My new story comes out July 15th on Wattpad! <3
Tenko
12 years ago
Six months ago I found a boy in an alleyway made of skin, bone, grit, and not much else. It was meant to be a momentary imposition. Another mouth to feed for a few days. It wasn't meant to be whatever it turned into.
After the first night in my house, I woke up sitting upright at the foot of the bed, my head against the wall. The sunlight pooled into the window and chose the little boy's face that lay on the pillow. He slept through the night and then some. A wave of something akin to affection washed through me and though I didn't know what that signified, I didn't fight it.
When he woke, I heard his cautious footsteps come down the creaky staircase. It was as if he was afraid to create noise, to be a disturbance, to exist.
"Kaido," I called, standing at the stove.
He peeked into the kitchen, hiding. In the daylight, his eyes showed gray, a peculiar shade with darker endnotes and some red at the edges. His hair was short, but even then, gazing at him over my shoulder as I made him breakfast, I realized he didn't actually look like Dabi at all. There were some genetic notes, but nothing so all-consuming. His mannerisms, his expressions, anything and everything else were inherently him.
"Sit at the table," I said.
He wiped his nose, my shirt near reaching down to his ankles. Lifting himself up, he did as I asked and waited there with his hands on his lap. I put down a plate of eggs and an apple for him with some water. He looked at the setup with a foreign curiosity, the same kind as last night, inspecting the food rather than being tempted by it.
"You're not hungry?" I asked. He didn't really answer me. His jaw just fell slightly, some kind of fear in his eyes, as if my question was paralyzing him. "Kaido, what's wrong?"
He snapped back toward the food, clenching the shirt's hem in his fists. If it weren't for his wide eyes I could've sworn he was bracing for impact, waiting for something to happen to him. I took a step closer and he shut his eyes so tight he shook.
He was waiting for me to hit him.
He thought I was mad because he wasn't eating and he was waiting for me to hit him. I can't quite explain it, but the thought of him in pain made me angry. The thought of someone inflicting pain on him made me downright livid.
I took the plate off the table and cut up the eggs and skinned the apple, making slices out of it. Kaido was still tense, still breathing heavily. I didn't really know what to say. I just thought maybe he'd feel more comfortable if he didn't have to use a knife.
"Here. Use your fork like yesterday and don't eat too fast, you'll get sick. I don't want you vomiting on my rug."
I sat next to him and though I still don't know why, he wouldn't eat until I was eating too. It made me smile when he was calm, lost in his head. After that morning, I decided I'd keep him with me just one more day. So he could get his strength back.
That night, I taught him all the months in the year, the days in the week, and how to tell the time. He was a quick learner. Although he didn't like talking, so, he mostly pointed when I asked questions. When I asked what he wanted for dinner, he froze up, blinking at me.
It occurred to me that having a choice in any matter was a foreign concept to Kaido. So, I tried easing him into it. I said he had a choice between ramen and eggs. He said ramen. So, we ate ramen that night. After we were done, he adjusted the knife in his waistband and very uncomfortably rose from the table. He started walking toward the door with his head down.
