Who We Are (Hiro x Reader)

chapter two

You weigh your options. Do you leave your future in the hands of two strangers or wait until those two men get here and do who knows what?

"There she is!" the fat one screams. You see them at the end of the street and stumble backwards.

"Come on!" the shadow whispers. "We have a house. We'll help you!"

You stay frozen.

"Do you want them to kill you?" another hisses.

No. You run into the alley. One grabs your arm and the other leads the way, jumping on top of a pile of crates and leaping over a brick wall. You follow him, the other right behind you.

"This way!" the leading one whispers. Once in the light of the next street, you see the guy in front of you. He's around your age - sixteen, with a mop of black hair on top of his head. He wears a dark blue jacket on top of a red t-shirt. His shoes are untied, but it doesn't slow him down. You struggle to keep up with his fast legs.

You assume that he's leading you to the subway, but he isn't. Instead, he makes a sharp turn into a dark side road and grabs your arm. He yanks you inside a heavy metal side door and softly closes it once the other enters. You're in some kind of café. The shades are drawn on the glass windows, the chairs and tables piled up in front of the glass entrance.

"Hiro, get down!" the other whispers. Hiro- the younger one, you suppose - pulls you to the floor and you land on your stomach. He holds a hand against your whimpering lips.

"Shh. It's okay," he tries to assure you.

You watch as the older one slides a metal bar between the handle and slides in five locks. He then drops to the floor with you both, just as the men walk by the café.

"Where'd she go?" one questions.

"She's gotta be here somewhere."

You shut your eyes as a tear slides down your cheek and onto the boy's hand.

"Maybe she's in the subway station-"

"Maybe. C'mon, Tyler. We'll get her."

Once it's clear, you allow yourself to breathe. The boy drops his hand and runs it through his hair. You slowly sit up and lean your forehead against the cool surface of the steel door.

"That was close," the younger one says. "You alright, brother?"

"Fine. You?" You tense up once you realize that he's talking about you.

"I-I'm okay," you struggle to get out.

"You're bleeding," the youngest says, taking your hand and examining your palms.

"I've had it worse than this," you reply.

He laughs dryly. "Haven't we all?"

The oldest nods. "Hiro, let's take her upstairs and get her checked out."

You're reluctant to follow them up the set of dark steps before you. The youngest one, Hiro, seems to notice this. "Hey, you don't have to worry. We're not going to hurt you."

The oldest smiles kindly. "Would it make you feel better if we all left our weapons down here?"

"Maybe," you admit.

Hiro nods and pulls out a large kitchen knife from his pocket. The oldest takes out a couple of screwdrivers and a hammer.

"No guns?" you question.

"We live in a café, not a shooting range," Hiro says sarcastically.

"Hiro, knock it off." The oldest drops his weapons onto the counter. He then lights a small candle for a source of light. "Let's go." They lead you up a flight of dark stairs and then another one. You find yourself in a bedroom. Probably theirs. The oldest nods you towards the bathroom, where he pats the sink. You drop your bag on the tiled floor and hoist yourself onto the counter top as he continues to talk about weapons. "No, no guns yet. We've been rummaging around the city, searching for anything. Guns, medicine, water... we've come up short." He rummages through a first aid kit.

"Yeah, our Aunt Cass sent us out there to find some painkillers and instead we found you. Speaking of, why were those guys after you?" Hiro asks, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

You shrug. "I really don't know. They watched me go into the funeral home after my run, I guess. I lived in the attic of the place after the creepers took over my house."

"Creepers, huh?" Hiro questions with a smile. "That's what you call 'em?"

"They remind me of what I used to think hid in my closet at night," you explain. "What do you call them?"

"Things, killers, undead- common names, ya know," he says.

You nod. "My name's ___," you say.

The oldest smiles. "I'm Tadashi. That's Hiro, my knucklehead of a younger brother. We live here with our Aunt Cass."

"Nice to meet you," you say.

"Hold out your hands," Tadashi orders. You obey. He opens your fingers and sprays an antibacterial medicine on your palms. You hiss in pain as it stings your sensitive skin. "Sorry. These are some deep cuts. How'd they happen?"

"Jumped out of the attic," you explain.

"The attic has windows?" Hiro asks.

"No. I made one when those guys started looking for me. I have a crowbar in my bag," you say.

"And then you jumped out of it?"

You nod.

"That's sick!" Hiro explains with a grin. "Really. That takes guts."

"Well, I figured that dying because of a fall was better than being murdered by a couple of crazy men or a creeper that wants to take a bite out of me," you mumble. They fall silent.

"Boys?" a voice calls out in the darkness.

You jump in surprise. Tadashi notices and squeezes your shoulder. "That's Aunt Cass," he explains.

"Back from her storage count," Hiro adds.

Tadashi hands Hiro the candle and takes a small flashlight out of his pocket. "Stay here with ___ while I go talk to Aunt Cass."

"Sure thing," Hiro says. Tadashi walks out of the room. "I'm surprised he even held that candle for as long as he did."

"Why?" you ask.

"Well, he had a close call a year ago. He was involved in the fire at San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. He barely made it out, and he's been afraid ever since. Didn't you notice his scars?"

Too be honest, you didn't. But now that you think back, the young man was covered in pink scars that have completely wrinkled and destroyed his skin. "I really didn't. I had a lot on my mind."

"Yeah," he says. "Tadashi's really messed up about it, too. I think he prefers the world in this condition more than before."

"Why?" you ask. The idea of this shocks you. "The world is in complete crap! What good comes out of this?"

Hiro laughs like it's all one big joke. "Nowadays, no one thinks about how he looks. No one thinks about it because everyone is either undead and looking worse or alive and trying to keep from looking like the undead."