Blame it on me

Blame it on me chapter 9

Shouta didn't know what woke him up as he cracked his eyes open. The familiar warmth of his husband soothed him from behind as the weight of his arm was draped over his waist, reminding him where he was: home.

He couldn't help but smile to himself at the realization. He wanted to wake up next to Hizashi like this every morning, and being married raised his chances of achieving that goal. He blinked tiredly, his mouth still curled into a soft beam, then he merged into the hug he was wrapped in. He never got the chance to slip back to sleep as his phone started ringing on the bedside table.

"It's the third one." Came the low grumble from Hizashi, who was apparently woken up by the call as well. "It's either terribly important or someone really hates you."

Shouta scoffed at the comment and reached for his phone and checked who the hell was calling him in the break of dawn or whatever hour it really was. When he glanced Ito's name on his screen, he answered Hizashi's predicament: "It's the first one."

He picked up right after that to be greeted by a soft hello on the other side.

"I'm sorry to call so early. Do you remember the kid you found two days ago?"

Shouta sat up straight, gaining a surprised yelp from his husband as he responded: "What about him?"

"He talked to you, right?"

"Yes, he did."

"He hasn't spoken a single word since he's been brought into the hospital, and it would be essential to get more information out of him, since we are yet to locate his parents. Do you have time to come in today?"

"Text me where exactly and I'll be there in an hour." Shouta said as hung up the phone, crawling out of the bed despite Hizashi's protesting groan. "It's the kid I told you about." He explained.

Hizashi darted up in excitement and asked: "Do you want me to come with?"

"I don't know how bad it is, so no. But maybe next time." Shouta turned him down gently and gave him a quick kiss before rushing off to take a shower.

When he got to the hospital parking lot, Ito was already waiting for him. He explained what they knew about Hitoshi so far was pretty much just the list of his injuries and the fact he was severely starved. As they walked through the passages towards the private room the boy had been placed, Shouta couldn't help but wonder: "Why d'you only call me now if he hasn't said a word from the start?"

"He was in and out for two days and only seemed coherent enough since he woke up yesterday. Then our investigators realized he wasn't going to say a word, so I had no choice but to call you as a last try." Ito explained as they halted at a closed door. He took a deep breath, brought a hand up to his nape and gestured towards the door with a last wish: "Good luck."

Shouta nodded in acknowledgement as entered the room. He was prepared to see something similar to what Hitoshi looked like back in the alleyway, maybe a bit better. But instead, what greeted him was much worse, making him recognize that the semi-darkness quite much improved the way he looked compared to how his pale figure almost got lost in the white sheets around him now. The boy looked half dead. His awfully pale skin was broken up by dark purplish bruises. The hospital gown was draping off of his shoulder, revealing his tiny, bony structure. A wrist cast covered his left hand but no further bandages were in sight. Shouta's gaze traveled up to the boy's face to realize he had been staring at him with his eyes surrounded by circles so dark he looked like he had two black eyes. His cheekbones were sharply poking out instead of having a round, chubby face like normal nine year olds. The boy was so skinny it left Shouta wondering just how long he had been staring and what would have happened if he found him later... or never.