Shinso and Erasermic Family Oneshots

The Scars That Break Our Souls

WARNING: Descriptive self unaliving, Self H@rm, inferred S/A, descriptions of abuse

They say that hope is a fragile thing. That it's this concept as quiet as a mouse and as strong as tempered glass. To Hitoshi, it was as faint as a whisper and was as relevant as the dust that littered his shelfs. It was like a conspiracy theory he was left out of. A tale older than time itself. He knew not what it was nor how it worked. All he knew was that it liked to taunt him, laugh at him as if he were a kid falling down a flight of stairs.

Hitoshi let a weak chuckle escape his lips. He finally did it, he finally grew a pair and decided to end his own misery. Now he laughed, he giggled at what he believed was hope staring at him with wide eyes and pathetic silence. Blood pooled out of his wrists like a wildfire spread throughout a forest. A faint, almost non-existent, memory flashed behind his shut eyelids.

"Get out of bed and ready for school, Hitoshi." The middle-aged woman spat. She threw his backpack at him, nailing him in the gut. He let out a wheeze from the impact, but reluctantly sat up. He flinched as the woman slammed his door shut, the soft 'click' of the lock echoing in his brain. "You know what happens to little boys who don't listen." She hissed, shoving him back onto his bed.

~~~~~~~~~

Hitoshi sobbed as the woman he called 'mom' flung him against the wall. "What kind of coward tries to overdose on stupid depression meds? Huh, Hitoshi? You know the rules mister, they exist to keep you safe." She spat. Hitoshi struggled to breathe from the pain flowing through his body. The woman sighed. "You know I have to punish you, yes? To teach you how important my rules are. Ten whips to the back, five to the front, then I let you out." She said sweetly, grabbing a leather whip from her nightstand dresser.

~~~~~~~~~

He nearly gagged at how manipulating and soft her voice was. It drew tears to his eyes, as if he could feel the whip coming into contact with his body like it did merely months ago. He heard the floorboards near his room creak like they did in haunted houses, the muffled footsteps that sounded like Hizashi approaching. He heard Hizashi's sing-song voice ring through the air, followed by a grunt that sounded like Katsuki.

The fear of being caught and rescued failed to course through his veins, the overwhelming feeling of sleep weighing him down as if he were being shoved under water by the harsh ocean waves that appeared during the night. He managed to pick up much smaller, much faster occurring footsteps and the gentle padding of a hand hitting his door, and the gruff voice of his angry boyfriend, before he let the feeling of drowsiness take over him.

"Toshi?" Eri called out softly. The iron-like smell in the air that seeped out of her big brother's room spiked her anxiety like she was standing in front of Chisaki himself. Tears began to prick her eyes as she twisted the knob. The horrified shriek that escaped her was enough to make a villain's heart wrench, and her dads and babysitter, by her and Hitoshi's choice, dashed for her, afraid she'd accidentally hurt herself.

When they did arrive at the lavenderette's room, the three faltered at the sight of Hitoshi, lifeless in the middle of his bedroom floor, blood staining his carpet and clothes, watching in horror as it poured out of the horizontal cuts that ran along both forearms. "Hitoshi!" Hizashi cried, running to his side after the waves of shock left him. He checked for a pulse, dread running through him when he found nothing, face paling.

"No no no no no. Hitoshi, wake up, please!" He gently caressed his son's unnaturally pale face, pushing his bangs out of his closed eyes. Eri shook his leg in a feeble attempt to wake the person she cared for so dearly, tears streaming down her face. Small hiccups escaped her lips, red and puffy from biting them so often.

Bakugo stayed in the doorway, his mind refusing to accept what was right in front of him, and sending him into a headspace of temporary shut down. Aizawa walked into the room, still in a state of shock. He tried to pull Eri away, not wanting her to have any more trauma than what she had already experienced. She screamed in a fit of anger, taking both adults by surprise. "No!! I will not leave Toshi!! I won't leave my brother!! I won't I won't I won't!!"

She placed her tiny hands on Hitoshi's face, closed her own eyes, and focused on forcing that tug in her gut she always felt when she used her quirk without meaning to. Her horn began to glow, and slowly, oh so slowly, did the wide cuts on her brother's wrist begin to close. Aizawa watched in awe as the color slowly returned to Hitoshi's face, unshed tears glistening in his eyelashes.

Hizashi babbled a plea, begging for this to work. Begging for his child to come back to him. When there were only mere scars on the lavenderette's arms, Aizawa stopped Eri's quirk with his own. Eri stumbled back, using her quirk so long having exhausted her, but Hizashi caught her and pulled her into a hug, a vise grip on her tiny body. Bakugo seemed to rejoin reality after that, joining Hitoshi's side, and gently grabbing his hand.

A small groan pulled their attention back to the teen laying on the ground. "Toshi..?" Eri asked faintly. They watched as his face contorted, a frown plastered on his lips. He squinted, dull violet meeting olive, cherry, crimson, and charcoal. He shot up and onto his feet, stumbling back towards the connected bathroom. His hands made their way into his hair and he screamed. "Why did you do that?! Why bring me back?!"

The four stared at him, horrified. Eri sniffled, making small, quiet steps towards her brother. "Toshi…" she whispered, tears threatening to fall like Niagara. He studied her face, and suddenly the anger of being forced back was the last thing on his mind. He hurt his sister. Tears welled up as he crouched down, beckoning for her to hug him. A streak of white flew toward him and landed in his chest, which sent him into the wall with a thump from the force.

She sobbed, balling her fists up into the blood-covered shirt that adorned his top half. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close, placing a hand on the back of her head and burying his face in her hair, cries of his own escaping. "I-I'm sorry, I'm so s-so sorry Eri, I didn't m-mean to hurt you." He murmured, hoping his apology reached her ears.

Hizashi and Aizawa joined them on the floor, wrapping their arms around them protectively. They cried together, muttered apologies and 'I love yous' flying through the air like prayers. Right now it wasn't about answers, it wasn't about anger or guilt or even worry, it was about gratefulness and relief that Hitoshi was breathing. Hitoshi was alive, and that's all that mattered.

Bakugo shifted his weight from one foot to the other, feeling out of place in such a caring family. "K-Kat… c-come here." Hitoshi reached a hand out for him, a clear look of need plastered on his face. Bakugo nodded, joining the pile of people on the floor. The two adults welcomed him with open arms, holding him in their protective grip along with the other two children.

Hitoshi knew the hugs would have to end, and he'd have to face his consequences. He knew he'd have to explain himself and would end up being forced out of his comfort zone to relieve the longing of information that his family held. But for now, he would stay in the protective hold of his loved ones, and loathe the confrontation he would soon have to accept.