Chapter Text
It’s a quiet night uptown.
No flash of headlights across windows from a moving car. No quiet chatter of voices of couples strolling along the sidewalk. Not a single soul to be seen. Well, all except for one. But then the question would be raised if they had a soul to begin with.
A long-coat swishes around his knees. The faint click of his shoes as he walks against wet pavement. Pale blonde hair dangling against his cheeks. Toshinori Yagi is an oddity that dares to prowl so late in the night. Only, not really. His movements are too smooth, too graceful. Skin oh so pale like freshly fallen snow. And it isn’t quite normal for most men to wear shades at night, either.
For any other individual who was damned for all eternity, they might have been out in search of a snack. Something to quell their thirst. However, this was not Toshinori’s goal. It hadn’t been for over three decades. No, he simply wanted to take a stroll and enjoy the cool night air. His walks had managed to somehow clear his mind whenever it was troubled. Tonight would be no different.
At least that was what he had originally thought until he’d smelled the blood in the air.
He keeps his hands in his pockets, following the stench that permeates the air like a sickening perfume. It makes the back of his throat burn, his fangs ache in his gums. It’s torture. The blood of animals was easy enough to tide over his thirst, to ease it. But human blood was different. It was sweet and rich on the tongue, an ambrosia made by the gods themselves. So why, he wondered, did he smell so much of it on this night?
Toshinori makes his way into an alley. It would be dark for most, but for him he sees clearly. He gingerly tucks his glasses away, crimson gaze scanning the ground. The blood mingles with rainwater on the ground, dulling his senses. It’s slowly fading away with each passing minute. He looks for the source, but feels a slight tinge of annoyance at not managing to find the source.
One final sniff in the air. Just to be certain. No, whoever had been hurt was now long gone. So there was no point in staying here. A hand reaches back for his glasses, turning on a heel to leave when--
A cry. Strangled, small. That of a babe.
His head snaps up, hand freezing. Nostrils flare and he inhales again. The scent is the same, only… if he focuses… he smells something else. Something different. Another quiet cry, and already his feet are in motion.
If his heart had been able to beat it might have stopped at that very moment. There, nestled in a thin blanket beside a garbage bin on the wet ground… was a baby. Soaked to the bone, blankets covered in blood. Toshinori cannot move, cannot look away. In all his centuries of life, he has never been quite faced with a situation such as this. A human child.
A human child.
It lets out another weak cry and that is what eventually snaps him out of his stupor. He leans down, gently cradling the small one into his arms.
“Hello, little one,” he coos. Green eyes blink blearily up at him. Their face is so pale. How long had then been out in this weather? Once again he lifts into the darkness, looking for any sign of their parents. Who would… simply abandon a child like this? A baby, no less?
Yet his rage can wait. Right now, this… child… needs him. Toshinori inhales quietly slowly maneuvering himself to take off his jacket. He peels away the ruined, wet blankets and wraps the child into his coat, hopping to his feet and walking towards the street.
Only… what does he do now? He cannot possibly keep a baby. Let alone a human one! He is a King! He has responsibilities! His people need him! There is also the constant looming threat of the hunters, and he simply just can’t--
There is a small whimper from inside his coat, and Toshinori peels it back to look at them. A thick head of wild, curly hair and bright green eyes. They almost look to be on the verge of crying, and something deep within his chest twists at the sight.
“Shhh, shh, it’s alright. I’m here, see? You’re safe now, little one…”
They’re so precious. When was the last time he’d been so close to a human child in this way? It almost makes him… sad. To know that he has to let them go. But this would be for the best. To find someone else to look after them. He simply
could not
keep them.
A tiny hand reaches up and grabs at his shirt, crimson eyes fluttering down. Their eyes are a bit clearer than they’d been a moment before. Curious, full of wonder. They give him a smile that’s all gums, no teeth. The sight actually manages to pull a chuckle from deep in his throat.
Sweet thing.
No.
A sigh of frustration. With a bit of adjustment, he searches for the nearest children's home. Tries to search for someone to contact. The sooner they were in human hands, the better.
It doesn’t take him long to find one. It’s nearly a thirty minute walk, but one Toshinori doesn’t mind making. He has all the time in the world. Yet with each passing step, he feels the weight in his chest grow heavier and heavier with dread of what is to come.
He stops just outside the steps to the building, looking up to darkened windows. The child now slept soundly in his arms, blissfully unaware of the fate that awaited them. They would be with other children. They would make friends, and be adopted by a loving family.
Wouldn’t they?
A door creaks open, and an older woman peeks her head out.
“Forgive me. Are you the one I spoke with over the phone? Shuzenji-san?”
“Yes, yes-- that’s me. Is the child alright?”
“They are,” Toshinori confirms, peeling back his coat. He brings up a handle to casually flick his glasses back down over his eyes.
“Oh… oh, goodness gracious,” the woman whispers as she walks down the steps, bringing a hand up to her mouth. She holds out her hands in silent asking, as Toshinori reluctantly places them in her arms. The woman swaddles him, looking intently at his face.
“And you simply… found them? In an alley?”
“I did… I looked for someone, but whoever left them had obviously done so quickly.”
“You poor thing,” Shuzenji whispers softly. “I’m so sorry you were left in the world like that.”
Toshinori swallows an unexpected lump that somehow managed to form in the back of his throat. “You will… take care of them, yes?”
“Yes, of course we will, Yagi-san. We love all the children here. Will you be returning tomorrow..?”
He gives a curt nod. “I will.”
“Thank you. Please excuse me, this little one needs to be warmed.”
Yet as the woman turns to move, there it is. A tiny groan that slowly turns to a whine, a whimper, and suddenly a heart-breaking wail. Toshinori feels his heart shatter and he takes a step forward, arms already reaching out for the pair.
“
Wait--
wait!”
The woman stops dead in her tracks, looking around at him in confusion. “Yagi-san?”
“Give them back to me. Please,” he says quietly. “I’ll take them.”
She blinks. “What--”
“The child. I will take them with me. I’ll deal with the paperwork tomorrow.” Now it’s his turn for his arms to be outstretched expectantly. The child gives another soft cry, another one soon following. “They’re mine.”
Shuzenji looks unsure for a moment, glancing down at the small child in her arms. But with another wail, she is handing them back over. Almost immediately the cries die down, and Toshinori feels a smile slowly pull at the corners of his lips.
“It seems you two already share quite the bond.”
The comments makes the smile fade, but only for a moment. “It appears so.”
“I wish you great happiness, Yagi-san.”
Eyes lift to meet hers, though she cannot see his own. He nods, then begins to walk away; free hand already fishing for his phone. He’ll need Aizawa to come and pick him up. A baby shouldn’t be out in the cold for this long.
So he begins his stroll once more, looking down at the small bundle in his arms. He smiles again, one of the first true smiles he has shared in a thousand years.