Strings and Buttons

Chapter 8: Button Eyes

Her fingers never stop moving, and it unnerves him. Her fingernails are painted a dark red. His mom never painted her nails. She doesn't turn around when she talks to him, continuing to chop vegetables. 

"Katsuki? Is that you?" 

The women turns around and Katsuki takes an instinctive step back. 

She has buttons where her eyes should be. 

"It's lunchtime brat, your late." 

Katsuki glares at her, stepping back again. 

"Who the fuck are you?!" 

She doesn't say anything about him swearing, just continuing to smile at him. 

"I'm your other mother brat. Now go tell your other father food is ready." 

As she talks, she leans down to open the oven door. The smell of chicken flows through the kitchen and his stomach grumbles. Damnit, he just realized how hungry he was. On one side of his mind, he thinks about going back down to the hallway and leaving. It just doesn't feel right.

But that train of thought is stopped when the women looks at him, oven gloves covering her hands as she goes to take the chicken out. 

"Well go on. We don't have all fucking day." 

He goes, opting to just follow along for now. He goes down the hall to his father's study, opening the door. He expects to see something like his old study back home but is surprised when he sees the whole room covered in pages, not fashion designs, but recipes. His 'other father' is writing something down at his desk, his button eyes gleaming in the light. 

"Hey um... The lady said that food was ready." 

He stands there as the man looks at him from his desk, a bright smile on his face. 

"Ok! Sorry, i was just writing something down!" 

He happily goes over to him, patting his shoulder as they walk out of the room. It creeps him the hell out, instinctively moving away from the touch. The man just continues to smile at him. Even as they sit at the table, he cannot shake the feeling. 

The women busies herself with setting the table, putting down plates full of food that smell and look so delicious Katsuki feels his mouth watering at the sight of them. Right when everyone sat down, he began to eat. Everything tasted so good, he was shocked. 

Sure, his dad's food back home was amazing, but this was on a whole different level. 

It's as he's eating that the man speaks, fork and knife in hand as he looks at him. 

"We've been waiting a long time for you, Katsuki." 

Ok, not creepy at all. But he doesn't care to answer, continuing to eat. 

"We've finally become a proper family..."

The man trails off and Katsuki stops eating, pushing the plate away from him silently. This was the best meal Katsuki has ever had in his entire life, but he won't tell these people that. But he gets the feeling the women knows, because she taps her fingers onto the table with a knowing smile, her button eyes staring into him. 

He looks at the both of them, taking in how much nicer this place is. 

"I didn't know things like other mothers and fathers were a thing." 

The women laughs, her buttons showing emotion despite there not being anything to actually show except for the glassy black surface. 

"Of course, there are! You just haven't met us before then." 

Katsuki stays silent, picking at his food for a bit. The women and man continue to talk, though they don't really even look at each other, just focusing on Katsuki. He gives them half assed answers and finally excuses himself. 

"Just go up to your room then Katsuki! Goodnight. We love you." 

"Goodnight Katsuki! Love you!"

It twists his gut, and he waves goodbye, going up the stairs to where he thought his bedroom was. When he steps in, all of his stuff is there. It's not bare and mostly empty like his normal room. Its full of all of his books, his video games, and clothes. 

there were odd things too, like pictures that moved, things that would go back to their places if Katsuki messed with them, and even the window changed backgrounds, showing him what he wanted to see.

Katsuki sees something scurry across the room and under his bed. He's quick to go see what the hell it is, laying down on the ground and looking under the bed. Fifty or more little red eyes look back at him from the dark, and there is the sound of their high-pitched chittering. 

"What the fuck?" 

He backs up as fast as he possibly can, his back hitting the door. The rats come out from under the bed, blinking their little eyes and scuttering. Before Katsuki can say anything or even scream, the rats began to circle around each other, climbing swiftly and quickly until they formed a small pyramid. 

Katsuki stares in horror, his mouth slightly open as his other hand feels for the doorknob but unable to find it. He doesn't, can't, tear his eyes away from the scene. Even more so when the rats begin to sing, in their high, whining voices. 

"We have teeth, and we have tails." 

"We have tails we have eyes." 

"We were here before you fell." 

"You will be here when we rise." 

Katsuki crinkles his nose in disgust. The song is creepy as hell, and he takes his boot off quickly before throwing it as hard as he can towards the pyramid of singing rats. 

"Fuck off!"

They scatter when his shoe goes flying at them and landing on the floor with a heavy thud. The rats are scampering away, and to his horror they run to him. 

He goes to kick them away, but they go past him. He turns around, now noticing that the door that he was supposed to be leaning on is open and the crazy man from the attic, Mr. Toshinori is standing at the doorway. He has a tall top hat in his hands, his button eyes looking down at Katsuki.