I used to say I wanna die before Im old (but because of you I might think twice)

Chapter 4: Escape

Okami crept through the dark, eerie alleyways of Musutafu, trying to find a warm spot to settle down for the night. It had been just over twenty-four hours since she left that wretched place she was forced to call home. Mazoku hadn't managed to find her yet and for that, she was relieved. Just as Okami was about to settle for a cosy spot under the overhang of an apartment balcony, a shadowy figure caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She felt her whole body shut down. 'No! He can't have found me already!' Okami panicked. The dark figure edged out of the shadows. A hand reached out toward Okami's neck.

She yelped in alarm as the large rough hand clamped around her neck, obstructing her windpipe. Okami was flung into a nearby wall with a loud thud. She cried out as a sharp pain shot down her spine as she felt her head snap back. Now slumped against the concrete wall she felt her head begin to throb as a warm liquid, she assumed to be blood, dripped down her face. Her attacker crept into the light, but before they could reach her, another tall figure threw her attacker into the ground with a sickening thud. It was safe to say he was out cold against the now blood-stained concrete.

The tall figure stood, after restraining her attacker in what looked like a scarf, and slowly made their way over to her. Okami began to shake, her breathing erratic. She could feel the lycanthrope trying to surface but she did her best to suppress it as she curled up in a defensive ball, knees pressed firmly into her chest. A hand landed lightly on her shoulder and she looked up to see none other than the underground pro hero Eraserhead.

"You alive, kid?" He asked in a tired, monotone voice.

"Y...y..yeah" Okami stuttered, still shaking a little.

"Where do you live? I'll walk you home" He offered. His question lingered in Okami's head. 'Where do I live?' She asked herself because she was not living in that hell hole of a house with her devil of a father. "You got a home?" the hero pushed further after she hadn't answered, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"I...I don't actually...live anywhere at the moment" She blurted out to the hero. The man's eyes widened slightly, he had never been in a situation like this one before. After a few seconds of thought, Eraserhead finally replied.

"Well...First, we should call the station to pick this guy up." He casually motioned to the unconscious mugger on the floor. Okami tried to stand, wincing at the new pain blooming in her abdomen as she stumbled back to the floor, dizzy. "And then...on second thought, by the looks of it, you probably have a pretty bad concussion. We should go to the hospital for a checkup instead," He added bluntly. Eraserhead pulled out his phone and dialled the nearest police station, asking for someone to pick up the villain. He secured the villain tightly to a lamp post with some rope and helped Okami off the ground. At this point Okami was feeling increasingly dizzy and light-headed. Her vision began to blur and within seconds, she was plunged into darkness. The last thing she noticed was a quiet utterance of "fuck," and the feeling of weightlessness.

Okami awakened to the painfully white ceiling of a small bare, also white, room. She was about to sit herself up until she noticed the beeping and whirring of various machines. She looked around, realising that she was hooked up to an IV drip and a heart monitor (or at least that's what she thought they were). She startled for a moment before remembering the events of the previous night. Eraserhead had saved her. She heard soft snoring from the chair next to her, and glanced over to see familiar long, dark hair. Okami wincing in pain as she turned her head too fast. Then she remembered the nasty concussion she'd gotten from being thrown into the wall. 'Ouch'.

"Good, you're awake," Eraserhead spoke up in his usual bored voice, his expression equally bored-looking. She could have sworn she heard a hint of relief in his voice, though.

"N-not to be rude Mr Eraserhead... but why are you still here?" Okami wondered. Eraserhead looked at her with the slightest quirk of his eyebrow.

"Would you rather I leave?" He asked earnestly as his face contorted into a subtle expression of concern.

"N-n-no... but don't you have anywhere else to be after bringing me here? Other people to save?" Her confusion only increased with his next blunt statement.

"There are plenty of other Pros for that. Right now it is my duty to make sure you are safe," he paused before quietly adding, "and not just from villains,".

"O..oh," Okami spoke, her eyes wide. She coughed a few times, clearing her throat, before regaining her composure and glancing back at Eraserhead once more.

He stood up from the chair he was sitting in. Without much thought, Eraserhead turned to the door before speaking, "I'm going to get you signed out," his voice was flat, "A nurse should be coming soon to remove the IV, after that, get changed and meet me in the lobby," he gestured to the small pile of clothing at the end of the hospital bed. With that, Eraserhead turned on his heel and briskly left the room.

Okami only had to wait a few seconds before a stressed looking nurse hurriedly entered the room. The nurse, who was clearly in a rush, stepped up to her bedside and gestured towards her left arm, the one with the IV attached. Okami hesitantly lifted her arm before the nurse took her hand and carefully removed the IV with steady hands. She left shortly after placing a bandage on Okami's forearm. Okami stood up shakily, her legs still unstable, and snatched the clothes off the bed. They were the same ones she wore the previous night, but they had been washed, no longer covered in dirt and blood. She squeezed them tightly and limped over to the adjoining bathroom.

Okami walked into the lobby clutching her tote bag, which she had found sitting at the foot of the hospital bed, as her eyes scanned the room for any sign of Eraserhead. Her gaze landed on a sleeping figure sprawled on the floor in a yellow sleeping bag beside the waiting room chairs. The only recognisable traits were his tangled black hair spilling out the sides and the signature bored expression on his face. No doubt, this was Eraserhead.

Okami slowly approached the male and hesitantly poked him on the shoulder. Eraserhead, not actually asleep, opened his eyes and sat up. As soon as his eyes landed on Okami, his irritated scowl morphed into a small, soft grin. He climbed out of the sleeping back and passed Okami multiple sheets of white paper dotted in black ink. She let her eyes scan the first few lines. An Adoption Registration form. Okami gasped, eyes wide.