her with various items on top of it. Suddenly as Xeratino was looking around the room she heard footsteps outside of the door and she immediately lay down, pretending to still be asleep.
The door opens and she hears the heavy falls of feet toward the bed. There was the sound of the stranger slumping down in the chair in front of the table.
"I know you're faking it."
The person who said this had the same voice as the man she saw in the alley.
"C'mon, I have food."
Slowly and cautiously, Xeratino sat up in bed. The man she saw was the same. But this time she can see him clearly with the light of the lamp. The first notable trait he had was his skin. It had dark indigo patches of stapled skin around his head, neck, arms, and under his eyes. His hair was as dark as a raven, he wore a white t-shirt, with black jeans that hung around his hips with a chain belt.
The mysterious man spoke again,
"Here. It's a sandwich and some baby carrots, I have water for you too."
He holds up a plate containing the food he listed and carefully Xeratino takes it in fear that the man will become frustrated if she refuses. The man notices and speaks in a softer tone.
"I have clothing for you right here."
He holds out a folded hoodie and boxers.
"Freshly cleaned and out of the dryer so it'll be warm."
Xeratino perks at this. Clothing? for her?
"….thank you…"
Xeratino quietly takes the clothes from the man and starts to get changed until he stops her from standing up.
"Hold on, I need to leave."
He closes his eyes and exits the room shutting the door.
"Tell me when you're done or just tap at the door."
He said in a muffled voice outside the bedroom, Xeratino was confused by this but stood up out of bed and got dressed. When Xeratino was finished she lightly tapped on the door and sat back on the bed.
The man enters the room again and closes the door behind him. He spoke softly,
"Okay kid, I won't ask questions right now. Though later you'll have to explain some things okay?"
Xeratino nodded in response. The man handed her the plate of food and she reluctantly took it from his hands and began to eat. Xeratino ate the sandwich and after she swallowed that first small bite, xeratino was finished in seconds. The man chuckles lightly,
"You were damn hungry, weren't you? I'll get you more in a bit."
Xeratino didn't know how to feel about the man, so out of curiosity, she questioned him.
"Who…are you?"
Xeratino spoke with a crack in her voice because she was attempting to be heard. The man hears her and answers simply,
"Dabi. You can call me Dabi."
Xeratino thought upon his name. 'It sounds fake, like the name they gave me…hopefully, he's not being hurt, ' she thought, bewildered at the cryptid wording. The man now known as Dabi then questioned her.
"What's your name, kid?"
Xeratino thought about whether or not she should give Dabi her name, but instead of her full name, she told him,
"Xeri."
She squeaked out after a moment's silence.
He paused,
"your last name?"
Dabi asked. Xeri looked down at the plate,
"I don't know."
For some reason dabi felt pity, he didn't feel it often. He doesn't think he's ever felt pity for another person. Whenever he heard stories of children being murdered, raped, or both he always just felt disgust and malice towards the person causing the damage and not thinking much about the child. Dabi eventually thought about how tired Xeri should be so he told her to sleep and relax for the night.
Xeratino falls asleep and Dabi leaves the room with the light off to sleep on the living room couch.
"Dabi? Why are you turning on the lights?"
Dabi paused hearing Toga's groggy tired voice call to him.
"uhh, well, just look."
He opened to door quietly and gestured Toga over. Toga is a dropout high school student with blonde hair tied in two messy buns on each side of her head. She has on a t-shirt that dawns chibi versions of Jason Vorhees patterned all over it, along with matching shorts that have cartoon knives patterned on them.
"Why? What do you-"
Toga was interrupted by a shush from Dabi and he gestures again. Toga sighs and walks to his door only to see a small person in his bed. Toga, who has the wrong idea, tries to hit dabi.
"Perverted freak!"
Dabi stops her, shushing the confused blonde aggressively,
"It's not like that! I found her being chased by Mizunotos guys."
Toga grimaces in disgust.
Mizunoto was a small crime boss that specialized in sex trafficking, more often than not he would keep children for himself and sell them off for money. If the kids couldn't put in a certain quota… terrible things happened to them. The boss had been approached with deals numerous times by Mizunoto but luckily their boss shared the same distaste towards Mizunotos…"preferences"
Toga felt sympathy for Xeri, such a pretty little girl didn't need things like that happening to her.
"Why didn't you take her to the hospital? Or a police station then?"
Toga looked at him with an annoyed expression. Dabi gazed at Toga's face and deadpanned,
"We are wanted criminals toga. Everybody knows what I look like, I couldn't take her anywhere without risking being caught."
Toga thought about it for a moment, and then she smiled dumbly, having processed what Dabi had said.
"Oh yeah, we are wanted."
Dabi sighed, annoyed, and shut the door gently.
Toga can't stay silent for long and eventually asks,
"What are you gonna do when the boss finds out?"
Dabi thought for a moment and replied,
"I think I'm just gonna tell him myself and request we find somewhere for her to go."
Toga nodded in approval.
"That's a good plan! Unless~ we keep her."
The girl smiled showing her fanged teeth.
Dabi nodded and started down the steps.
"That's not even on the table, you're not that stupid to not realize it. Anyways, do not "
Toga gestured her hand on her chest as if she was crossing her heart,
"Okay!"
Dabi, for what felt like the millionth time, sighed at her childish behavior. Dabi went downstairs and fell asleep on the living room couch while thinking about Xeri and what he was going to do with her.