Word Count : 1422 words
_______________________________________________________________________________
( 10 Years Ago )
( Dabi POV )
I slowly lifted my hood up, and set out into the posh locality of Meguro, East Tokyo.
After walking a fair distance, I took a shortcut through the alley opposite Hamamatsu, and soon entered Meguro.
The date was 5th July.
After avoiding a few Pros here and there, and finally stood in front of the sprawling (L/N) Mansion.
The place had been wrecked beyond recovery. The Heroes were still trying to do their jobs of cleaning up the bodies, but were doing it half-heartedly.
I grimaced at the sight.
No child should go through this hell.
A soft nuzzle roused me out of my thoughts, and I turned my head back ever so slightly to catch a glimpse of a small black-haired boy on my back.
"You awake, kid?"
He sleepily rubbed his eyes, and nodded at my direction.
The sun was slowly setting. The days were slowly getting shorter, and there was only just enough light to see where you were going.
"You're sure you wanna go through with this?" I asked one last time, but the kid remained adamant, and nodded vigorously.
"Well then, this was your house. Which way do we enter to avoid those Heroes?"
"..... from the side," he replied softly after a pause, and buried his head in my neck again.
"Don't fall asleep again," I muttered under my breath, and I set off in the direction the kid had pointed me in.
We soon entered dense shrubbery, and I walked deeper into the garden that threatened to swallow me whole.
We had walked a fair distance from the road. This part of the (L/N) Mansion was inaccessible from the outside if you didn't know what you were searching for.
After walking a few more meters, he pulled my collar, signaling me to stop.
"Here?"
"Here," he replied slowly, and pointed at the massive brick wall that separated the (L/N)s from the world.
"..... this is a wall, kiddo."
"....."
(F/N) slowly jumped off my back, and held my hand tightly.
He pulled me, and nudged me to follow. I complied.
The kid drew out his other hand, and started feeling around on the wall. I raised my eyebrows in suspicion, but did not say anything.
"This one."
His small hands stopped over certain brick, even though it looked exactly the same as all others on that wall.
"Push it."
I glanced at the kid once, and after a few seconds, bent down to his height, and slowly applied some force on the said brick.
The piece immediately gave way, and soon several bricks moved together at once, revealing a small doorway, just at enough height to probably handle one person. You'd have to crawl to get in, though.
"So there's a secret entrance here, huh?" I mumbled incoherently. I slowly looked at (F/N), who had an uneasy and fearful expression on his face.
"What's wrong?"
"..... I hope she got away safely," he muttered slowly. "Away from those bad guys..... that fire-man....."
I unconsciously gripped my coat a little harder.
So he's out there, ruining the lives of other kids as well?
"Come on. Your sister made it through, I'm sure. We'll find her soon," I reassured the young boy, and he nodded.
The kid, being of small stature, easily walked in through the hole in the wall, but I had to bend and squirm over a bit to finally get myself in. Of course, not gonna mention the help from the kid, who was pulling me by my collar from the other side.
I picked myself up hastily, and slowly picked up the child on my back. "Don't walk too much. Your injuries haven't healed yet."
"Okay," he breathed out slowly.
"Close your eyes," I ordered.
"..... why?" he asked me with a confused look on his face.
"Just..... don't ask. Close your eyes."
He stared at me for a few seconds, but meekly obeyed me, and closed his eyes, burying his head in my neck once again. His soft, warm breathing hit my neck in rhythmic movements.
He doesn't need to see the horrors inside the mansion again.
I braced myself for whatever was to come, and slowly took my first step into the Estate's Vast Forest. The shrubs and small weeds seemed to have grown a lot because of the incessant rain throughout the week, and I carefully avoided stepping on anything nasty.
I traced the inner side of the wall, eventually hiding behind the trees or shrubs in case of any suspicious movement beyond the forest.
As soon as I exited the forest, a grim sight greeted me.
In front of me were several bodies, all mutilated and severed. From their apparel, I could make out maids, butlers, drivers, houseservants, cooks.....
The blood had dried up on the floor, but some diluted blood continued to remain, courtesy to the heavy rainfall Tokyo has been witnessing for the past week. The stench from the pile of corpses was unbelievable.
"Kid, bury your nose deep down in my collar, yeah?"
He nodded again, and pushed his nose even deeper into my hood.
I left the gruesome scene behind, and walked over to the broken-down part of the west side of the Mansion.
It had been over 10 minutes. I finally reached the spot that the kid told me about.
I looked around for any Pro Heroes. It had already become dark, so clean-up operations were suspended until the next day.
It was eerily quiet, and a haunting wind blew across my face.
"We're here, (F/N)."
The boy opened his eyes, and stared at the massive rock in front of him. A boulder so big, that even I gawked at it. What was this thing doing in the garden?
"This boulder, right?" I asked.
"Yes," he replied almost immediately, and shuffled down on his feet. "It's this one."
"So, what did you want to do now that we're here?"
He did not respond, but instead, slowly limped and walked towards the broken-down fountain, just a few meters away.
He stopped in front of the centerpiece, and picked up a sharp looking rock from the pile, probably a piece of lonely flint.
"Pick me up," he said, and he motioned for me to bend down. I rolled my eyes, and bent down to his height.
He slowly climbed onto my back, and made it all the way to my head, almost to the point where he was sitting on my neck. I hoisted him up slowly.
"There," he pointed towards the rock, and I positioned myself just in front of the boulder.
The boy slowly brought out his flint, and scratched the surface of the boulder on the top with an ear-piercing screech. He slowly drew a line, another line, a curve. And finished writing a small, untidy kanji.
'Matsuo (L/N)'
"Someone you knew, kiddo?"
"He was my butler," he said slowly. "He was a nice person. He always brought me ice-cream."
(F/N) lifted his hand up next to the newly engraved name, and carved out another name.
'Yuzuha (L/N)'
"She was Yui's babysitter," he said, as though reminiscing a long life. "She used to get angry at Yui for not cleaning up her room..... Yuzuha-chan was always so cool....."
I chuckled. "Sounds like fun."
"It was," he said. "Until they came."
My thin smile was replaced by a frown, and I looked up to stare closely at the young boy.
A boy who had everything taken away from him. At the ripe young age of 8.
I balled up my fists in unconscious anger.
(F/N) carved out several names onto the rock, all while telling me more about them. He told me about how his driver once played a prank on him by going around in circles in the middle of Shibuya. How (F/N) took the blame of breaking an expensive vase to save his favorite maid. How once Yui had drawn all over the walls in their parent's bedroom because she wanted to 'surprise' them on their anniversary.
At last, he came to the last name. The entire boulder was carved out, with over 60 names on them. It was a wonder that the kid remembered all these names.
Right at the bottom, he slowly bent over, and wrote a final name on the rock.
My eyes widened upon seeing that name.
"But (F/N).....!"
"It's ok," he said, trying to put on a brave face, tears finally flowing down his young face. "It's true, right?"
"....."
I had no response.
This kid had been traumatized beyond saving.
He'd seen what most men can't even imagine happening, even in a war.
That day, I made a promise to myself.
That I would protect the young boy in front of me with all I had.
He stared at me cluelessly, wondering why I was quiet for so long.
"Let's go home, (F/N)."
I picked up the boy, and slowly walked out of the dreadful mansion he once called home.
A ghastly wind blew across the now newly-carved rock.
The last name stared back hauntingly.
'Yui (L/N)'
________________________________________________________________________________