Blame it on me

Blame it in me chapter 5

Hitoshi was getting better, he learnt to smile again, he rarely had any nightmares, therapy was working out, he even started making friends at school. He changed so much, yet somehow whenever Shouta looked at him, he still saw the shadows of the abandoned little boy he stumbled upon on the luckiest day of his life.

Shouta dashed across the top of a building, chasing the villain that got away after a bank robbery. The villain was running on the pathway, glancing over his shoulder to check if he was being followed, not knowing Shouta was going to attack from above. Shouta used his capture weapon to lower himself on the side of the building and wrapped the villain up in his capture weapon easily, then tossed him on the ground. He picked his phone from his pocket and dialed Ito's number to have him send someone for the villain. After he ended the call, he wanted to sit down to wait for the police car to arrive, but a rattle caught his attention from a dark blind alley.

Something moved over there just a moment ago and Shouta could only guess it was a cat he was more than eager to find. He walked closer to the dumpster he thought the sound came from, hoping to see what exactly was hiding in the shadows.

"I know you're in there, come out now, I'm not here to hurt you." He cooed and bent down a bit to rest his hands above his knees.

He hoped for a cat, but wouldn't really be surprised if it was just a rat or something, his relatively open minded prediction could in no way prepare him for the sight of a child stepping forwards from between the brick wall and the dumpster. He froze completely from the realization he was actually staring at a fucking child. Behind a dumpster. Alone in a dark ally in the middle of the night.

What the fuck?

The little figure stepped closer to him silently and as if it wasn't obvious, Shouta's guts twisted from the thought that something was really wrong.

"What are you doing back there, kid?" He asked but gained no answer. It was too dark to even see more than the thiny frame of the child standing a few feet away from him.

"Are you hurt? Can you come out of there?" He spoke again to no answer from the child once more, but a moment later, the small silhouette stepped closer to him, just enough for the streetlights to reflect on his skin and make him visible for the pro hero.

The boy was bare feet, only wearing a pair of gray shorts and dirty white T-shirt, shivering with either fear or the fact he was underdressed. He was embracing himself tightly, hiding one arm under the other. He was skin and bone, clearly starved. His messy, purplish hair was covering half of his face, barely letting those sunk in eyes see through. The kid looked beaten and terrified, yet for some reason he came close to Shouta.

"Hi, my name is Eraserhead. I'm a pro hero, you have nothing to be afraid of." Shouta said as crouched down to be on the same level with the kid. "Can you tell me your name?"

The boy opened his mouth to answer, but quickly shoved his hands across his own mouth to stop himself and shook his head violently. Only then did Shouta notice one of the kid's forearms were swollen and bruised.

"Who hurt you?" He asked only to be greeted by another head shake.