Chapter Text
“You ungrateful child! After everything we’ve done for you, you DARE ask for more?” SMACK
But, I’m hungry, you barely fed yesterday.
“Don’t look at me like that! You know you’re not allowed in the house, what if you curse my dear boy?”
I didn’t mean too, I’m just hungry.
Sighing as if this is a chore beneath her, she grips onto his hair tightly and drags him back outside. The boy catches the yelp in his throat, biting his tongue in hopes of not getting a worse beating, he really doesn’t want another bruise on top of the ones the kids at school gave him. He made sure his body was completely compliant with the movement forced by the hand in his hair, but not too compliant, because making Madam drag his heavy (read: incredibly light and malnourished) body would only make his punishment worse.
Having been in this scenario before, he doesn’t even know why he tried to sneak into the house in the first place. Yeah he was hungry, but now he’s hungry and about to get punished — a worse position than he was in prior if you ask him.
The walk to the shed wasn’t long, but each step had his stomach tying into knots. Madam opened the door, shoving Sakura into the rundown room. She slammed the door shut but not before scoffing and muttering how she would have to wash her hands to be rid of his “filth”. Hearing the door lock, the boy on the floor let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Madam was never one for physical punishment, and would rather lock him in the shed till either her or Sirremembered he existed. If enraged enough she would throw threats — no promises — of telling Sir about his actions so he would be dealt with. It was Sir who dealt out physical punishments, never really spending much time throwing words at Sakura, unless they were insults about him, his hair, his eyes, and when he really messed up, his mother. Constantly reminding Sakura about how it was his fault she had died, that she couldn’t spend a second longer on this earth knowing she had created such a mistake. And Sakura always believed him, for what is a child to do but believe the words of the elders?
Sakura sat up, rubbing the side of his head that Madam had grabbed, it feeling sore. He crawls into the furthest corner of the room, the corner holding his scruffy worn out futon and his more so worn out blanket and curled up tightly.
Maybe if he curled up small enough, his hunger pains would ease.
Maybe if he curled up small enough, he would disappear.
When he woke up it was dark enough for the streetlights to be on. The same streetlights that shone right onto his face—
Wait.
Onto his face? That’s not possible from the shed windows, it’s only possible from the DOOR—
Sakura immediately shoots up and shuffles so his back hits the wall, his gaze fixing onto the open door. Did Madam or Sirdecide that he does need a punishment after all? His mind starts to spiral but immediately stops when he realises the size of the figure is much… smaller?
The figure walks in, leaving the door open and makes their way to Sakura, sitting about a meter away. Sakura, confused, curious and scared, doesn’t know what to do but push himself further into the wall, hoping it would swallow him whole.
Who is this? Why are they here, and why are they staring at him like that??
The figure (who he’s realising is a boy now that he’s closer) digs through the bag he was holding— where did it come from— and pulled out.. a meat bun?
The moment Sakura’s eyes made contact with it his stomach growled, causing him to blush from embarrassment. His gaze shifted from the bun to the boy. Up and down. And once more. The boy then outstretched his hand towards Sakura and then stared at him, then the bun, then him again. Up and down. And one more.
The action made Sakura almost reach out for it but he hesitated. What if it was a trick? What if Madam and Sir sent him in as bait? A new face to gain his trust and then punish him for accepting the food?
The boy seemed to notice his hesitation, huffed and then proceeded to shuffle closer to Sakura, arm still outstretched with the meat bun.
The eye contact they were making was starting to freak Sakura out, but his curiosity and hunger was winning the mental battle in his head.
“Is that.. for me?” It came out in barely a whisper, but it was clear the other heard and when he nodded his head.
With the confirmation, Sakura inched closer till the bun was in reach and carefully took it from the boy. Looking up at him one more time for certainty, Sakura took a bite into the bun. It was a simple store bought bun, barely warm, but to Sakura it was like someone had given him gold. He scarfed the rest down with haste, only to be offered one more along with a bottle of water. He took both with the same amount of care but less hesitation. He took his time with the second bun, choosing to savour it this time while staring at the boy in front of him.
He could tell the boy was older than him, he couldn’t tell how old though, kind of difficult when you barely interact with other children. What really caught Sakura about the other boy was his eyes, a rich golden colour, that stared daggers into Sakura, but instead of it filling him with fear, it filled him with warmth. He didn’t feel like shying away from the constant stare, much different to how he felt when he caught the gaze of literally anyone else. He felt.. safe? It kind of made sense in his head, to feel safe with the first person to give him food and water with no consequences, to feel safe with someone who looked at him with something other than hatred or disgust.
He finished off the last of his meat bun and took a couple sips of water before looking back at the boy and giving him a small smile.
“Thank you,” he said in a voice a little louder than before.
The boy in front of him gave a reaction Sakura wasn’t prepared for. The boy’s eyes went wide before reciprocating the smile with one of his own, moving closer to Sakura, sitting right in front of him and reaching up to lightly pat Sakura's head. Sakura himself braced for pain when he saw the hand go up, only to relax when he felt the soft movements on top of his head. It carried on for a minute more before the boy got up and picked up the now empty bag he brought in with him, smiling at Sakura once more and leaving the shed.
Sakura’s gaze stayed on the door, somewhat confused and very much shocked about what just transpired. Someone willingly came within contact with him, and brought him food and water, and had pat his head? Part of him doesn’t want to believe it happened, that he was hallucinating the whole thing, but the warm feeling in his stomach and the half empty bottle of water beside him ensured him it was real.
With a small smile on his face, he got himself comfortable on his futon and curled up underneath his covers again.
I hope he visits again.
Takiishi Chika has never truly cared for others before, not how his parents pretend to care for him when in public, always flaunting his intellect, claiming that he’ll grow into a fine man, with a doctorate working as some specialist doctor, or whatever random occupation they came up with. Takiishi mainly ignored them whenever they started spouting nonsense like that, its not like they could force him to actually listen, his grades and attitude never slipped at school so he was never reprimanded, there was never a need too.
It all change one day. A day Takiishi refuses to forget. He had gone to school like normal, barely paying attention in classes but still making sure he completes the assignments perfectly as usual. Walks home alone, and goes straight upstairs to his room without greeting his mother, slamming the door as soon as he enters. He’s in there for about half an hour before he hears it.
His mother yelling.
“.. you DARE ask for more?” SMACK
Takiishi doesn’t care, at least that what he thinks. His body however is still walking towards the door, swinging it open and heading to the steps. He’s halfway down the steps when he freezes. Staring at the scene: his mother yelling at a child, manhandling him as the boy looks down at the ground. The scene has Takiishi feeling something he’s never felt before, clenching at his chest. He didn’t understand why he was feeling different, it wasn’t towards his mother, he’s never felt strongly towards her and he doesn’t think that it would ever change.
“Don’t look at me like that! You know you’re not allowed in the house, what if you curse my dear boy?”
His gaze shifts and focuses on the child whose back is towards him. The emotion he feels heightens as he fixates on the boy’s head. It’s an unusual hair colour, half white, half black. So unusual it’s got Takiishi entranced, so curious to see the rest of the boy, see his face.. get to know him?..
Takiishi has never, NEVER, wanted to get to know anyone before. He doesn’t care for others, not his parents, not his classmates (specifically that one boy that follows him around), not anyone. So why does his chest hurt, Ache, as he watches his mother drag the boy out of the house? Who even was this boy? Takiishi had never seen him before, he knows he wouldn’t have over looked that hair, so he doesn’t live in the house..
He makes his way back to his room and looks out the window to see his mother walk out the shed locking the door and dusting her hands together like she touched something distasteful.
The shed…
After dinner, Takiishi asked his mother for money (not really, he stuck his hand out and stared at her till she got the message and handed him some money) and made his way to the nearest convenience store and picked up two meat buns and a bottle of water. It wasn’t a lot but he thought it would suffice as a meal for the boy in the shed. To his knowledge no one had given him food for dinner, and based on the actions and movements of his parents after dinner, no one would. Takiishi doesn’t know why he’s doing this but he feels like its the.. right thing to do?
He doesn’t know where that thought came from but he doesn’t feel the need to push it away.. he wants to help him. He’s still trying to figure out why he cares so much for a boy he hasn’t truly met yet, hasn’t spoken too, hasn’t even looked in the eyes..
Regardless, Takiishi walks back home and beelines for the shed. The shed doesn’t have a proper lock on it, just a simple latch and flush bolt. Takiishi undid the locks and swung the door open. At first, Takiishi doesn’t see anything, the shed does look like there’s any life in there at all, it’s relatively empty except for a pile of worn out fabric. He could have sworn he saw his mother bring the boy in here—
In that moment, the pile of fabric shifts until, a figure shoots up from the pile.
Ah, there he is.
Takiishi watches as the boy shuffles backwards till his back hits the wall, eyes wide staring at him. His eyes. He walked right up to the boy, leaving a meter distance in between and sits. He pulls out a meat bun and holds it out to the boy, looking at the bun and then the boy hoping he gets the hint and takes it. The boy does the same thing, looking at Takiishi and then the bun before meeting Takiishi’s eyes once more.
Takiishi thought he was entranced before but now he was completely captivated, bewitched by the sight of a deep midnight blue eye on the right and a golden honey eye on the left. A pairing he never imagined could exist, but here it is, staring right at him.
He obviously didn't get the hint, as he stared at Takiishi’s outstretched hand like it was one of the world’s biggest mysteries. Takiishi huffed and shuffled closer.
“Is that.. for me?” It came out in barely a whisper, and Takiishi is certain he would not of heard it if it was not so quiet. He nods his head, and stares intently at the boy as he slowly inches forward and gently grasps the meat bun, such care Takiishi didn’t think was possible to show for such a simple act.
He watched the boy basically inhaled the meat bun, reaching into the back to grab the second one and the bottle of water. The boy grabbed them this time with less hesitation, which made Takiishi heart swell with pride. The boy was starting to trust him!
Takiishi stared at the boy as he ate the bun with less vigour and haste, this time enjoying the texture and flavour. It gave Takiishi time to look him over fully. He was definitely younger than him, but he couldn’t tell how young from sight alone.
He looks like a stray kitten.
Why was he here? He was like a shadow, an entity his parents ignored unless said entity walked into the house. He must be forgetting something, which is on par as he never cares about what his parents are talking about.
Ah!
He faintly remembers his parents arguing about something a while back, something about a “bastard kid” and his father being extremely upset about having to deal with the situation. But he never heard anything or saw anything about a kid, until now. If Takiishi had to assume, this kid is probably from an affair his father had, something must have happened to the kid’s mother for him to end up in this situation, it was clear his father did not care for the boy in the slightest.
So that makes this his half sibling, a little brother..
The boy looks up at him, having finished that last bun, and gave Takiishi a soft smile, “Thank you,”
Such a simple action had Takiishi acting out of character, his eyes had widened from the shock of the gratitude given to him. He reciprocated the smile, before shuffling much closer to the boy. He’s smiling. Takiishi didn’t think he had it in him, neither did many people. Many people, relatives to strangers have tried to make him smile and always failed. But this boy, this child his parents had hidden from him, his little brother, had made him smile after mere minutes of meeting.
Now sitting right in front of the boy, he raised his hand to pet him but stopped momentarily when he flinched. That small gesture broke something in Takiishi. Seeing him flinch at Takiishi’s hand felt like a knife sliced his heart, he didn’t want to imagine the feeling his body would put him through if he actually hit the boy, let alone made him cry.
He gently rested his hand upon the top of the boys head, patting him like he would to a small kitten. Seeing the boy relax under the gentle ministrations, Takiishi vowed from that point onwards he would protect his little brother to the best of his abilities. Keeping up the gentle touch for a minute more, he got up, picking p the empty bag and walked towards the door. Turning to smile at his little brother just one more time before shutting and locking the door.
I’ll be back, little brother.