Chapter 4
Hizashi stayed in the hospital after convincing Shouta to come home and rest, he could take care of Harry.
It wasn't long after they left when the boy fiddled awkwardly on the bed, pulling the blanket down to his shoulders, the short time he spent down there was enough for his hair to fluff, even dirty as it was.
He saw him sleep peacefully, and for once truly calm, his features could be seen much better like this: his lips cracked and with a little blood, the tanned skin made the tiny freckles that were scattered across his face stand out, he had dark circles under his eyes, the scar on his forehead was still red; One of his hands was uncovered, and he could see how battered it was (he had touched them, but his mind was on another ground at that moment to realize how they felt), broken and chipped nails with some dirt underneath them, his fingers and palm had small cays, the skin also seemed stretched and loose at the same time; On the back, what immediately caught his attention was a scar, it looked well cared for so it was easily lost from sight if you didn't know what you were looking for, he almost ignored it, but it had a strange shape, they seemed… Letters.
He got a little closer so he could make out what it was saying, it was difficult from the angle his hand was in, but he managed to decipher the handwriting and his blood ran cold.
“I Must Not Tell Lies”
In a completely legible handwriting, as if someone had used a scalpel as a pencil and the skin as paper.
He could feel the anger growing, but He didn't know how to release it, He also felt sadness and helplessness for not being able to do anything for Harry, for not being able to be with him when all this happened to him; He knew it was ridiculous, He barely met the guy less than 2 hours ago, but it made his heart ache.
Not knowing what else to do or how to feel, He let out a weak sob that quickly turned into a full-blown cry, He covered his mouth with his hands trying to make as little noise as possible.
Shouta rubbed his face in exasperation, he was trying to sleep, he swears he does, but his thoughts kept leading him back to Harry.
We are not the same.
Those words were constantly repeated, of course they weren't the same, but something about that statement feels much deeper than it was when he said it in the hospital.
They had a weight he couldn't place, and it was eating away at his brain.
He felt a weight in his stomach from the first time he saw the child and that became bigger with each hour, minute and second that passed. Whatever all this means, he knows that, in one way or another, it is something that will mark him.
He felt it with Oboro, he felt it a couple of times during his patrols when he became a professional, he felt it with one of his students; he has to be careful, he has to strive not to fail Harry as he failed them.
I swear.
Tsukauchi sighed, he was leaning back in his chair while massaging his temple, a headache is making its stellar appearance.
As soon as he arrived at the station he contacted the British embassy and gave them the little information they had about Harry: name, an apparent age range, hometown and physical description.
What he doesn't expected is that the embassy emailed him barely an hour later saying that they hadn't found exact references, but that they had a list of physical approximations of 83 young people in the age range and a little older from the same area and surroundings.
Now I was going through each of the profiles and none of them even remotely resembled Harry.
It's going to be a long afternoon.
Harry opened his eyes slowly, the room was a little bit dark, but not too much, he sat looking at the window.
Still in the hospital, this wasn't a dream, he is really here.
“Hello, Harry” he hear Hizashi's voice and turn his head to see him, “are you hungry? You haven't eaten anything yet, I brought you a sandwich and some water.”
He looked at the food as casually as he could without grimacing, just the sight of it churned his stomach.
“Just the water, please” he opened the bottle and took two sips before stopping, he took the third one forcefully so as not to spit it out, “thank you” he said handing it back.
The blond looked at him intensely, he obviously realized his effort to swallow, but he didn't say anything, and he was grateful for that; the last thing he wanted now was a discussion about good nutrition like the ones he had with Hermione.
“How much sleep did I get? It's getting dark”.
“About 4 hours, you were quite tired” Harry nodded meekly, “your doctor came a while ago, checked on you while you were sleeping, said you were fit to be discharged”.
His face practically lit up, they would finally let him out.
"Great, then," he said, kicking his feet to the edge of the bed, "it was a pleasure, really, but I have things to do and I need..." He stopped when he felt Hizashi grab him by the shoulders and push him back to the bed.
"Listen," Hizashi said slowly, "we can't let you go alone, you need a tutor to get you out of here," Harry sighed and threw his arms back to fall back into bed, "we know there's no one you know here in Japan and I thought... You could come with Shouta and me."
"It's very kind of you Mr. Yamada," he said as he leaned on his elbows, "but I'm afraid I must decline, I have urgent things to do, I've already wasted a lot of time, if I don't get out of here who knows what will happen to..." he stopped abruptly, was he really about to tell him?
"What's going to happen to whom?" he leaned back to take his hands, but Harry walked away, "Tsukauchi is a detective, me and Sho are heroes, please, you don't have to be afraid, even if you think we can't help, maybe we can get people who can."
"What did you do to me?" He ask quickly. "Why can't I lie to you?"
"I didn't do anything, I promise," he walked away a little, "many say the same thing, Sho says it's because I'm very easy to trust, it's a talent," he said with a smile.
"Why would I go with you? Do you live together?"
"Because we're prepared to deal with children in the same situation as you, we're both authorized to be foster caretakers if needed." He said slowly and clearly "as for the latter" all he did was raise his left hand to show his ring.
"You're married," he said softly, "that explains the way he looked at you." The blond just smiled.
"Please Harry, come with us" he took his hands without giving him time to let go, "look me in the eyes and tell me if I'm lying" Harry looked into his yellow eyes, "as long as we are by your side, I promise you that nothing and no one will be able to hurt you and if someone you know is also in danger, we will help them and get them to safety, Whatever it takes," he could feel his hands shaking, "Am I lying?"
Harry shook his head slowly, this man sounded almost if not as protective as Sirius and Lupin; He couldn't help the shiver that ran down his spine.
"Okay," even if it hurts, this would be his only chance to get out of here; Hizashi just smiled.
It was another two hours before they left the hospital, they had to wait for Shouta to arrive with the car, and they had to sign some papers.
He could see the buildings through the car window, he had to admit it, the place was interesting; it was already night and the lights of the shops lit up the streets, like Hogsmeade but more Muggle.
He tried to open the door, but nothing happened (safe for children, of course he did), he took his wand out of his pocket and pointed it at the lock on the door.
"Alohomora," he said quietly, and he could hear a small click from the door.
He heard Shouta say something, but he didn't pay attention to it and opened the door to jump; he heard a scream that easily rivaled Dumbledor's amplifying spell, followed by the skidding of tires as he fell to the ground. He stood up as fast as he could, ignoring the pain in his arm and the itching in his knees.
As soon as the car stopped, Shouta bolted out of the driver's seat as he told Hizashi to follow them with the car.
He had heard Harry whisper something and then a small noise coming from the door, he was about to tell him not to bother trying to open it, but when he started talking he saw the door open and Harry jump out of the car. He slammed on the brakes as fast as he could and went after him. why did they have to go through the shopping area?, there were enough people to get lost in the crowd.
He saw him running around dodging people, he had to admit he was good at it. Just as he was about to pass in front of one of the stores, someone came out and they ended up crashing, it was just his luck that it had been the problem kid.
"MIDORIYA!" he shouted for the boy to hear, the boy turned his head with his eyes wide open, "Go get him!" Midoriya saw Harry get up again and run; It didn't take long for the kid to follow him.
He could see the rays of Midoriya's quirk in the crowd and a short time later he could hear Harry shout "AVIS!", and then a flock of birds came out of nowhere from the tip of his stick, the other boy stumbled in surprise, but didn't miss a beat.
After a few more streets, they were finally able to catch Harry.
"Why the hell did you jump out of a moving car?" said Shouta in a daze, "you could have broken something, let me see."
Both boys were silent as he checked the damage, a few scrapes and probably a bruise or two, but nothing more than that, it was lucky. Before he could say anything else, he heard a car pull up behind them, turned to see it was his.
"OH MY GOD, HARry, you almost gave me a heart attack back there!" Shouta erased his quirk before they went deaf, Harry watched in surprise as his hair fell over his shoulders and his eyes returned to their normal color, "Never do that again, are you okay?... Oh, hello Midoriya," the boy greeted him back.
"He’s okay, a little scraped, but okay," his eyes hardened, "you can't keep doing that, it's the third time you've tried to escape in less than 24 hours," Harry growled annoyed, "do you think you can give us a hand?" He said, looking at the green-haired boy.
Midoriya nodded, led Harry to the back seat, and settled into the other side. He was visually confused, but still made sure the other didn't try to open the door again until they reached the apartment complex where they lived, Hizashi was driving this time, so Shouta was able to keep an eye on them in the rearview mirror all the way.
"I can take care of Harry, take the ploblem kid home," he said as he got out of the car.
"Mm, sensei, you don't have to, I can walk," he said shyly.
"We won't let you go home alone at this hour, it's late and I know you don't live near here," said the blond turning to look at the boy, "I'll take you, really, it's no bother."
Midoriya thanked the two of them as he got out of the car so he could get into the passenger seat, while Shouta opened Harry's door and helped him down.
Shouta led Harry into the building after saying goodbye, holding the boy's arm all the way, from the entrance until they were inside the apartment; he guided him to the couch while making sure all the windows and door were locked. From the hallway he could see how the cats approached the boy curiously, he took a chair from the kitchen and carried it to the living room, when he reached the other side of the sofa he could see Harry lift Fur in his arms.
"You're identical to Crookshanks," he hear him say, "I'll bet 3 galleons that not even Hermione will be able to tell you apart," he turned him over to hold him like a baby and scratch his belly, Shouta was about to warn him that Fur didn't like that, until he heard him purring, he looked at them both surprised; That cat would try to gouge out a finger or an eye if you'd just put your hand near to his belly, but here him was, purring in absolute joy as it stretched into the boy's arms.
What was a galleon supposed to be? It doesn't matter, he can look it up later, now he had something more important, a name: Hermione.
"Traitorous cat," he said with a smile, Harry glared at him superiorly.
"He seems to like me more than he likes you," he sway his feet happily.
"His name is Fur, the gray one is Bean and the Siamese one is Trashy," the boy looked at him confused, "I adopted Fur at the shelter, Zashi brought Bean, we still didn't know what to call him at the time, but that night when we were preparing dinner, as soon as we opened the bag of beans he started meowing at the top of his lungs until we gave him some and he ended up not liking it," he let out a laugh, "I found Trashy in a dumpster inside a bag when he was just a few days old" he saw Harry frown.
"That's horrible".
"I know," he said, slumping his shoulders, "but there's not much we can do, just give a dignified life to those we manage to rescue" There was a second of silence "Who is Crookshanks? You said it was identical to Fur".
"It's a friend's cat," he smiled, "that cat will put his tail in your face every chance it gets, he always was also chasing Scabbers and Trevor."
"Scabbers and Trevor?" he asked, he didn't think that all that was needed to get the boy to talk were animals to pay attention to.
"Scabbers is--it was Ron's rat, when he was still a rat," the last part was a low murmur, but he still manage to understand it, "and Trevor is Neville's toad," he stroked Trashy on the head as he climbed onto the couch.
Ron and Neville.
"What a strange choice of pets," he said, lifting Bean into his lap, "what about you? Do you have any pets? "
"Well, Hog—my school had a strange list of animals that were allowed on the grounds, besides, each one with its own tastes I suppose," he stirred a little, heading to the far corner of Shouta, "I have an owl, it's called Hedwing."
Okay, that's a gigantic breakthrough, he shouldn't ruin this now; he had a part of the name of the school, maybe he can look it up; he try to look carefree, he didn't want Harry to stop talking.
"An owl?" he asked.
"Yes, it's a white owl, it was a gift," he said cheerfully, good, "he loves to sleep at the top of the school, although he always slept in my room when I was sad, it was as if he knew and didn't want to leave."
"They say pets sense their owners' moods, that's why emotional support animals exist," he said calmly.
"I suppose you're right," he said, then fell silent.
Okay, it wasn't a very informative talk, but at least he has a few things, he's not going to insist on talking anymore, he knows it's only going to make the boy walk away. He glanced at the wall clock and realized that Hizashi should already be on his way back, maybe make something for dinner.
"Zashi must be coming back by now, why don't you go take a shower while I make dinner?" Harry nodded and got up from the couch to follow him down the hall to the bathroom.
"Actually... I'm not hungry, I ate something before," he said nervously.
"Kid, I saw the sandwich Zashi gave you and you didn't even take a bite, you haven't eaten anything since last night," Harry's lips pressed into a line, "aren't you feeling well?"
"I—" he jumped a little from one foot to the other, "I haven't been feeling very good in my stomach for the last few days," he finally said.
"Okay, I'll make you something light, you don't have to eat it all, just a little," he saw him move uncomfortably, "come in, I'll get some clothes for you."
Once Harry entered the bathroom, Shouta went to his bedroom closet and got a black hoodie and blue baggy pants, they would be too big for him, but it's the best he could find.
He went to the bathroom, knocked on the door and waited for confirmation that he could enter, left his clothes on the toilet lid and went to the kitchen. Left over of some Italian food from the night before, he'd reheat it for them, as for Harry; He brought some rice to a boil, went to one of the cabinets, and looked for a packet of bran biscuits.
Harry looked in the mirror after getting out of the shower and getting dressed, he used a drying spell on his hair and was trying to lift it, he should cut it.
He left the bathroom, he could hear Hizashi greet Shouta, he walked down the hallway and stopped at the kitchen door, he watched them talk a little before Hizashi turned around and their eyes met.
“You look better,” he smiled, “come, sit down, dinner is ready.”
He sat at one end of the table and Shouta put a plate in front of him, he looked at the rice and biscuits with fear; He doesn't think he can eat them, but if he didn't try, they wouldn't stop insisting, besides… Its aroma wasn't bad at all, he never thought rice could smell so good.
The three of them began to eat, Harry could feel their eyes on him as he took small bites of the biscuits and ate some rice. They were just a few bites at considerable intervals, but even so he could already feel his stomach protesting; He put the cutlery down on the table and let out a small involuntary moan.
“Are you okay?” Shouta asked as they both got up to go to either side of him.
He shook his head quickly before standing up and walking over to the trash can he saw in the corner of the kitchen, the adults were at his side just a second later; Hizashi brushing his hair away from his face, while Shouta gently rubbed his back. The nausea continued, however, he didn't throw up anything, that was new.
“That's it, breathe, breathe, you're fine” the blonde's hands caressed his hair “come, let's lie down” they both helped him get to the guest room and laid him down on the bed.
“At least you ate a little,” Shouta said before disappearing through the door and returning a moment later with a glass of water and a small box.
He took out a bottle of it and shake it a little before pouring a few drops onto a spoon. He sat on the edge of the bed and handed him the glass before bringing the spoon to his mouth; Harry pulled away.
“What's that?” he asked, looking at the white liquid.
“Medicine for nausea and stomachache in general,” he pursed his lips, he remembers that Aunt Petunia had given him something like that when he was younger, he remembers that the taste was equal to or even more disgusting than the potions in the infirmary.
“Don't worry, it's banana flavor, pretty good actually,” Hizashi said behind Shouta.
Unsure, he took the spoon from the man's hands and drank it quickly… it really tasted good; He drank a few sips of the water before leaving the glass on the nightstand. The adults told him that if he needed anything they would be in the next room, and then they left.
He curled up on the bed and closed his eyes, the way they acted reminded him too much of how Sirius took care of him when he visited Grimmauld Place; he saw that they didn't have a chimney, hope that the fire in the stove is enough to try to communicate with him.
He really wishes his godfather were here.
“Hermione, Ron and Neville… Yes… it started with Hog, and he mentioned something about his room, so it may be some boarding school… I'll also look, he said that strange animals were allowed, he himself said that he has an owl … Yes, a white owl, they are not common, maybe some exotic breeder… Yes, of course, goodbye” Hizashi saw his husband hang up the phone, he told Tsukauchi about what the boy had told him, possibly that would help find more references about Harry.
“Did you say white owl?” Shouta nodded “not only are they rare, their habitat is not even in England, if he got it from a breeder, it must have been internationally” the other just sighed “maybe we should look for the school first, if it's a boarding school it will be a little easier to find having part of the name, but there are like 600 of those in the country.”
They both started searching, but any school they found with a match in the name was either not a boarding school or they didn't allow pets inside the dorms and if they did, the list of allowed animals was only cats, fish and small birds.
It was lucky that Shouta didn't have patrol tonight, so they weren't under time pressure, but still, tomorrow was a school day and they couldn't leave the boy alone at home; Maybe Hizashi could get someone to replace him in his class, however, it was already too late to call and ask if someone could do it.
Anyway, they had to get ready for bed; They'll take care of the details tomorrow, but knowing that Harry was okay and sleeping was enough for now.