Chapter Text
“How tragic…”
Wide, red eyes wandered up from the disembodied hand laying uselessly on the floor. His vision blurred with unshed tears, as he stared at the tall, dark figure.
“You’ve been in need of saving this whole time… yet no one has rescued you…”
A large, gloved hand reached out from the shadows. Red eyes zeroed in on it, the boy’s body flinching automatically, expecting pain. None came.
“Aren’t heroes supposed to save those in need?”
The tears broke free, and the small child shook with small sobs. It was true, heroes were supposed to protect others. They saved people. Why didn’t they save him? Did they hate him? Was he a bad kid, like his father said? The brightness of those red eyes dulled a little, as the boy stared down at his shaking hands.
He hurt his father… he didn’t mean to… But, that still made him bad… didn’t it?
“You do not need to fear, child… I am here now. I will take you away from the pain. I will show you true heroism, I will show you a new world, where children like you are not left for dead…”
The boy looked up again at that. The hand was still outstretched, waiting to be taken. The child shakily lifted his hand. He knew this wasn’t a good idea, his insides twisted at the thought of being taken away to wherever this man was talking about.
Just before the boy could take the hand, there was a loud, yet tentative knock on the door. The child jumped, startled, and retracted his hand, hugging himself tightly. His eyes were wide in fear, the loud knocking made it worse. It sounded too much like the banging when Father was mad. More knocking, and the boy clamped his eyes shut, crying harder.
“H-Hello?”
His eyes snapped open at the small, womanly voice. It sounded… worried.
“Is anyone home? I was just passing through, a-and… I heard a child crying.”
The boy stared over at the front door of the house. The voice was scared, yet strong. The woman on the other sighed knocked again, not giving up. Why?
“I just want to see if I can help…”
Red eyes widened further.
Help… Someone wanted to help him...
The small, frail child’s body started to move, lifting himself onto his trembling feet. He took a step towards the door, the woman’s concerned voice luring him in. He didn’t mind though, her voice was nice, and comforting, something he’d never felt before.
“Child.” the shadowy man said sternly, causing the boy to pause. “Come here.”
The only thing he felt when hearing that voice was fear.
The boy shook his head, waddling towards the door on his shaky legs. He wanted to go to the woman. He wanted to feel comfort. The boy let out a shriek when the shadow man lunged, grabbing his arm roughly.
“You are coming with me, you brat!”
“Hello?! Are you alright?! Please, open the door!”
He let out a sob, reaching towards the door desperately. He wasn’t that far away, he could get closer! The boy tugged and pulled against the man’s grip, his small hand was less than an inch from the door.
“H-h-help me!” he managed to grasp the doorknob briefly, gripping it tightly with his tiny fingers, until there was nothing to hold onto anymore.
The knob fell away into dust. The man’s hand disappeared just before the door swung open. The boy fell to his knees, sobbing as the woman rushed inside, crouching in front of him.
“Oh my- are you alright, sweetie? What happened? Are you hurt?” A soft hand grazed his face, and the boy flinched, shaking tremendously. “It’s… it’s alright… I won’t hurt you, I promise. You’re safe now, child…”
He sniffed, lifting his gaze to look at the woman. Her bright green eyes were wide with worry and concern, but they also held… something akin to determination. He felt his fear slowly fading, and hesitantly reached out to the woman, but stopped, retracting it quickly.
His hands were dangerous. They were bad. He didn’t want to hurt anyone else.
Instead, the boy leaned forward, burying his face in the woman’s chest, keeping his hands tucked away for her safety. The woman carefully wrapped her arms around him, fingers carding through his sweat-soaked, pale hair.
“It’s alright… you’re safe now.” she said softly. “Can… can you tell me your name, sweetie?”
“...T-T-Ten… ko…” he choked out, clamping his eyes shut. “Tenko…”
“You’re okay now, Tenko.”
The woman's voice was firm, yet gentle. Reassuring.
“I’ve got you… I am here…”