The Price of Pain

Chapter 8: A Taste of Kindness

There wasn't a warning out for her just yet. By law Aki knew Eraserhead had to report her. For some reason he hadn't. She had expected to see it any day now, but it never came. That only meant she could be relatively safe out in public without anyone noticing. There were too many villains anyway, and spotting one in the crowd in an unfamiliar get-up was rare. So Aki moved outside without much worry for being spotted.

She wore a baggy hoodie, comfortable shorts, and sneakers as she made her way to the mall. She needed groceries, and food with enough protein to build up her muscles properly. It was frustrating not having chakra to supplement the training regime. Chakra couldn't make up for correct nutrition entirely, but it sure as hell had helped. It was why most Shinobi were extremely fit, even when they were out on missions with limited food. This body in comparison was weak… limited.

She was never one to dwell on limitations. It was simply another obstacle to conquer. Aki made her way through the streets and walked by a construction site. She sipped her orange juice pop and thought nothing of it until she saw a kid standing underneath scaffolding, leaning down to pick up a brick. There was a beam above her that was leaning precariously over the edge. Aki was no hero, but she wasn't cold hearted outside of her job either.

"Watch out!" she shouted.

The girl looked up at her with big brown eyes. Shit, Aki thought as the confusion stopped the girl from moving on her own. Aki rushed into the construction site, jumping to tackle her. The girl yelped as they fell into the construction site, and the beam fell through the scaffolding, tearing it down and driving up a plume of dust. Aki coughed as she tumbled away from the kid.

"Oh my god!" the girl shouted after a moment.

Aki looked her over. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yes. Thank you! You… saved me," she breathed out in shock.

Aki got up, brushing the dirt off herself as she helped up the girl. She looked around the same age as her. She didn't look hurt, so Aki decided that was the end of their interaction. She still needed to buy food, dusty or not.

"Be more careful next time," Aki huffed as she moved to leave.

Before she could go two older construction workers came running in fretting like mother hens. They probably were her parents considering the woman just looked like an older version of the teen, and the man had similar eyes. They helped pull up the girl before stopping her in her tracks.

"Hey wait! You saved our daughter. Let us thank you!" the man said.

"No need. I have things to do," Aki said.

"At least let us get you some food," the woman said.

Aki turned around and squinted. "…For free?"

"Of course! We wouldn't make our daughter's hero pay!"

"I can have more orange juice?" Aki asked, looking at the discarded orange pop now completely spilt on the ground.

The lady nodded eagerly. "Anything you want!"

"…Okay," she said.

.

.

.

When Aki said yes, she thought they'd just buy her groceries for her. What she didn't expect was to be squished between two adults singing in a karaoke room. Their daughter was belting out a song as they shook the maracas. Aki would have left if not for the endless supply of orange juice. Though she was getting a headache.

"Come on Aki-chan! You pick a song next," the girl, now introduced as Ochaco Uraraka said.

"I'd rather not," Aki declined.

"Aw come on come on!" she pleaded.

Aki grimaced. "Still a no."

"I'll buy you a whole gallon of juice!" her mother bribed.

"Give me the mic," Aki said without hesitation.

Aki didn't listen to music much, nor had she ever had a reason to sing. Shinobi were quiet. She heard a parent hum to their child once in an old life. She wished someone had hummed to her then. The Uraraka family were rather cheerful, upbeat people, with too much energy. Aki didn't know if she could match it, so she picked a more muted song. She felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment as she began singing, her voice cracking at the start. They didn't laugh though, just kept cheering her on. She managed somehow to find the courage to continue singing.

"Wow, your voice sucks!" Ochaco said, when Aki finished.

Aki sighed, rubbing her forehead, and wondering why she decided to play along with this.

"But that's what makes karaoke fun!" Ochaco finished.

"Huh?" Aki said, dumbfounded.

Ochaco grinned at her like what she said made all the sense. "It's fun cause everyone sucks at it!"

"That makes no sense," Aki said, frowning.

"Yeah, sure it does kid," her father interjected. "Your meant to just let loose and give into the moment. Let's try a group song next. You'll see. Just let yourself go and stop worrying if you're good or not and enjoy the experience!"

Aki took the microphone back without being bribed for the first time. Just enjoy the experience. She hadn't thought about it that way. Competence was necessary right? But this was a recreational activity. She hadn't done any recreational activity she needed to participate in before. Usually she watched a movie or listened to music, but even that was rare, and it certainly didn't need participation. She wondered if she had ever just let herself be bad at something before… she couldn't remember. Incompetence usually meant death or something worse.

When the Uraraka's began singing Aki joined along too, surprised to realise that they were all off-tune. They were off tune together.

She was enjoying herself.

But the warm mundanity of the situation ended far too soon. They had spent an hour there that went faster than any hour Aki had ever spent anywhere. The Uraraka's laughed as they walked her outside the establishment.

"Sorry we kept you for so long. Today was just a close call, and it could have ended so badly if you weren't there," the woman said.

"That's okay. You love her very much," Aki noted, feeling incredibly uncomfortable to voice those thoughts.

"Kaasan and tousan are the best. We're builders. We're usually a lot safer than that though," Ochaco said, flustered about the earlier incident.

"Keep safe then," Aki said about to turn around, when Ochaco held her back.

"Wait, let's exchange numbers… I mean if you l-like!"

Aki paused. That was a bad idea. This family seemed nice. It was the kind of nice that made Aki's heart hurt in a way that left her a little off kilter. She couldn't involve herself with such normal people who were living such happy lives.

I never even wanted her.

Remembering her father's words was like a slap in the face. Ochaco looked at her with the same innocence of a child that was loved and shielded from the horrors of the world. Aki swallowed thickly, wishing to feel more of it. Behind her, her parents smiled warmly, softly.

Soft things die.

Aki was made to be alone. Everyone she had ever cared about was dead or better of left alone. She was a Shinobi with no ties. That was her hell.

I don't want to be in hell anymore.

Aki made a stupid decision, a decision made entirely without rationality. She held out her phone and tried to put on the best imitation of a smile.

"Sure, let's exchange numbers."

Soft things die.

Rok… six… O'cloc—

Nomu… Ura

It? He? Thing? Flesh-sack?

He stared at himself in the mirror, confused and numb. He could feel. Some kind of weird pop song kept playing in his head, the kind that brought out warm fuzzy feelings and longing. He only knew aching, empty, longing. But that song made him feel a certain kind of way.

He stared at himself in the mirror, fully formed… maybe. He was a pathetic creature, lumpish and plain with circular beady eyes and no hair save for a few visible strands on his head. He had stubby hands and feet with no visible fingers or toes and wore nothing aside from being marked with the number "6" on the left side of his back. The "6" was new. Maybe that was his name. The Number 6. He only knew two other people with names, and they were Dabi and Kuroishi Akiho. Those weren't numbers, and he was pretty sure Kuroishi Akiho was going to keep calling him flesh-sack if he didn't figure out his name.

Frustratingly all he could do was sit in front of the mirror, stare at himself, and keep hearing the same broken words repeated in his mind. It was like putting a life-long puzzle together with missing pieces and no reference. Frustrating was a subtle way of putting it.

"Are you a chronic narcissist or something?" the burnt man asked him.

He didn't like Dabi. He was brash and didn't treat him with any respect. It also looked like the man was keeping an eye on him every second of every day, just ready to burn him to a crisp. It sent shivers down his spine. He hated fire. He remembered it clearly, burning alive. He didn't know how or what the context was of his "death", but it involved flames.

"I am finding myself," he replied.

"Alright flesh-sack, you can find yourself in other ways. How about you get a hobby and start paying for rent too," Dabi asked.

He frowned. "I can work… yes. I am capable."

Or at least he was pretty sure he was. He had mobility, and he recalled the feeling of having worked before. He couldn't work now. Why was that?

"With your stubby hands? What exactly can you do, or do you not remember that either?" Dabi asked, tsking.

"I do not remember," he replied in frustration.

Why could the burnt fool not realise this was as frustrating for Dabi as it was for him. He just wished he could be human, have hands, not be looked at like he was a weird inhumane creature.

"What the fuck! What are you doing?" Dabi asked.

He wasn't doing… oh…

He looked at himself in the mirror and he was met with the face of Kuroishi Akiho. It didn't fit. It felt wrong, but he saw her there instead of the vague outline of the person he was. Unfortunately for him that was the moment the girl who saved him decided to walk into the room. She paused as she looked at him, and he looked at her.

"What. The. Fuck."

"It's me… flesh-sack," he said with distaste.

She didn't jump to kill him like he thought she would. She grabbed the purple idiot's hand and held it down, glaring at him as he began smoking up the room. He suspected Dabi wanted to end him right now.

"So you're some kind of shapeshifter, flesh-sack?" Akiho asked.

He frowned. "No."

"Then why do you look like me? I don't appreciate that. I might in fact choose to kill you if you continue to be in that form," she said coldly.

There it was. He was confused by her, but she felt familiar too. One moment she spoke kindly, holding him and keeping him safe, but sometimes she liked to remind him that she was cold too. Like steel. Her voice went hard, and she cut through his chest in a way that hurt.

He liked it.

It was rare for him to feel anything other than the aching, empty longing for something he couldn't even grasp or comprehend. Even fear felt nice in the nothingness that was his frustrating existence. He still forced himself to change back to his 6 form, as he liked to call it.

"Goddammit Kuroishi. This is some, body-snatcher horror movie now. We should kill it and end this nightmare," Dabi groaned.

Aki shot him a glare. "I took him in, and now he is my responsibility. If he crosses me, I can kill him easily. You can kill him easily. Only if and when he shows any intention to hurt us will I let you lay a finger on him."

"Let me?" Dabi growled, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"That's right Dabi. Want to test me?" Akiho snarled back, drawing out a blade.

Dabi's hands grew hot with flames and now he was done with their quarrelling. It was not good for him they did.

"I won't hurt you both," he said, cutting through their fight.

"Oh yeah, how can we trust you?" Dabi asked.

He crossed his arms. "I don't feel anything strongly… no hatred, no love, no pain. It's all muted if it's even there. But desire… to find out who I am, I feel that strongly. I don't feel anything for you specifically, so I won't hurt you."

Akiho tilted her head at him, calculating eyes dressing him down to his core. They were pitch black… like his eyes. They were so similar in that way.

"You directed that towards Dabi. So you do feel a certain way for me?" she asked.

"I do," he admitted. "You remind me of someone I can't place. He was strong. Stronger than anyone in this world. Powerful and cruel."

"I'm not the strongest," she interjected.

"You aren't… but you feel the same as him. I only recall that he moulded me. Maybe you can too?"

He wanted something, anything. At this stage if she gave him a purpose he would take it eagerly, to be done with his confusion. She hummed in thought, tilting her head like she always did when she was thinking.

"Okay," she said.

Dabi huffed. "Fuck this messed up shit. I'm going out to eat. Don't fucking follow me."

Aki rolled her eyes and picked him up. She held him like a baby which was a little annoying, granted walking around in this form was difficult. She pulled open her laptop.

"What do you remember about this world exactly?" she asked.

"Nothing, just feelings. I can do things that I think my previous self was trained to do. But until I try, I am not aware of it," he answered.

She nodded. "Can you use the internet?"

He clicked the keyboard and held the mouse. He could, he realised, so he nodded his head. She hummed appreciatively.

"Good. Looking at yourself in the mirror won't accomplish anything. And I'm not here to mould you flesh-sack. I admit, I took you in initially because I have a weakness for small helpless things. Now I feel obligated to see this through."

"Why?" he asked. "You are like my memories. A puzzle. I could become a threat in the future."

"Yes, you could. But you are human like us. Maybe not a human in the traditional sense, but a creature capable of complex thought. What someone like Dabi sees as frightening and unknown could also be something… worthwhile."

"You think I am worthwhile?" he asked, some new feeling sparking in his chest.

"That is yet to be seen. Life is a series of calculated risks. I took a risk with you, nothing more. Whether you are worthwhile or not now, is up to you."

"You really are like him," he said.

She looked at him with her usual passive expression. "I don't know who you're talking about."

He thought about it for a second and laughed for the first time. "I don't know who I'm talking about either. Isn't that funny?"

Her expression said she didn't think so, but he doubled down laughing and laughing. Then he looked at the number on his abdomen.

"I have a temporary name for now. I'm Number Six," he said.

Aki nodded, easily agreeing with his decision. "Nice to meet you, number Six. Now research this world before you do anything stupid. And if I see you wearing my face again, you're dead."

"Sure thing boss."

Hacking was something Aki was fascinated by, as were robotics. The technology of this world was truly exciting. If Iwa had half the tech here, they would have dominated the war. Long distance communication via phones, and other devices would have absolutely changed Shinobi warfare. Sometimes she contemplated how life would be different if she could bring pieces of knowledge back to that world. But the very idea of it was distasteful. Shinobi hoarded information like billionaires here hoarded wealth. Something like the world wide web would have instilled too much division within villages. Propaganda wouldn't work quite as well, or maybe it would work better?

"You are my new student?" a high-pitched voice asked, taking her by surprise.

Aki looked at her laptop, now showing a love heart symbol with expressions on it. What an odd choice for a logo.

"I am. You are La Brava?" she asked.

"Yes. I admit I haven't taken many students before," she said.

Aki got the impression she was flustered, even through the obvious voice modulator being used. She supposed this is what Moriko meant by skilled hackers mostly not being field ready.

"That is alright. Instruct me to the best of your ability and I promise to be a vigilant student," Aki said.

"My, you're rather polite for a villain! Well then, no time to waste. What forms of hacking are you currently familiar with?" La Brava asked.

"I have basic knowledge of how to use malware through phishing, social engineering, and SQL injections. But so far, I am more adept at countering it than actually doing it. I've learnt what I can from a cyber security course I've taken, but it's only the basics."

"Those courses are great as a starting point," La Brava said quickly. "Usually when you learn cyber security, they also teach you how to think like a hacker. Which is important since you'll want to be aware of what they're thinking of you too. Helps get around situations better. I'm sure you'll easily be able to pick up phishing and malware on your own. Those kinds of hacking takes time. The ones you do on the field are much more immediate, and therefore harder."

Aki nodded in response as she was pretty sure La Brava had connected to her laptop's camera to watch her.

"Brute force attacks are the best in field. You'll find that having pre-written code helps, but being able to write it on the spot is important if you want to be able to adapt it to the changing landscape during a battle," she said.

Aki nodded along again, taking notes on a book.

"Okay, let me teach you how to write a worthy script—"

And just like that La Brava went on a lengthy, but rather spirited lecture on the best methods of hacking, and how to protect your own systems while targeting others. Aki began to quickly realise her equipment was really lacking. She only had a standard laptop, which she was installed good antivirus and software protection systems, but it was nowhere near the level of combating rebound malware. She figured that would be on her next line of expenses after she managed to pay the rent for this week first.

Time seemed to go by quickly under La Brava's instruction. She was concise and clear in a way that Aki had to admire. One of her best instructors so far if she had to say so.

"Well that concludes our time today. This was just a general overview. We can start practicing some scripting tomorrow, and then once you're brushed up on that we can start attacking each other."

Aki couldn't help the amused snort, and La Brava's avatar frowned in what she presumed to be confusion. "Sorry, it's just amusing to think of a context where I'm not 'fighting' someone physically."

"I've read up on your file, you know," she said.

"I assumed you would," Aki replied cooly.

"What I don't understand is, how could someone with such minimum training nearly take out Stain himself?" she huffed.

"Maybe my quirk was just too good," she pointed out.

La Brava's avatar shook its head. "Nope! Wrong answer! If all it took was a superior quirk, then Stain would have lost to several heroes before him. You had training before in hand-to-hand combat, but I couldn't pull up any files on you training anywhere."

Aki shook her head. Of course they couldn't find it. She hadn't trained with anyone outside of Alley Cat in this world, but the training she had with the villain was done after her altercation with Stain, and it had barely been a week or two.

"I trained on my own. YouTube is surprisingly helpful," she said.

La Brava huffed. "Ok keep your secrets. If you did train all that on your own, you must be some martial arts prodigy. You're better of skipping learning this stuff."

La Brava actually sounded… insecure. Maybe not being useful in the field made her question her abilities. Aki didn't think of it as a weakness. Everyone had specialties. Often times it was the individuals who tried to dip their toes in everything that were useless.

"You need more confidence in yourself teacher. Everyone has their uses and a niche to fill. You've found yours, and now you can hone it, and wield it with real power," Aki said.

"T-Thank you… and what is… what is your niche, Kuroishi-chan?"

Aki didn't know. She wasn't a Shinobi anymore. She had always been a mid to long range fighter, adept in poisons, adept in jutsu, adept in taijutsu… never amazing at anything, except for one thing. She had kept her head on straight… well until someone lopped it off. Aki never showed weakness, never cried, never complained, and most importantly—she never faltered on a mission. She made decisions quickly, whether they were smart or not. She had learnt before that indecision killed more than making a mistake, so she never faltered.

People called her cold for not regretting the decisions that led up to her teams death. She didn't consider herself cold. There was just no use on dwelling on what ifs. She had made a decision and they had died. It was her fault, but also a known risk on the field. Aki only regretted their deaths, never her choices. It led to a successful mission.

A successful mission.

She grimaced at the thought and remembered that La Brava had asked her a question. Here she was thinking about things from another world long gone.

"I don't know La Brava."

"Maybe one day you'll find it. You're still young. You have time," she said.

Aki could only hope so.

Shouta was following a lead. He had to do it in his own spare time since he didn't want to incriminate Kuroishi Akiho for her crimes just yet. If he played it right, he could get the girl to stop whatever it was she was doing. He even considered getting involved with finding her a more permanent foster home, one that wouldn't abuse her.

He looked at her file. A missing child's file.

Kuroishi Akiho

Age: 14

Gender: Female

Quirk: Black Out (Black-listed)

Classification: Ocular Emitter Type

Black Out is activated upon eye-contact, sending high intensity signals to the brain to overload, causing haemorrhages and fatalities depending on the level of intent.

Immediate Family:

Father: Kuroishi Daiso

Gender: Male

Quirk: Lights Out

Classification: Ocular Emitter Type

Light's Out is activated upon eye-contact, cutting off neural pathways from the brain to the eye, blinding the target for up to 6 minutes

Mother: Unknown

History:

Confirmation of Abusive Home:

Kuroishi Akiho's case came to the attention of Hero Eraserhead, who conducted an assessment revealing her living conditions to be unsuitable and abusive. An evaluation of the home environment confirmed the presence of gross neglect, prompting intervention. In a written statement to law enforcement, Akiho's biological father, Daiso, acknowledged his inability to provide proper care for his daughter. Subsequently, he relinquished custody of Akiho, entering her into the foster system at the age of 4.

Foster Care Placement:

Akiho Mizuki was placed in first foster care home, where she resided for a period of 14 months. During this period, an incident occurred involving her and her foster brother, Manto Yuki. Manto Yuki possessed the quirk "Toaster," enabling him to generate heat within his palms. An altercation ensued between the two, resulting in Manto Yuki catching Kuroishi Akiho's hand. In response, Akiho involuntarily activated her quirk, leading to Manto Yuki's death. While legal charges were not pursued as it was labelled a quirk awakening disaster, Akiho was subjected to the application of quirk suppressant bracelets and mandated to attend quirk therapy and counselling sessions.

Therapist Evaluation:

Therapeutic assessments conducted on Akiho consistently indicated a subdued and introverted demeanour. Despite her reserved nature, there was no discernible inclination towards violent behaviour. Records from therapy sessions indicated a history of bullying at school, although no visible manifestations of violent or aggressive tendencies were observed when her quirk was suppressed. Following her compliance with quirk suppressant protocols, and in consideration of her overall progress, she was granted the privilege to discontinue the suppressant regimen upon reaching the age of 12. Her therapist concurred, leading to the termination of periodic therapy sessions. Mandatory therapy will only be enforced once a year as follow up. Vigilant monitoring on part of her guardians is recommended due to the nature of her quirk.

Middle-School Altercation:

A documented altercation occurred at Akiho's middle school, during which she was involved in a physical altercation with a male student. Witnesses present at the scene noted she attacked without provocation, causing notable injuries including dislocations and broken bones. This influence may have been due to Shinsou Hitoshi, whose quirk is brainwashing. The victims stated "he must have brainwashed her to be stronger than she really was and to attack them". Considering her previous lack of physical training in sports of martial arts, it was ruled that Shinsou may have been the cause of her misbehaviour.

Missing Notice:

Kuroishi Akiho was reported missing 1 week after her foster father Junyo Hajime last saw her on [date redacted]. No search party was deployed as Hajime did not wish to find her. The children at the foster home confirmed they did not know she was planning to leave.

.

And that was it. That was the end of her case file. Small and succinct. If this had been a child with parents, there would have been pages upon pages of information to peruse. He had approached the teachers in her class, but they all said she was quiet and unobtrusive. She asked questions and studied diligently, but they never cared or were too busy to pay enough attention to notice bullying or if she even had friends. She was a true wall flower.

One thing was clear; Kuroishi Akiho was unwanted and unloved by everyone in her life. Somehow that hurt Shouta more than the suspicion of her abuse in the system. Even he had friends to lean on in his early years, and more so than family they had been there for him during the hardest times. Akiho didn't have that, not when she was abandoned by her father, not when she activated her quirk in a traumatic way, and not now when she had run. He imagined the kid, alone and jaded.

He moved on to the last person who might have any real information. He hadn't wanted to approach any children about this case, considering it was very much off the books, but he had no choice now. He couldn't find Knuckleduster, and this was his only other option. So reluctantly he waited until Shinsou Hitoshi walked out of school, sporting a bruised face, and a long scowl.

"Shinsou Hitoshi," he greeted.

The boy jumped back and looked at him startled. "What the fuck! If you're a villain, I'll have you know I will fucking fight you. I'm not in the mood."

Shouta snorted. "Brave but stupid. I'm not a villain. I'm a hero." He held out his licence, and the boy looked at it closely before huffing a nod. He didn't expect even more hostility.

"What do you want, hero?" he asked, saying the word like it was a death sentence.

"I need information on a foster child that used to live with you," he said.

Purple eyes went wide for a moment and Shouta knew he had caught the boy's attention.

"What do you want to know? Is she alive?" he asked.

So the kid was worried. "She is alive. I am working on finding her, so any and all information you can provide for me will help."

The boy looked wary but there was a glint in his eyes. "You're trying to find her, right? Nothing else."

Shouta knew when someone was aware of illegal activities going on. He knew Hitoshi knew more than he was currently letting on, but something was making him afraid to say it. Eraserhead's licence was a blessing and a curse in these situations.

"Shinsou, I am an underground hero. Sometimes I take cases of the book. I want to keep Kuroishi from doing anything too stupid before it's too late. I can bring her back to a normal life, but only if I can get to her before she does something that can't be taken back," he said.

The boy glanced around and grit his jaw together, like he was mad at something, but he didn't know what.

"You really want to help? Why?" he asked.

"I'm a hero," Shouta said plainly.

Hitoshi laughed bitterly at that before he wiped away brimming tears. Shouta knew the look of someone who had held in a lot of pain for a long time. This was it. He resolved himself to also look into Hitoshi's living conditions too. He couldn't fail anymore children.

"Not a lot of heroes want to help people like us," he said.

Shouta grimaced. "I assume you mean people with 'villainous quirks'."

Hitoshi nodded and wiped the rest of his tears away before becoming more resolute. "I know it doesn't look good, and she's probably doing some stupid shit right about now, but she isn't a bad person. I swear! She was the only person who ever stood up to my bullies. At lunch she would pass her desserts to the younger kids and would say it's because she doesn't like sweet things, even though we all know it's a lie. But she never let anyone close… not even me…"

"I believe you kid. Did she say anything about where she would go, or indicate anyone she would currently be staying with?" Shouta asked.

Hitoshi considered it for a moment. "She said she wanted to do some small-time crime, running drugs and theft until she got on her feet. She said we would be independent contractors or something, but she was adamant that didn't mean villainy."

"If you use a quirk during a serious crime, it is considered villainy by law," Shouta said.

Hitoshi huffed. "I know that, but she doesn't seem to think so. The only thing I know for sure was that she did a job for a guy named Giran in exchange for a gun."

Shouta knew that name. He was a big-time informant and supplier in underground circles. So far, they hadn't been able to incriminate him in anything too big, but Shouta had always suspected he was the planner behind many successful villain jobs. If Kuroishi was already in contact with someone of his level, it wasn't good news. She wasn't just running drugs and doing small time crime. She was already in the Underground Fight Club, and he supposed with her skill level she could become a contracted killer. If that was the case, even he couldn't save her from the law.

"That was the last I saw of her… before the night. She… never mind."

"Shinsou, if it's important—"

"—If it was, I'd tell you okay," he grunted.

"I believe you kid. Now you want to tell me who gave you that shiner?" Shouta asked.

Hitoshi grit his teeth and looked away in embarrassment. "Just some kids at school."

"I can report it—"

"—You'll just make it worse," he interrupted again, his fuse getting shorter.

Shouta knew a hurt and angry kid lashing out at the world when he saw one. He wasn't one for physical affection usually, but he put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder and watched him shudder. For such a gentle touch to be repulsive—well it didn't paint a pretty picture. He could see the distrust in the boy's eyes and decided to move the conversation back on track, though he wanted to press about Shinsou's safety more.

"I know… this is hard for you. But I'll find your friend and stop her before she does anything she can't come back from."

"I… I didn't think anyone would help us," he said, voice cracking.

"Believe it kid, I'm here. Do you want some food?" Shouta asked.

"What?" Hitoshi asked back, caught off guard by his question.

"Any preferences?" Shouta asked again.

"I-I can't. We're needed at the house 30 minutes after school. If we're late we're…"

Hitoshi didn't finish his sentence, but Shouta knew it couldn't be anything good from the flicker of nervous fearful energy coming from the kid. Definitive signs of abuse then. By the looks of how skinny the kid was, it was becoming rather obvious.

"I'll talk to your guardian, and if they have a problem with it. Well they can cry about it," Shouta said, cracking a grin.

He drew a laugh out of the boy, who finally stopped slouching to stand at his full height, a spark of hope now in his eyes. "I want pizza."

"Pizza it is."

A/N

Here's another chapter. Sorry for the short hiatus. Life has been crazy busy.