I'll be your island in the raging storm

- Chapter 47 -

His moms face contorts in disgust and annoyance as she watches him kick and scream, begging for her to help, to get his dad off of him. 

"Katsuki, why are you being so selfish? Don't you want to help us get our fortune back? Don't you love us?" 

Don't they love him?! If they did they wouldn't be making him go with this scary man, he doesn't, he won't go! His dad is carrying off to the man, and he screams and bites and kicks as hard as he can, so much so he gets even more dizzy with the fast motions, his body feeling like it's working on overdrive. 

But he's too small, too weak, to put up much of a fight. The man gives him a cruel grin before hitting the back of his neck so hard he sees stars, and soon after, nothing. He doesn't dream, but when he wakes up, his eyes are open in an instant and he bolts up. His brain doesn't process where the hell he's at, or who the people around him are. 

Not like he would recognize anyone even if he did have his bearings instantly. When his vision fully returns, the darkness hinders it. There are bars behind his back and all around them in a cage. But they are moving. He can tell by the rocking of the cage forward and back. There are other people in the cage with him, kids the same or around his age. 

"Are you okay? They threw you in here pretty bad..." 

He looks towards the corner opposite him, where a spikey haired redhead is looking at him, his face covered in dirt. A blonde kid with some sort of black marking in his hair sits quivering next to him, small hands gripping the red head's arm so tight his flesh pushes up from the gaps between his fingers. He doesn't answer, pushing himself further into his solitary corner. 

"They said we're going to be sold somewhere." 

A voice whispers from another corner, a dark-haired kid with pitch black eyes. 

"I want my mama! Take me to my mama right now!" 

Screams a girl with brown hair and eyes. She weeps, punching the bars and kicking, fat tears streaming down her face. 

"Shh! They'll stop and come hit us again if you aren't quiet Ura-"

 "Who cares who cares who cares?! Get me my mama! I wanna go home! Please...." 

Katsuki watches her cry until she stops, curling into a ball and shaking. He closes his eyes, feeling the movement of the cage. From what he can gather, that man kidnapped him. Well, not exactly kidnapped since his parents gave him to these bad people. He feels tears prick in his eyes and he sniffs, wiping his tears away. 

He can't cry, not right now in front of all these random kids. Despite saying that, more tears slip, and he wraps his arms closer around himself. What is he going to do now? He doesn't know how long they ride for, but it must have been days. Uraraka— He got her name from all the other kids constantly saying it— was the first to get sick. 

Her constant crying for her parents drained her energy, and no one ever stopped to give them any food or water. She went into one of the corners, and they let her sleep. When they tried to wake her up, her eyes were wide open, and her breathing stopped. He had never seen a dead body before and had no idea what death was like. 

But with that body huddled in the corner, he's sure that this is something he's going to have to get used to. He shouldn't have to get used to it. It was easy to get sick here. No bathrooms, no food, no water, and being in a small space for who knows how long, with a bunch of little kids. The only thought keeping him alive through the hazy sensations and the hot burning of his body were the lessons that the old women taught him in those warm afternoons outside. 

// Her wrinkled hands are clasped together as she watches him carefully, her face not revealing anything. 

"Be careful Katsuki, you're going to fall if you aren't paying attention." 

He looks away from her and goes back to focusing on climbing the tree. She had asked him to get some apples for her since that was her job for today. The other maids always put it up to her for the hard jobs, but Katsuki is here to help her. He grips another branch as he continues to climb, reaching for another apple.

 It's bright red, but when he turns it around in his hand, he sees a small hole. He drops it to the ground and continues to look. She had told him specifically to check for small holes or marks on the apples, because bugs can crawl into them and that isn't good.

 He never really learns stuff like that in his lessons (Which he's been told he no longer needs to go to for some reason) and the old woman always gives him shit for it. He sees the most perfect looking apple hanging higher, so he reaches for it, going on the tips of his toes, 

"Katsuki-!" 

He slips on the bark, feeling his body lose its weight for only a moment before he hits something. It still hurts, but he doesn't fall to the ground. There is a small grunt, and he quickly sits up, scrambling off the old woman who broke his fall by getting under him. She winces slightly, but meets his eyes, clearly worried. 

"Are you alright?"

 He isn't thinking about that right now, he's just fine, if she's hurt then- 

"I'm fine Katsuki. These old bones are a lot stronger than you would think. Come now, there is no need to cry..." 

Katsuki sniffs. He's not crying! Why would he care if she got hurt?! He barely gets the words out as more tears run down his face. She just smiles and hugs him. 

"It's okay, I'm okay, you don't need to get so worried. Let's try it again when you're ready." 

He sniffs, getting snot all over her uniform, his tiny hands gripping the fabrics of her skirt and nods, not moving from her warm embrace. She rubs his back soothingly as he cries, and when he's ready, he climbs the tree again, getting perfect apples. //