Fresh Flesh (Bkdk, Dkbk)

- Chapter 49 -

The little kid jumps and looks at him, green eyes wide. His eyes are puffy and slightly bloodshot, his cheeks red from him wiping his cheeks and the tear tracks. 

"I-I'm sorry..."

The little kid is still crying, though it's a little quieter. He watches him, and finally after a couple of more minutes, he calms down. Nothing really happens, the sounds of other kids playing and laughing filling the silence. 

The little kid is hugging his knees close to his body, tucked away in the corner across from him. He wonders what this kid has wrong with him to not immediately scream and run off by seeing him. He debates whether he should eat him or not, but he doesn't really feel hungry right now. 

"So?" 

The kid looks at him, big eyes shining with confusion. 

"W-What?" 

If he had eyes, he's sure he would be rolling them. 

"Why did you come over here to cry." 

The kid doesn't say anything, looking hesitant, before he answers quietly. 

"I wanted to play with everyone, but they said I wasn't allowed to. They said only kids with dads are allowed to play, and they told me to leave." 

He doesn't really get the whole thing with humans having such ties to their families or how they all want to be accepted by some other human. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but by the way this kid's soul smells, it must be crushing. 

"My mama won't come until the little hand goes to the five... I wanna go home..." 

The kid starts to cry again, and Katsuki internally groans. He should probably just leave and go somewhere else, but this crybaby would probably cry himself to death, which means no soul to eat. 

He will probably get hungry in a bit, and it would be easier to just take this kid instead of having to lure someone else over here. 

"I'm sure your mom will be here soon, don't start crying again." 

He cries. That was the first time he ever met that kid. He would come over almost immediately after his mom dropped him off. For the first couple of days, he would just sit there and cry, saying how he missed his dad, and how his mom seemed sad, and how he wondered why he ever left. 

He would just sit there and listen, sometimes putting in small comments. He was never really hungry when the kid came around, which was weird. He realized that the talks with this kid were the longest conversation's he's had since his first memories. 

After weeks of talking, he finally seemed to ask important questions.

 "What are you?" 

Big green eyes stare at him, waiting for an answer. He doesn't really know what to say, thinking for a bit before he lands on, 

"I'm a monster." 

Izuku tilts his head slightly, green curls shifting with the movement.

 "Bad monsters hide under my bed. I don't think you're a bad one. You're nice." 

He doesn't say anything, but Izuku doesn't seem really concerned about it, because his eyes light up, a smile appearing on his face. 

"We should play a game!" 

He watches as he stands up, his hair brushing against the top of the 'ceiling'. He huffs, not really interested. 

"No." 

Izuku frowns, then pleads. 

"Please? It will be fun! Let's play tag!" 

He sees his eyes tearing up, and groans. 

"Fine." 

What a crybaby. Izuku smiles brightly, hopping around, his head almost slamming against the plastic ceiling. 

"Okay! I get ten seconds to run, and you try to catch me!" 

He's seen other kids play this game, but he doesn't think it will be that fun, since he can just appear in front of him anyway. But he looks excited, and he ignores the way that he wants to go along with it. 

"One," 

Right when he starts counting, Izuku rushes off, giggling as he climbs up the play place. He counts, and when he reaches ten, he smells for his soul. He finds it a couple of levels above him. He appears in front of him, and Izuku stops, falling back. 

"Got you." 

Izuku scrambles back. 

"No, you didn't! You have to tag me!" 

"What?!" 

"Yeah!" 

"How am I going to do that if I can't touch you!?" 

Izuku blinks, his brows furrowed slightly. 

"You can't touch me? Then how are we going to play?" 

He wants to scream at him. 

"That's what I'm saying." 

Izuku hums, and sits down on the ground, thinking. He looks down at the ground below at the kids running around, some being helped by the workers of the daycare. Izuku jumps and grins at him. 

"I have an idea! Why don't you pretend?!" 

"Pretend what?" 

"That you can touch me! My mama says that pretending is good when you play! Pretend to be a kid, and then we can play tag!" 

Izuku is hopping around again, and he sighs. He's seen other creatures change their shape, but he has never actually tried it before... He tries to focus, but the kid hopping around doesn't help. 

"Hey! Stop doing that for a second!" 

Izuku quickly stands still, an apologetic smile on his face. 

"Sorry!" 

He goes back to focusing. He imagines himself, being molded into something else. A child. Preferably slightly taller than Izuku so he can catch him faster. He thinks of red eyes and blond hair and feels something shift. It's like a gear, turning, and he feels his form change. 

A high squeal makes him open his eyes. He's not hunched over anymore, looking right into Izuku's eyes. The green haired boy grabs his hands, and he is slightly surprised with how... warm they feel. Izuku is back to jumping around, this time holding his hands. 

"You did it! We can play now!" 

The feeling is slightly disorienting, and he feels... good that he managed to do it. He looks down at his arms, his legs, and his toes. He squeezes Izuku's hands.