Delinquents | bk.

[55]: Feeling the Freedom

My feet hit the floor.

The cold air hit my face.

I had a watch on for one reason. I had to keep an eye on the time.

Those very few people who happened to still be walking the streets so late in the afternoon only saw my small hooded form as I sprinted through the thin, dirty streets.

I had to be weary of the ground. Everywhere, there were protruding bricks and stumps that developed from a severe lack of attention. They would probably have been the end of me if I was to trip.

I bound past the stalls, deadlining for one spot.

My spot.

I didn't realise how much all my training had effected me, until I noticed that I had been running for a long time, and was still not tired.

It was weird, but I wasn't complaining.

I approached the main streets where all the commotion and after-dark trading goes on.

I spotted someone familiar.

Someone I hadn't seen in a long time.

"Touya-kun!"

His head swung to me so fast that it was like he recognised my voice and didn't believe his own ears.

"Tito!"

I ran to him, ignoring the few other kids he was conversing with, and hugged him.

He hugged me back. His hands locked tightly around me, and he rested his chin on my head.

His hair was still red, back then.

And he didn't have his scars.

He was still the same person, he just hadn't discovered himself quite yet.

Although this was definitely no place for the Todoroki bloodline to visit, or even show their faces, the locals made an exception for him.

He fitted in here.

"You're outside!" he cheered, grabbing my shoulders and holding me close with a huge smile. "I can't believe it!"

"But not for long!" I laughed, reaching up to ruffle his soft crimson hair, "I have to keep moving!"

"Oh my gosh," he gasped, quickly reaching for my hood that had fallen back when I was running, and pulled it back over my head. "You idiot! You're going to get seen! You can't let any of these men come near you, okay? If they do, you burn the shit out of them!"

"Haha, language! You're too young to have a potty mouth!"

"You're too young to be giving me orders!" he laughed back.

Oh, how much I miss his laugh.

It wasn't until then that I registered how much the sun had gone down. If I didn't hurry, I was definitely going to miss the sunset.

"Right, I have to go!"

"Go then. Be safe! Don't talk to anyone except me, got it?"

I started running away from him, back along my path, but held two fingers back and winked, "Got it, Touya-kun!"

He watched me run away, admiring me, but I didn't think of it that way, back then.

I didn't think too much of anything.