Turnover

Chapter 4: Feeling

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[A month later: 1 week before the bet ends]

Izaya had been helping out around the orphanage every day since he started. He actually didn't hate it, but having no emotions meant you didn't have the ability to hate something.

Izaya couldn't stop thinking about Yuu. He seemed so cheerful and happy that you wouldn't have noticed that he was the most broken kid at the orphanage.

Yuu was good at hiding his feelings, just like Sakura was. It made Izaya wonder if Sakura was hiding something about her past from him.

See, Yuu told Izaya his past after Izaya proved that he was a good person (which was hard for Izaya). He basically faked a smile and took care of Yuu whenever he could.

Eventually one night before Izaya put Yuu to bed he decided to tell him the story. He cried a bit while telling it but Izaya calmed him down.

[Flashback]

Yuu's Pov:

"Mommy and daddy were always fighting because daddy never liked me. Daddy said I'm not his son because mommy cheated on him. He would always yell at me for being bad.

Mommy tried to get him to stop but daddy kept being mean. One day mommy came home and she smelled bad, like daddy's drinks. She looked at me real scary and pushed me to the ground.

She yelled at me about how I shouldn't be alive. She told me I was a bad boy and it was my fault daddy was mean to her. I tried hugging her but she hit me.

She hit me a whole lot. It hurt real bad. I was on the floor and she hit me over and over. I think I fell asleep? But I woke up and she was still hitting me.

My daddy came home and pulled her off me. He was mean to me but he never hit me like mommy did. He told her they can just leave me at a.. a...the thing we are in-"

Yuu pointed at the ceiling, waiting for Izaya to help him with the word he was missing. "Orphanage." Izaya said slowly so Yuu could copy him.

"-he said they can leave me at a orphanage." Yuu messed up the pronunciation but Izaya knew what he was trying to say.

"And then mommy brought me to a dark place, it smelled really bad. She said she would be back for me but she didn't come back. Then two scary men came and took me to a weird place.

They asked me where my mommy was and I told them I was waiting for her. They asked me more questions but I was getting sleepy so they let me sleep.

When I woke up the men took me to this place. Miss Yui gave me cookies and told me that my mommy didn't want me but she would be my new mommy until I was adopted. So now I'm waiting for a new mommy and daddy."

[Flashback End]

Izaya assumed every kid at the orphanage had a past like that but they never hid their sadness or anger. Yuu was always smiling even if he tripped and scraped his knee.

Yuu never cried or complained about anything, he just smiled and pretended he was fine. But bottling up your emotions is not healthy, Izaya knew that.