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Shouta has never been this scared in his life before.
"Hitoshi, please," he says, carefully, desperately, as he edges himself another inch forward, painfully aware of the way Hitoshi tenses and it makes him freeze right up. "Please come back here."
Hitoshi looks at him before he looks down the ledge of the building he's standing on and his gaze is frightfully empty, devoid of any spark and Shouta is afraid.
"Why?" Hitoshi mutters out, scuffing his shoe against the ledge. "'s not like it matters."
"It does, it does matter, Hitoshi, please," Shouta immediately gives back and scoots himself forward again. "Whatever made you come up here, we can deal with it, I promise."
"Right," Hitoshi listlessly says and Shouta tangles his hand in his capture weapon, though he knows it would be futile to use it.
Hitoshi is a good student, determined and smart, and he has enough control over the capture weapon for Shouta to know that he could simply swat it away.
If Shouta wants to get him away from the ledge, he'll have to drag him personally away, he knows that, but he's scared he won't make it there in time.
"Hitoshi, talk to me. What's going on that brought you here?" Shouta tries, because getting Hitoshi to talk might give him enough time to convince him that whatever is hurting him can be dealt with, that Shouta will deal with it for him, but he has to get Hitoshi to talk.
"It doesn't matter," Hitoshi repeats again, now with more fire in his voice. "It won't change, nothing will ever change and I'm tired, sensei!"
"Haven't things changed already?" Shouta tries. "You're about to be moved to the hero course, your dream is finally coming true. Isn't that a good change?"
It has to be—there's no way Hitoshi worked his ass of like he did only for him to throw it all away now but Hitoshi only scoffs.
"If it happens, sure, but let's be real here, it's not going to. You've wasted your time on me because no one will ever let me be a hero and I'm not going to transfer. It's not going to happen."
Shouta rears back as if Hitoshi hit him because—"That's not true! It's being finalised as we speak and once the second semester rolls around you'll be transferred, I promise you!"
Hitoshi looks at him with something akin to pity in his eyes, as if he can't believe that Shouta is that goddamn stupid and Shouta feels stupid because he must be missing something crucial here, if not even the promise of being a hero can make Hitoshi step down from the ledge.
"Nothing ever goes my way, sensei, it's time I accept that," Hitoshi mutters and Shouta's heart jumps to his throat when he looks down at the ground far, far below. "And this is the only thing I have any control over."
It sounds final, it sounds like a decision and Shouta's stomach is still in the process of dropping out when Hitoshi takes that final, all-ending step.
He vanishes over the ledge in a second and Shouta hurls himself forward with a desperate cry, his hand outstretched but only grabbing nothing but air and then he's falling, he's falling with Hitoshi and he sees him close his eyes, sees the relieved, almost serene smile on his face as the ground is rushing up to them and then—
Shouta shoots up in bed, his desperate yell of "Hitoshi" still echoing in the room and he faintly hears Hizashi make a confused sound over the rushing in his ears as he grabs at his chest where his heart is slamming painfully against his ribcage.
"Shou?" Hizashi mutters out, clearly still trying to get his bearings as Shouta struggles to his feet.
"I have to go," he says, because he has to, he has to see Hitoshi, right now, has to make sure that he's okay, that he's safe and sound and not jumping from a roof and remembering that smile on his face as he fell—Shouta might be sick.
"Go? Go where?" Hizashi asks, clearly more awake now as he reaches out for Shouta's sleeve to stop him in his tracks. "Shou, what's going on?"
"Nightmare," Shouta courtly replies, because it was, it was nothing more than a bad dream, but—he needs to make sure.
He needs to see Hitoshi, right now.
"Nightmare? So, what? Where are you going?"
"I have to see Hitoshi," Shouta says and brushes Hizashi's hand off. "I have to make sure that—"
He's not splattered on the ground as if that is his only option in life and he has to go now.
"Shouta," Hizashi says, more determined now, demanding his attention and Shouta's eyes snap to him. "It was just a dream."
Shouta knows that. He knows that it was just a nightmare, but—it seemed too real. Too plausible.
Hitoshi has expressed his fears about not being good enough before, has opened up a little bit about all the discrimination he faced in his life and Shouta knows that there's more the kid hasn't talked about yet and all of that might lead him to a roof or it might not, Shouta doesn't know, which is why he needs to see him right the fuck now.
"I have to see him. I have to, Hizashi, please, you don't understand," Shouta rushes out and then he also rushes out of the bedroom, gathering his things as he goes, and he hears Hizashi hot on his heels.
"Shou," Hizashi warningly says and Shouta whirls around to him.
"I'm not going to make contact," he blurts out. "I just have to see. I just have to see that he's alive and well and that nothing bad has happened, alright?"
He sounds desperate even to his own ears and Hizashi regards him for a while longer, takes in his no doubt scraggly hair, the way his hands shake, the panic that must be so clear on his face and finally, he deflates with a sigh.
"No contact," he reiterates. "Don't scare the kid for something he's not at fault for. Text me when you're on your way back."
"Okay, okay, I will," Shouta rushes out and bites back on the Thank you because he would have left even without Hizashi's blessing but he doesn't bite back the "I love you," because it's true and maybe he needs to say it more, not just to Hizashi.
"Love you, too, you big softie. Now go check on your kid," he sighs out and drags Shouta in for a brief kiss before he practically shoos him out of the house.
Shouta doesn't waste any time and hurls himself up on the roof before he makes his way over to Hitoshi's house as fast as he can.
He's never been there, never had a reason to check it out, but he has all addresses of his kids memorised in case he needs it one day and it sure comes in handy right now.
Shouta doesn't even know if he would have the patience to go to the school first to check Hitoshi's records and he's beyond glad that he doesn't have to.
With the way Shouta is flying over the rooftops, the way is short and still, to Shouta it feels as if ages are passing and with every second ticking by, Hitoshi could decide to jump, he could decide to end his own life in this second, or maybe this, or maybe even this one, and Shouta shakes with it.
Deep down he knows that it's irrational, that it was nothing more than a dream, born more from his own fears than any worry Hitoshi has expressed in the past but—what if.
What if it's not just a meaningless dream, what if it's real, what if Hitoshi needs him right now and the thought only spurs Shouta on to go faster.
He truly doesn't intend to make contact; he's just going to check out the house, maybe peek into every room he can to see if he can't find Hitoshi's and convince himself that the kid is safely tucked away into bed, sleeping soundly and then he'll go back home.
Easy as that.
Shouta clings to that plan right until he finds Hitoshi's house and then it all goes up into flames almost immediately, because he approaches the house from the back and the first thing he sees is the garden and a dog house.
And Hitoshi.
Hitoshi, sprawled in an almost unnatural way against the front of the dog house, half inside, but not really. Hitoshi, with something strange obscuring his face. Hitoshi, out in the middle of the night, barely dressed for the weather and on the ground, unmoving, still, and for a moment Shouta's entire world tilts.
This can't be. This can't be, this can't be happening, Hitoshi was supposed to be safe and sound and cosied up in his bed, warm and protected and not—whatever this is.
Shouta is so consumed by his panic, that it takes him a moment to realise that Hitoshi's chest is moving and once that information filters through, he stumbles where he stands, all the adrenaline leaving him before he gets a grip on himself.
Hitoshi shouldn't be out right now and something is clearly wrong. He knows he promised Hizashi to not make contact, but something is off here and Shouta will be damned if he simply leaves and gets back home right now, so he drops down in the garden and carefully makes his way over to the dog house.
Shouta is careful to make some noise as he approaches Hitoshi, because the last thing he wants to do is scare the kid, but Hitoshi doesn't react to him at all and when Shouta comes to a stop next to him, he realises with a sickening lurch that Hitoshi can't because he's unconscious.
And then Shouta takes in everything else about the scene and for a moment, he has to fight against the bile rising in his throat.
The first thing he really notices is the muzzle strapped to the kid's face and that alone is enough to make him feel sick because how dare someone do that to Hitoshi. Then he takes in the purpling bruise on his temple, the matching one around his throat, barely concealed by the collar chaining him to the back of the dog house and Shouta wishes it would end there, but it doesn't.
There's a wet patch on Hitoshi's stomach and for one moment, Shouta convinces himself that it could be anything but then he leans down and swipes his fingertips against the fabric and they come back red.
Hitoshi is bleeding.
Shouta has his phone out before he really processes the way Hitoshi's arm is strangely placed, he's talking to someone regarding an ambulance by the time he realises that there's a second chain attached to Hitoshi's wrist, fastened to the side of the dog house, which means he can't quite get into the house and thanks to the collar he can't comfortably lean against the side either and when Shouta calls for the police, he comprehends that Hitoshi's shoulder definitely has to be dislocated, otherwise this wouldn't be possible.
By the time he dials Hizashi's phone number, Shouta thinks he's crying.
"Shou?" Hizashi answers almost instantly and Shouta can't help the sob that comes out first and immediately, Hizashi's panic is palpable. "What happened?" he asks with no small amount of trepidation in his voice and Shouta presses his eyes closed, even as he reaches out for Hitoshi's limp hand.
"He's hurt," Shouta croaks out. "His family hurt him. I have to wait for the ambulance and the police."
"Do you need me there?" Hizashi asks and Shouta lets out a rough breath.
"The police won't let me kill anyone and I'll go with him to the hospital anyway," Shouta mutters and he knows that should someone from the house come out right now, Shouta would murder them in cold blood for daring to hurt Hitoshi like this and he wouldn't even regret it.
Still, it might be better to stay here, to keep Hitoshi company, even though he's unconscious, and wait for everyone else to arrive.
"Alright. I'll call Nedzu and make sure our foster licenses are still up to date," Hizashi says as if it's not even a question that they'll be taking Hitoshi in after this.
And it's not, at least not for Shouta. He's just glad Hizashi thinks the same.
"And you'll text me with an update from the hospital, I'll be by with breakfast."
"Thank you," Shouta mutters and then the ambulance arrives and Shouta's attention is demanded elsewhere.
~*~*~
Shouta is slumped against the side of Hitoshi's hospital bed when the kid moves for the first time since they brought him in.
Shouta is instantly up and carefully watching Hitoshi and so he sees him twitching, sees his eyes flutter open and relief slams into him so hard, Shouta is glad he's already sitting down.
The doctors promised him that he'd be alright, that everything would heal up with no lasting repercussions but seeing Hitoshi wake up drives that point home better than any explanation could have.
"Hey, kid," Shouta softly says when Hitoshi's eyes fall on him and still, there's a second of panic he can see before he reaches out for Hitoshi's hand and gently takes it in his. "You're okay, you're in the hospital, but you're going to be okay."
Hitoshi blinks a few times, his gaze becoming clearer with every time he does it and eventually he moves as if he wants to sit up.
It's not a good idea with his wounds yet, so Shouta reaches out to push him back into the bed and then raises the bed instead because that will be easier on Hitoshi.
"What happened?" Hitoshi croaks out and then freezes, before he moves his jaw over and over again, as if he needs to make sure that he can and Shouta burns with rage.
Maybe he should have killed someone after all.
"You were hurt," he simply says. "And I found you."
"How?" Hitoshi asks after a moment and Shouta lets out a rough breath.
"Coincident, really," he mutters but even hurt like this, Hitoshi's gaze clearly calls him out on his bullshit. "I had a nightmare," Shouta admits and moves his thumb over the back of Hitoshi's hand. "That you killed yourself. And when I woke up, I needed to make sure that you're okay, so I went to your house where I found you—" Shouta doesn't even want to say it, doesn't think he even can but what comes out of his mouth next is not much better either.
"I thought you were dead. For a moment, I thought you were dead," he admits, his voice nothing more than a whisper and Hitoshi closes his eyes again, though he tightly grips on to Shouta's hand.
"I hoped I was," he says and doesn't hearing that just break Shouta's heart. "Would be easier than my life, that's for sure."
"Not anymore," Shouta almost desperately promises him. "You're out, kid, that family will never hurt you again. You're safe now."
"Until the next one comes along," Hitoshi mumbles, sounding more tired and defeated than a fifteen-year-old really has any right to and Shouta's eyes burn.
He pushes the urge to cry down, but he doesn't push the urge to hug Hitoshi down at all, even though he's still careful as he pulls him into his arms.
"Hizashi and I are your next family. And you will be safe with us, I promise."
He can feel Hitoshi stiffen in his arms, the surprise so painfully obvious and Shouta doesn't even chastise him to take it easy when his free arm comes up to clutch at Shouta's shirt.
"Promise?" Hitoshi weakly asks, his voice shaky and thin and Shouta holds him tighter for a moment.
"Promise."
And Shouta will see that promise through, no matter what he has to do for that. He will not let anyone hurt Hitoshi like this ever again.
From now on, Hitoshi will be safe.