Chapter Text
It had been a long day for Sakura.
Umemiya had sat him down after school to talk . Sakura didn’t do emotions . As such, he felt drained and very off his A-game. Then, to make everything worse, the whole of the 1-1 class had been at cafe Porthos. Sakura couldn’t even get a bit of peace and quiet there. It had taken all of ten minutes before he had enough of people for the day.
He stormed out of the cafe and back towards home.
The brisk evening air felt wonderfully refreshing.
He was about halfway back when something collided with him. Sakura went skidding back several feet, his hands raised in defensive fists. He didn’t see anything until he looked down. There, sprawled on the ground was a young kid. Sakura didn’t recognize him.
“Watch where you’re goin’ next time,” Sakura growled.
The kid mumbled something that must have been frantic apologies. Then he looked over his shoulder, back the way he had come. In the evening light, Sakura watched as all the color drained from the kid’s face. Then he picked himself up and raced off like someone was chasing him. It was odd because the street was deserted aside from Sakura.
Sakura could only grumble and shake his head. He spared the kid no other thoughts.
That is, until a week later when he saw the kid again.
Sakura was headed home from cafe Porthos once more. Today had been good, all things considered. Friendship was such a weird thing. Most days, Sakura would rather tear his own hair out than deal with people and his strained relationship with trust.
Today, was one of those rare days that he (rather begrudgingly) could admit (under torture) that he liked hanging out with his classmates. They had invited him to hang out after school. Even though Sakura had been wary, he agreed. For some inexplicable reason, he ended up (dare he say it?) having fun. Now he was sprinting to his run down apartment to get out the cold, drizzling rain.
Sakura was just about to head up the stairs when he noticed something odd. Something, or rather, someone was huddled against the side of the building, clearly trying to stay out of the rain. Sakura would have walked right past the person if it hadn’t been for the blond hair that stood out starkly in the shadows.
Sakura when on guard immediately.
“Oi! I can see you,” he growled, changing directions and going towards the possible intruder.
The figure didn’t say anything or even move. More than a bit annoyed that he was being ignored, Sakura started to grab for the person. They flinched away and looked up.
Sakura found himself face to face with the kid from last week. The kid was soaking wet and clearly chilled to the bone.
“What are you doin’ out in weather like this, kid? You should be at home,” Sakura sighed.
The kid didn’t respond at first. Then he gave a very slight shake of his head.
“I said, go home,” Sakura growled, “You’re goin’ ta catch some kind of illness stayin’ out here.”
“I’m not a delinquent,” the kid’s voice was shaky.
“How’s that relevant?” Sakura snorted.
The kid attempted to hide even further in the shadows. Sakura frowned before deciding that he had enough of the kid’s attitude. He reached forwards and managed to scruff the kid. The kid went utterly limp. This made it easy to manhandle him. Out in the open, Sakura could actually get a good look at the kid.
The kid looked maybe…. Seven years old? Eight years old? Shit. Sakura wasn’t good with guessing ages. Needless to say, the kid looked young. His face and arms were covered in cuts and bruises. The bruising extended to under the kid’s soaked, baggy shirt. Sakura was well acquainted with the marks of abuse. This kid didn’t have an easy life.
“Who did that to you?” Sakura demanded.
The kid just shook his head frantically.
“Fine. At least tell me where you live.” Sakura sighed.
This was met with more head shaking.
“Your parent’s names?” Sakura tried, shivering slightly as move rain water trickled down the back of his shirt.
Another head shake.
“Your name?” Sakura sighed.
The kid didn’t answer that question either.
“You can’t just be out here on the streets,” Sakura frowned.
The kid froze.
“I don’t wanna go home.”
“And why is that?” Even though he asked the question, Sakura had a pretty good idea of why.
The kid scuffed his shoe on the pavement.
“I don’t wanna,” his voice almost a whisper, like he didn’t want anyone to hear him.
“Did your parents do this?” Sakura gestured at the extensive bruises.
That got a reaction, but not the one Sakura was expecting.
“They didn’t mean to!” the kid cried, bristling defensively.
Well that didn’t bode well for the situation at home.
“So they did hurt you,” Sakura growled.
The kid shrunk in on himself again.
“It’s my fault,” he shuddered pitifully.
Sakura was unprepared for the kid to pass out. The kid just keeled over, his small body limp and unresponsive.
Sakura had no idea what to do next. After a moment of contemplation (brief, because it was still raining and the kid was clearly freezing), Sakura decided to take the kid inside. It was dark and raining so he wasn’t about to leave the kid outside to die of exposure. He also wasn’t about to turn the kid over to the police. Based on his own experience, the kid would likely just end up right back with his abusers, rather than actually being helped.
As he shut the door behind him and his guest, Sakura couldn’t help but wonder what he had just gotten himself into.
<><><><><><><>
Natsume knew he was in trouble, literally and figuratively. He had run away from the Yamamoto’s house. This was not the first time it had happened. It was the first time it had been of his own volition. Before, the enraged youkai that haunted the coat closet was alway the one to chase him away. Natsume had received plenty of scratches to know that his youkai was far from friendly.
Today, he had run because he simply couldn’t take it any more. The Yamamotos were just stressed. That’s what Natsume told himself. He knew he was a bad child that was always causing trouble for people even when he didn't mean to. That’s why the Yamamotos hit him and made him go hungry sometimes. It was because he was stressing them.
Today had been the final straw. The youkai in the coat closet had torn apart one of the umbrellas. The couple had been angry. It was the first time that Natsume had been genuinely afraid that he might die at the hands of a human. He had run as far and as fast as he could.
Eventually he had all but exhausted himself. He found a building to hide against. Then the rain started. Natsume was ill prepared for such weather. He soon found himself cold beyond what he thought was possible.
This had been his condition when a strange teenager found him. Natsume didn’t really track much with the conversation. He was too cold. It was probably because he was cold that he eventually passed out.