You were all huddled together beneath your makeshift shelter, tattered cloth unravelling from the beams set up in a wide arc - a feeble attempt at keeping the elements at bay and minimise the risk of sickness. You'd already lost too many to the hands of disease.
A fire crackled in the centre, infusing a faint orange glow over your grim-faced companions and easing winter's bitter kiss from your trembling bones.
You were sat next to Akutagawa, naturally, your shoulders almost touching as you shuffled closer to the fire, bending your knees into a cross-legged position.
Nobody was speaking. Most of the children were sat there with droopy eyes, completely ignorant of their surroundings. Blind. Vulnerable.
You knew everything. Watched everything.You were completely attuned to everything around you.
The murmur of beetles as they crawled through the dirt; the clinking of window shutters in the derelict building on the far corner of the street; the moans of the wind as it mumbled secrets unheard to the human ear. Secrets of moonlight murder and midnight heist.
And, of course, the boy next to you; the faintest rustle of his coat stirring in the breeze; the subtlest dip in his breathing pattern - a hitch of breath, a quiet sigh. Your breaths were out of sync, but something about that sent your mind on edge. As if you were both equally aware of one another, naturally falling out of sync rather than in it.
You were opposites that fit together like broken jigsaw pieces. A rigid harmony.
"It's cold tonight," a boy whimpered, holding his calloused hands up to the fire. "We're not going to survive unless we find someplace warmer."
Nobody spoke after that. A mere nod, a small flutter of breath, a silent acknowledgement.
Akutagawa's stomach rumbled, making him flinch. He shuffled around in an attempt to disguise it.
"Rin; what's our food supply like?"
Lifting her head lazily, she glared at you through the roaring flames, embers sparking in her eyes. "Low," she spat, her jaw fixing in place.
You met her gaze coolly. "We'll get more in the morning. But some of us missed out on lunch-"
"We need to save it," Rin urged, sucking her cheeks in to make her face look even more gaunt than it was. Hollow. Emaciated. You all were.
"Just a piece, to share between us. Only two of us missed out," you continued, adding in an undertone: "to do the dirty work you lot can't be--"
You fell short as something slammed against your cheek, falling into your lap with a dry slap. You balled your fists by your side, eyes dropping to the meagre chunk of bread now sitting between your legs.
Ignoring the cold glares of the other children, you snapped it roughly in half and handed a piece across to Akutagawa. He stared at the food with a disgusted frown.
"I'm not hungry."
You growled lowly, forcing the bread into his hands. "You must think I'm stupid, or deaf. Eat it or starve."
Falling quiet, he held the stale bread between his fingers and nibbled at the edges. You did the same, letting strands of your [h/c] fringe fall over your eyes as you gazed solemnly into the dwindling fire.
The other children began to bid each other goodnight shortly after, curling up beneath their threadbare blankets and laying their heads to rest. Rin glowered silently at the two of you before hunkering down into a fetal position and pulling a grey sheet over her shoulders.
Then it was just you and Akutagawa.
It often was, these days. You two outcasts stuck together. Survived together.
"I'm going out. Keep watch over them."
You hastily grabbed his wrist to stop him from leaving, your fingers fitting perfectly around his bony hand. "I'm coming with you," you claimed, meeting his intense black glare with a stubborn frown.
"No."
You shot him an exasperated look, climbing to your feet and shrugging off your blanket. "I'm coming whether you want me to or not."
Not wanting to waste any more breath on a futile argument, he took off wordlessly, his coat swishing around his legs. You followed shortly after.
Wherever Akutagawa went, you were never far behind.
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after every five chapters i'm going to post a sort of flashback to give more insight into your past with akutagawa ^-^
