desolate domain.

WITH TWO BROTHERS

iii.

Being human is an injustice in its worst form. It's a grappling sorrow ridden deep within hollow bones and gap-tooth smiles. It's a light of hope from a raindrop―it's the afterglow of sorrow when sleep is not yet ready to clasp the edges of humanity's sleeve.

Being human is a bitter existence, because it's humanity's own fault.

It's cold outside today, purity in its own color dances to the sullied ground. Shutsu blinks once, twice, thrice, and a grin slits over his tongue.

Gotcha.

There's a woman of an unknown age with a soft, unremarkable face leading a child into an alleyway. An alleyway that has a door to an underground tunnel, and a ring of more children, if that's where she took the other two.

With years of experience sneaking away from his brother and avoiding his parents and bullies like the plague, Shutsu follows the woman into the backdrop.

He takes his crowbar and slams it on the woman's head.

He turns to the blonde girl. She's so young, younger than Dabi was when they first met. She's staring at him in awe, cat eyes widening. The slit blowing wide; she looks entranced.

"Wow," She whispers. "yer so cool―"

"Hey kid," He bends down in the proposal pose from those American romcoms his mother used to watch with them on good days, the ones where their father would call without news about how there was someone that pissed him off; without news of a new lawsuit she'd have to fix. Before he got his job in Fukado. "whats your name?"

She looks down. "Himiko. But―I don't have to be! I can be anyone―"

(That's.. a little odd. Her quirk, probably.)

"I like Himiko," Shutsu says. "it's a nice name, don't you think?"

"Yeah." Himiko mutters, the tells of a smile on her face. "I think it is."

"I'm, well, you can call me―" (First, he's the first, the first to stand up to―) "Someru."

_

Himiko is unnervingly quiet. She walks around the house like a cat stalking it's prey; she looks at him like she wants to lock him underground so he'll be with her forever. So he gets scared, sometimes―but then he remembers she's just a child.

She's a child who's missing care, and positive touch, so he ruffles her hair when the dishes are done after work and he tells her good job when she does that workbook he gave her on all subjects. He hugs her and kisses her forehead when she makes his a letter telling him that she's real greatful that he let her stay, please don't kick her out she'll be anything― and he tells her that he still likes Himiko better than any other name.

"I'll never make you go," He says, holding her in his arms. "but if you want to leave I won't stop you."

"But your skin an' bone an' I'm taking food and space and―"

"Keeping me company. I don't like being lonely." He promises into her hair.

"I love you, Ru-chan."

"Yeah, well, I love you too, you primadona."

"You say the silliest things."

_

"Oh foolish brother," His brother murmurs by his ear. "why would you ever think I'd leave?"