Blame it on me

Blame it in me chapter 5

"You can't tell me?"

Another shake.

"But you can speak, right?"

The boy nodded.

"Do you know where your parents are?"

Tears started rolling down on the boy's face before he tilted his head down, his hands kept on his mouth still, but didn't offer a head gesture to answer the question, not like he really needed to as Shouta already had his suspicions.  He got his phone out of his pocket and called Ito again as studied the crying boy in front of him.

"Hey, can you send an ambulance and another officer to the same adress? I found an abandoned child, he's injured but won't say a word, so I don't know much more... thanks."

Shouta took off the top of his uniform and offered it to the boy carefully not to scare him away. The boy stared at him cluelessly for a few moments, not moving to take the offered warmth, keeping his hands on his mouth so strictly it looked almost painful. The kid obviously wanted to talk so badly yet stopped himself.

"Can I wrap this around you to keep you warm?" He asked and instead of a head gesture, the boy stared at him in awe for a long moment before stepped closer. Shouta's movements were followed by the boy's gaze as he wrapped his top around him slowly, covering the his bust and thighs. After Shouta backed away, the kid finally let go of his face and slowly put his arms through the sleeves that were way too long, but at least warm.

"Can you show me on your hands how old you are?"

The boy's shaky hands peaked out of his long sleeves as he showed nine fingers up. He was awfully small of a nine year old. Well... rather awfully skinny, his height seemed average. Shouta didn't want to believe the kid was nine year old. Hundreds of scenarios were already swirling inside his head about how exactly did that kid end up where he was now as he pulled his phone out of his pocket once again, opened his notes and handed the phone to the child.

"Can you write down what you can't say out loud? Let's start with your name."

The boy took the phone and wrote down his name using only one hand while the other, which was injured, was only used to keep the phone in place. He gave the phone back and Shouta read what he wrote.

"Hitoshi? You have a beautiful name, Hitoshi. Can you write down why you can't talk?" He asked and soon enough received an answer written into his notes:

My quirk is bad. I can control people I talk to.

"You mean you can brainwash people?" Asked Shouta as doubted a kid so innocent would make the decision he had a bad quirk on his own.

Hitoshi nodded as another loose tear rolled down on his cheek.

"My quirk can erase others'. Will you talk to me if I erase yours for the time being?" He asked and Hitoshi hesitated for a moment, but nodded again. Shouta erased his quirk in a split second. "You can talk now without activating your quirk. Are you unable to control it on your own?"