I didn't answer the boy's question, instead, my mind trailed back to what had transpired inside my house. I had been knocked out by my father and my mother had been slightly wounded. My eyes widened as I felt my body dart upwards, but I let out a yell of pain as I hit the ground, the pain in my arm coursing though my body.
"Be careful." Shinso said as he approached me, his voice uncharacteristically caring.
"Huh?" I looked up at him as the other boy helped me up, grabbing my left arm which had been left unscathed. He sat me back down on the bench and took a step back, assessing my condition. "Your arm is broken."
"It is. Is that a problem?"
At that moment the indigo-haired boy let out a long, almost disappointed sigh. "Of course it is. Your arm is broken, dumbass."
"You need to rest for a while, but not here." Shinso's usually stoic and eyes flickered with a strike of ambivalence.
"Mind if I carry you?" Shinso's expression was unreadable, but I could tell he meant what he had asked.
"What?..."
"You don't look that muscular, you're actually quite small." Shinso's lips curled into an almost teasing smile as he slowly picked me up. My heart began to pound, why was he making such bold moves? I thought the boy had negative opinions on me?
"Why are you...doing this?" I looked up at the taller boy, my face heating slightly. Shinso sighed softly as he looked down at me, his eyes regaining their routine indifference. "You're hurt, obviously."
"But why can't you just call an ambulance?" I felt a tiny amount of sweat begin to gather as it sprinkled down my face.
"My father is a doctor; he'll know how to treat you."
"Oh."
Shinso continued to carry me through the park, his eyes laid on the path ahead, not bothering to look down at me. He didn't even ask if I was feeling nauseous. Either he didn't care and he wanted me out of life quicker or something inside him was...different.
The park around us was silent, the only indication of where Shinso had to go were the streetlamps of the park lining the trail I usually walked down. I knew exactly where home was from here, so if something were to occur I could run right back to it.
I began to wonder what was currently happening at my house. My mother had passed out after my father had beaten her up, and the two of them are all alone. My heart continued to race, and I felt like I wanted to cry—not out of sadness—but out of stress.
"We're almost there." Shinso's voice cut through the depths of the silence around us. I flinched slightly from the sudden voice, but I felt a small pang of relief when it was Shinso and not a foreign voice or my fathers.
My body began to gradually relax in Shinso's warm arms, but my mental state and concern for my parents lingered over me like an omnipresent phantom. I began to take deep breaths in an attempt to calm myself, but the current circumstances of being in the arms of someone close to a stranger and what was transpiring back home kept me from doing so.
"How'd you even get there?" Shinso asked, looking down at me with a slightly soft yet expectant gaze.
"I...I don't remember. I passed out in my kitchen and I woke up on the bench. And you were there."
Judging by the boy's question, he didn't know how I had ended up there, but he just happened to be there.
"You don't remember?" Shinso cocked one of his thick, purple eyebrows.
"No...it all happened too quickly. He'd never been so intense and violent before. Sure, I've seen bleeding...but...he'd never wanted to go that far."
"Who?" Shinso's voice lowered to an almost dangerous extent. His purple eyes widened slightly as I felt his grip around me tighten a little.
"My...father. He's an alcoholic." I replied, looking down at the ground. I felt tears begin to form in the corners of my eyes, but I quickly wiped them away, not wanting to appear weak in front of the taller boy.
"That explains a lot. My parents do drink but they don't abuse the stuff. I'm...kinda sorry that happened to you." The boy's tone changed as his voice gradually softened. His purple eyes flickered with something I never thought I'd see in them. Empathy.
"T-thanks." I looked down at the ground again, a faint blush coating my cheeks. Shinso continued to carry me for a few more minutes before leaving the park and placing me down on another bench to catch his breath.
"All that training with Eraserhead really pays off." He grumbled to himself as he began to stretch his arms, the audible yet faint sound of popping joints could be heard behind me.
"Eraserhead?" I looked back at Shinso, feeling a tinge of curiosity rising inside me.
"Mr. Aizawa. Doesn't he teach your class?" Shinso looked down at me, his brows creasing inward. "Did he not tell you his hero name, or did you hit your head after you lost consciousness?"
"He...never told me."
"Well, good news, glasses, we're almost at my house." Shinso approached me again and picked me up, the action taking little strain on his body. I heard his back pop a little as he did so.
"That's...good to hear."
...
We approached a single floored house with a white outside, in a neighborhood about a half mile away from the park. Shinso had stopped numerous times on the way, resting against trees and taking sips of water from his bag. He even offered me some on the way here.
The indigo-haired boy extended his hand, knocking on the door a few times. He then stepped back and waited with me in his arms. Most of the lights in the house were on, and I could faintly hear voices. A few moments later the door opened, and a gruff looking man with shaggy purple hair, clad in a white coat used by doctors, opened the door.
His eyes were hyper-critical in appearance, but they quickly lost that look when his gaze shifted onto me and Shinso. "Mihoko, Hitoshi's got a boyfriend!" The man turned back and yelled into the hallway.
"Dad!" Shinso groaned, his face turning a shade of red adjacent to a cherry.
"Sorry, kiddo." Shinso's father let out a dry, sarcastic sounding chuckle as his gaze shifted to me, who was still in Shinso's arms bridal-style.
"Who might you be?" He crossed his arms over his chest in a similar fashion to his son, cocking his head to the right a little.
Before I could respond, Shinso took the lead. "I found him in the park, his arms broken." He gestured towards my right arm, which had turned a slight shade of blue.
"Oh shit. You couldn't have gotten him here faster?" The man's eyes widened as he reached out quickly and took me from Shinso's warm arms. The man who was now holding me smelled of antibiotics, latex and a faint amount of blood.
"Consider yourself lucky I'm a doctor, kid. You wouldn't want your parents paying thousands worth of medical bills. Even if you have insurance it'll reap your pockets, heh." Even as he made that joke in an attempt to lift the mood, his demeanor and expression still appeared determined.
He led me into the living room, placing me on the couch and laying me down. "Med-kits down the hallway, don't move a muscle." The man's voice sharpened as he departed from the room.
Shinso's house was surprisingly casual in appearance considering Shinso' demeanor. I had honestly expected heavy metal posters and gothic decorations everywhere, but the sleek, almost modern appearance of the house was something I could only dream of back home. Across from the couch was a large window showing the rest of Shinso's neighborhood.
It was much like the neighborhood I went to where I had felt like I was being watched, but here, I felt almost at peace. A type of peace someone felt when all their troubles lifted and disappeared from view. Just then, a woman with light purple hair, a somewhat round face and a gentle smile entered the living room. She was carrying a small tray.
"Sorry, I'm Shinso's mother. I thought you wanted something to eat." She placed the tray down onto the coffee table. It was a bowl of miso soup and a slice of buttered bread, accompanied by a cup of green tea. At that moment I felt a little embarrassed.
My father had broken my right arm, the arm I used to do everything. If I were to eat with my left hand I would most likely spill everything and cause a mess. After only an hour Shinso's family would probably want me out of their place.
"I...I." I fell silent, my cheeks flushing slightly as I struggled to make eye contact with Shinso's mother.
"Go on." Her voice softened, and she carefully placed a hand on my shoulder, attempting not to startle me.
"I...broke the arm I use...and I can't...uhm...eat with my left—I'd cause a big mess."
"No worries." The woman reached down and grabbed the spoon sitting inside the bowl, lifting my chin slightly as she slowly put it inside my mouth.
"I...I think I can eat myself, I can try..." I was too flustered and embarrassed to speak, my face flushing dark, my heart pounding. I saw Shinso standing by the front door, assessing me with a small smirk, one I only saw in the cat cafe.
"But you're hurt." Her eyes narrowed as her lips parted, her gaze filled with worry. I felt guilt begin to rise in my chest. I had told her I was capable of handling myself, but the way she almost seemed excited to help me made me feel like I was shattering a life-long dream.
I suppose I'll loosen my dignity for the sake of someone else.
"Actually...I...wouldn't mind it...thank you."
Shinso's mother smiled softly as she took another spoonful of the soup and fed it to me. The entire time her gaze remained on me, that same inscrutable concern etched in her face and prominent with every spoonful of the soup.
"I remember when Hitoshi was a baby. I can't help but get flashbacks doing this with you."
"Shut up." Hitoshu grumbled, letting out a low groan as he rested his head against the wall. I couldn't help but smile softly, feeling a little humored by Shinso's sensitivity to teasing.
"How was he when he was a baby?" I asked, my lips curling into a smile. Shinso's face flushed a deep red when he heard my question, and the way his fists coiled made it seem like he wanted to punch my face until it caved in.
"Well...Hitosh was quite the puker." Before Shinso's mom could continue her story, the boy's father entered the room carrying the red medical kit.
"Yes, I checked three times if we had bandages just to make sure. We even have casts." His expression remained stoic, but a faint smile teased the corners of his mouth as he chuckled.
The man unpacked the kit and took out a roll of gauze and a bandage, and a red marker.
"What's the marker for?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I slouched back against the couch.
"In case anyone wants to sign your cast." Shinso's father let out a low chuckle as he slowly reached out and took a hold of my limp arm, the limb having turned slightly darker than before we entered. "Is it ok if I knock you out?" He looked towards me with a serious expression.
"Uh..." I could feel my heart tighten.
"I'm joking, kid." The gruff looking man let out another chuckle as he began to treat my injury. After about ten minutes the cast had been fully applied.
"This'll be off in about a month." Hitoshi's father stepped back and clasped his hands together, assessing my arm as if to decrypt any hidden failures or problems.
"Six weeks?..."
"Yeah. Now kid, there's something we gotta know...what's your name?"
"Isaac." I replied, straightening my back slightly on the couch.
"Well, Isaac..." Hitoshi's father fell silent, exchanging a glance with his wife. "We're taking you in with us in the meantime."
Upon hearing his words my heart sank. They were taking me in? What about my mother, what about my family?
"My mother...my father..." It took an immense amount of effort to hold myself back from crying, the thought of not knowing the outcome was almost devastating.
"My father beat me and my mother up...I don't know if my mothers safe!" I could begin to feel the tears trickling down my face as I lowered my head into my knees, crying softly. I then felt a warm hand on my shoulder.
"Hey, hey...calm down." Hitoshi's mother spoke up, her voice a whisper as she wore a genuine and empathetic look.
I slowly looked up at Shinso's mother, my vision glossy and my cheeks stained with tears. "I want to know my mother's safe..."
"An hour ago we got a call down at the station saying that there was a domestic abuse case downtown. The suspect has been arrested...maybe your mother is safe."
"You're a police officer?"
Hitoshi's mother nodded. "It's been a dream of mine. Being able to Brainwash information out of criminals during interrogation is quite helpful."
"So...my fathers been arrested?"
Hitoshi's mother nodded. At that moment I felt a heat build in my chest, and an unexpected weight left my body. My father was finally gone, that bastard had left my life.