Big Book of Writing

My Promise (Utsukane, DRA)

Prompt: https://otpprompts.tumblr.com/post/171345459833/your-otp-were-separated-as-kidsteenagers-but-are/amp

"Your OTP were separated as kids/teenagers but are eventually reunited as adults and the first thing they both think is "oh no they're hot.""

This is an art trade for irowoha on twitter, go check her out!

Warning: mentioned abuse!

***

Screams of pain echoed from down the hall, but a young Akane Taira tried to tune them out by gazing through a window. She had been in this hell ever since she was too young to remember, a hell that she was sure should never have been created at all.

She was abused daily along with countless other children, but she was smart enough to fake how easily she was injured so she would be left alone by the adults. With them distracted, she used her learned skills to cook, clean, and take care of the other children.

As she sighed and looked through the window, she recalled her lifelong dream: 'one day, everyone would be rescued from this place.' It was a thought that kept her going in dark times, but a torch of hope was reduced to a candle flame over time. Still though, she refused to give up hope entirely.

Through the window, she noticed a boy on the street in ragged clothes. He looked pale and haunted, but he seemed healthy despite his apparent homelessness. Akane decided to take pity on him and get him some food from the kitchen.

A couple minutes later, she had managed to sneak a couple dinner rolls from the kitchen without getting caught, and she crept through the front door. There were no security guards, so anyone could get out, but the children had nowhere to go to.

She hurried towards the boy, who seemed frailer than her. "H-Hey, you there!" she called, getting his attention as he stopped and turned around. She was out of breath, but despite her panting, she held out the dinner rolls for him. "I...I think you...might need this more...more than I do..."

The orange-haired boy took the rolls from her, his expression confused but curious. "...Thank you," he eventually muttered, though he looked her over and broke one of the rolls in half to give to her. "You came out of that building, right?"

Akane took the half-roll from him and gathered her breath. "I think it's better for you to stay out there than go in here. It's really bad..." the brunette whimpered, looking behind her to make sure no adults were watching. "They keep hurting us, and I don't even know why. You should find a house elsewhere."

The boy looked at the building over, then back at the girl. "I can fix that," he eventually decided. "What's your name?"

"Hm? My name is Akane Taira," she replied. But before she could ask what his name was, the boy hurried away from her and out of sight. Akane decided not to follow him, she was probably in enough trouble already for staying outside this long. She stuffed the roll into her mouth and swallowed it before heading back inside.

The next few hours went by so fast. The police ended up coming inside to investigate the owners of the orphanage with a warrant for fraud and corruption, but it was all over as soon as they saw all of the hurt and starved children. The adults in the building were arrested and the children and their files were relocated to another orphanage.

Fearful of being abused at another orphanage, Akane slipped out onto the streets during the transfer in the evening. Now free and on the streets, she knew that she had to do something so she wouldn't freeze or starve. She remembered that her caretaking skills made her be less hurt, so she decided to knock on the first house's door she saw.