【☆】OC Oneshots & Stories【☆】

Maruno x Aru ♡ Pinky Promise

Maruno's neighborhood could be described as a quiet one. Nothing much ever happened, not even when new neighbors moved in. Maruno observed them day by day, attempting to mimic their interactions and learn. Is this how people interact with each other? Is this how people feel about the world? Why are they sad? Why are they happy? What changed?

However, it was when one particular neighbor moved in next door that Maruno witnessed a change. Not in the neighborhood, but in his own heart.

It started one night. It was midnight, and the streets were surprisingly empty. The pond behind Maruno's house was particularly beautiful, shining in all its mystique. It was serene. Maruno couldn't help but sigh at the sight, leaning against his window frame dreamily. That was when he first spotted the boy. 

Every night when Maruno looked out the window of his rundown home, he would spot the same boy staring up at the moon and tossing pebbles into the pond behind his home. Sometimes he'd be weeping. Sometimes he'd just be angry. Sometimes, he did it because it calmed him down. He would tousle his chestnut hair nervously, often pick at scabs or bandages he had scattered all about his arms, legs, neck, and face. He would be bruised and bloody, covered in wounds all the time.

Maruno could see the boy's pain, yet he didn't know what to do. He knew he wanted to help, but how? He wasn't even allowed to leave the house. Well, that was really the least of his worries. Maruno didn't know how to connect with other people. He was only some socially inept 12-year-old, not some therapist. He couldn't cure him with his words and with languages. What would that even do? 

And yet, every time Maruno saw the mysterious boy cry, Maruno wanted to leap down there and hug him. It pained him to see somebody suffer. It hurt him deeply. How many nights had he spent crying all alone without anybody but the moon to hear his woes? How many times did he feel useless, worthless, hopeless? How many times had he given into his fate and his despair?

Finally, after approximately one week of watching the boy suffer, Maruno couldn't do it anymore. He begged his mother to buy him a book for learning Spanish and began. He knew the boy spoke Spanish, so maybe it'd help if he learned the language. That would make for more effective communication, right? It didn't take Maruno long to get a basic grasp on the language, enough to have a decent conversation. He could learn from speaking with a native speaker anyway, and he was sure he wouldn't be judged. Not that he cared, of course.

Thus, in the dead of night, when Hinata was distracted, Maruno hopped out from his window and climbed down. He went to the pond with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He brought a blanket for the boy, too, a candy bar as a peace offering. Kids tend to like candy, right? He hoped this one would like almond. It was all the school vending machine had.

Maruno approached the boy as he was crying again. He gently put a hand on the boy's shoulder and knelt beside him. The boy tensed and raised his head immediately, tears still flowing freely down his freckled cheeks. He seemed startled, eyes wide as if he'd been caught committing a crime. His breathing was erratic, a result of both stress and surprise. Maruno offered a gentle smile, tilting his head slightly.

"Perdóname por molestarte, pero te vi llorar y no pude evitar sentirme preocupado. ¿Estás bien?" The boy relaxed. He seemed to notice something, a small knowing glint in his eyes when Maruno finished speaking. 

"You don't have to speak Spanish. Don't worry, I'm bilingual." The boy had a bit of an accent, a result of his upbringing, surely, but it seemed that his English was nearly perfect. This caught Maruno off guard, the prepared boy barely able to stifle a blush. He looks away, smile fading slightly. He was incorrect.

"Ah, then pardon my presumptuousness." The boy seemed a bit confused at the big word, but he didn't question it. Maruno decided not to elaborate, as it was not his goal. He held out the blanket, the chocolate bar resting on top.