Blame it on me

Blame it one me chapter 1

Katsuki braced himself. He was battle ready. He knew exactly what was coming. The man's hand stayed frozen for a second as he couldn't touch the book and Katsuki was ready for it to form into a fist—

Except, it didn't. The black haired man pulled his hand back while looked at the book before spoke up:

"Hero laws? Where did you get that book from?"

Katsuki was utterly shocked. The man didn't sound angry, well, neither did his father when he... Katsuki swallowed hard as felt an invisible force squeeze his throat and cut off his air.

"Home." He whispered his answer, maintaining eye contact as he tried to blink away the memory he hadn't thought of in months.

Why the fuck was this coming back now?

"You like heroes?" The man asked softly, suddenly tearing his bored gaze from his and trailing slightly downwards. Katsuki knew what his eyes fixated on. It was the still fresh scar on his left cheek under his eye.

Katsuki tilted his head to the left as a try to block the man's vision of the scar and said: "I'll be the new number one."

He was ready to hear the man laugh at him and tell him he couldn't be jack shit and in no way a hero, or yell at him and start hitting him, but none of those happened as the man spoke up again: "Sounds like a plan. Wanna tell me more about it at the dinner table?"

Katsuki shook his head. Like he was a fucking idiot to walk into a trap. They'd make him watch them eat dinner while laughed at him for having ambitions. Katsuki didn't need anyone to believe in him. He had himself and no one else in this world and he learnt to be fine with that. However, that didn't mean he wanted to listen to those two strangers have the time of their life making fun of him.

"That's okay, too. Dinner is still ready, though. Hizashi loves my ramen and he's a picky eater, so it's probably not that bad."

So the loud one was Hizashi, then. Katsuki noted, not like he'd ever need that information as he was going to be out the door in no time.

"Are you coming downstairs to eat with us?" The man asked when Katsuki gave no reaction.

He shook his head again and was fully ready to get at least slapped for not giving a proper answer for the hundredth time in a row, but once again, the expected hit never came. A man of patience is what the black haired man was. Or he just liked to play games. Either way, Katsuki wasn't going to move a finger to do as he was told if this dude was the one giving out the orders.

"Okay then." The man said and stood up.

There it was. Katsuki tilted his head up to see what was coming, but the man walked out the door wordlessly. Katsuki blinked in shock. He couldn't believe the man just let him off the hook like that. Katsuki was most certain he was going to come back with something to punish him with, or maybe lock him in the room for a few days.

Katsuki listened to footsteps or any sign of movement while put his book back to his backpack in case he had to make a run for it. Long minutes passed by and when Katsuki started to believe he was simply left alone, he heard the soft thuds of a pair of feet getting closer. The tired looking man was back with a tray in one hand and a book in the other.

He placed the tray onto the nightstand, which Katsuki assumed had a bowl of that ramen he was talking about on it, and turned the lamp on next to the tray as the sun was setting low. Katsuki was too busy making up scenarios in his head about how he was going to get punished to notice how much time has passed.

The adult turned and walked towards him, then crunched down in front of him once again with the same neutral expression from before.

"I know my words mean nothing to you now, but this needs to be said: you don't have to be afraid of us, Katsuki."

"I'm not afraid. I can take both of you on at the same time." Katsuki spoke up, pure determination radiating through his words.

"I know you're strong, my point is that you don't need to be." The man answered instead of jumping on the challenge, and placed a manga onto the top of Katsuki's knees before continued: "This might be more fun to read than hero laws. I'm leaving for work soon and I won't be back until morning. Hizashi will stay at home with you and he'll probably come by to check on you and say good night. No need to get alarmed, he's loud but harmless."

Katsuki stared at the manga while the man spoke and tried to find where the twist was in all this bullshit.

"Do you remember where our bedroom is?" Asked the man and Katsuki nodded hesitantly. He recalled it was supposed to be downstairs, left from the front door, but he wasn't exactly sure which door, not like it mattered much.

"Don't hesitate to wake him in case you need anything, no matter what time it is." He said and Katsuki was completely weirded out at this point.

How fucking dumb did they think he was?

He started up at the man and couldn't trace a sign of him joking, which could only mean it was another trap. Maybe Katsuki should've just made it easier for all of them and walk right into one of their traps, make them mad and have them return him to the orphanage.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Said the man when he was done with his one sided conversation and left once again.

Katsuki briefly wondered what his job was, but the smell of ramen brought him to the realization he was, in fact, starving. He glanced up to where the smell came from, then his hunger turned into a stomachache as he realized the tray was on the nightstand.

He wasn't going to go near that thing. His lips pressed together firmly as he set the manga he was given to the floor. He wanted to read it, but he didn't want to touch what wasn't his and nothing in that house belonged to him. He hugged his backpack close to his chest and rested his head on the top of it. It was only a matter of time and he'd be thrown out. He heard the caretakers say it was a miracle somebody came for him in the first place. He could already see their faces when they'll see him back at the orphanage. None of them will be surprised.

Katsuki knew he was unwanted. His parents told him many times and so did the other kids and caretakers at the orphanage. But still... one broken piece of him that died a little every day hoped his parents would come for him. Maybe they just needed some more time to change their minds and forgive him. They always let him close again after he learnt his lessons in the past. Maybe they missed him as much as he missed them, and if not, then maybe at least half as much. Katsuki squeezed his backpack close and closed his eyes.

He just had to wait.