Janto oneshots

Hide and seek

This is a hider/seeker au. Nothing is cannon in this and torchwood doesn't exist. It is roughly inspired by a tik tok trend but not entirely it just gave me the idea. Hope you enjoy.
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When everyone turned sixteen they were assigned a colour. Hider or seeker. Red for seekers and blue for hiders. Seekers had to kill hiders and the world was segregated. No one knew how the marks appeared or who put them there, but on their sixteenth birthday the mark would appear on their foreheads. And that one day determined their fate forever. It was against the law for a seeker not to kill any hider they came across unless they were related by blood. No one ever dared question the system, so they didn't disobey. Partly because they were scared. After all, no rebellious seekers ever lived to tell the tale. Ianto jones was a criminal. Except no one knew

When ianto turned sixteen his mark appeared, just like everyone else. Red. He was a seeker. He had half hoped that he was a hider. Living in fear was surely better than killing people. Besides, seekers ruled the world and hiders... well, they were treated rather badly. But ianto couldn't help hoping. The next day though he had been sent to a school. A school for seekers.

Every night his friends would ask the same question.
We're going hunting for hiders tonight. You in?
Ianto didn't know how they did it. Killed people that is. He made up excuses his whole life. His sister was a seeker, so that gave him the perfect alibi. He had always said he hunted with her. But he knew one day he'd have to do it for real. He couldn't avoid hiders his whole life... could he?

Ianto was 24 when it happened. He met his first hider. He hadn't meant to. He had walked into a coffee shop that's all. He didn't know it for both hiders and seekers. He especially didn't think about it as he pushed through the hiders entrance, his eyes glued to his phone. He collided with someone. "Oh god I'm so sorry" he apologised quickly as he glanced up from his phone, registering the fact that someone's coffee was now on the ground. The man looked up from his spilt coffee, smiling charmingly. His smile, however, dropped as soon as he locked eyes with ianto. "You're a... um the seekers entrance is over there" he mumbled wide eyed. Ianto stared in horror at the startlingly blue mark on the man's forehead. "I..." he managed before he trailed off. Ianto always thought that, when he met a hider, the first thing he would notice was their mark. But now... now he was staring  at one and he realised with a start that he had first noticed the man's eyes. The eyes that were now filled with fear. The man stumbled backwards, a delayed reaction. Everyone had seen, they were in public... he had to go after this man... or he'd be arrested. The man rushed off and ianto took off after him. He couldn't kill him. He couldn't. But he surely couldn't break the law it was too risky. The man ran down a deserted alleyway and it was then ianto took his chance. He was gaining on the man and if he could just...

He managed to grasp the man's suspenders and pull him backwards, pinning him against the wall. Ianto knew how this looked. The man thought he was going to kill him. Hell, ianto half thought he was going to kill the man. Instead though he found himself saying "please stop struggling, I'm not going to hurt you... don't draw attention to us I don't want to have to do anything". The man looked him up and down before stuttering out "w-what is this... some sort of... killing plan... you make me trust you ... tell me you'll protect me or something... that you don't kill... that you're a rebel.... and then you kill me?". Ianto dropped his hand from the man's shirt in shock. "No!" He exclaimed in a half whisper. "No I- ... I don't... look". He reached for his hunting knife. It was curved and decorated intricately with a black leather handle. It was beautiful and his father had given it to him when he was seventeen and every seeker had one. But he carried his for show. In fact he had blunted it. He dragged the blade across his hand slowly and was sure to dig the pointed tip in to his palm too. The man watched with awe as it left not even a mark. "See..." ianto told the man softly "no other weapons... I'm not going to hurt you". "You could strangle me" the man pointed out, though he sounded at least a little calm at least. Now, ianto realised that the man was american. Ianto shook his head slightly "I could... but I'm not going too... ive never met a hider before. I never wanted to be a seeker... I couldn't every kill anyone". Ianto knew he was sounding frantic. He was starting to cry... his whole family had been seekers and he had never even met a hider, now... he didn't know what to do. "My brother was like you" the man confessed shakily ".... a seeker.... he never wanted to kill.... they took him... he got away from them after a while but he was changed... he was mad.... he tried to kill me .... I didn't know if it was because I was the only hider in my family or if it was my fault he got taken... but he shouldn't have even done that... they took him again...". Ianto gaped in horror "why would it have been your fault" he questioned the man. The american took a shaky breath "he was seventeen ... I was twenty ... he... we bumped into a hider on the street and he didn't want to kill them... he was just a kid... but ... an officer saw him... so we ran... the officer was a seeker but he hadn't seen my mark so I was safe.... but I took greys hand and we ran. It all went wrong though when I spotted another officer... they're all seekers ... so I dove behind a skip and I hid.... I let go of his hand". Ianto realised with horror that the man was crying. "Go" he told him bluntly. The man wiped his eyes looking at Ianto questioningly. "Go... that street down there... strictly for hiders ... run you'll be safe". "What will you do" the man questioned already making his way out of the alleyway. "I'll think of something" ianto reassured him, knowing someone would find out about the lack of body sooner or later. "By the way!" The man called from the end of the alleyway "thank you". Something in Ianto's heart fluttered happily and, as ianto ran, he couldn't help but wish one thing.... that he'd asked for the man's name.