Poison From The Same Vine

4 | The Hobo

- KATSUKI -

"Hey, there's a room over here!"

"It's locked!"

"Hey, over here! We need backup!"

"Where's Nighteye?!"

I tuned out the voices, unsure of who or why they were here. Were they new scientists Overhaul had hired? Were they heroes coming to rescue us? I wasn't sure.

I picked Zuku up properly, looping my arms underneath him. His head rested against my chest as he slept, his mouth moving as he muttered something I couldn't quite decipher. I could address that later.

I stood up shakily, tracing the room with my foot as I made my way over to one of the far corners of the room. I hoped that whoever was outside that door wouldn't see us. If it was a scientist or even Overhaul, I needed to protect Zuku at all costs.

He's been through enough.

Something banged against the door, the loud noise echoing around the room. I stood my ground, ready to fight whatever was there. If they wanted Zuku or I, they'd have to fight me for it. And I wasn't going to let myself lose.

The door opened, or rather fell forward. It fell with a harsh crash, making me notice the silhouette in the doorway. He was searching the room, looking for something or rather someone.

They had a scarf-like thing around their neck, their glowing red eyes scanning the space. They seemed desperate, their posture reminding me of a hero's. I just didn't know who.

His eyes landed on us. He sighed in relief before walking towards us cautiously. "Are you Kacchan and Zuku?"

"Who are you!?" I walked back a little further, inches away from the wall. "How do you know us!?"

"My name is Eraserhead, I'm a pro-hero." He introduced, pulling a small card out of his pocket. "A little girl told us who you were."

Little girl?

Could it be..?

He walked closer, putting some light on the card he was showing to us. It was no use though. Zuku and I had never learnt to read properly due to being held here, so any sort of reading task was torture for us.

"Are you able to read what it says?" He asked, sounding genuine.

I hesitated before shaking my head. I looked at him hesitantly, taking in his features in the limited light we had. Looking at him now, I familiarised myself with his slim figure, raven-black hair flowing down his back. He seemed to be wearing a black tracksuit as well as boots that reached his knees.

He put the card away, his eyes reflecting some sort of understanding. Slowly, he reached out his hand, testing if I was going to come closer.

I looked him over again, searching for anything that seemed off. Though, nothing seemed fake. It was weird, considering how used I was to Overhaul's usual fake empathy and those manipulating eyes of his, always pretending to care.

When I couldn't find anything that seemed even a little odd, I hesitantly walked towards him. It was hard at first, seeing as I had been sitting on the hard cold floor for the past few days or so. But, eventually, I was able to do it without stumbling.

"Are you okay to walk?" He asked, holding my arm.

I nodded. "I'm just.. not used to it.."

His gaze softened as he led me out of the room.

We had been walking for a while, running into problems here and there. In multiple situations, the hobo had to fight some of the scientists and guards that worked here. It pained me that I recognised the majority of them.