#as demonstrated in this chapter

[sirspazingtonthefourth]

Skylight: Chapter 4

1.5k words. Hawks and an OC (Not Romantic!) Fluff with some angst, Found family sort of. Content Warnings: Cursing, isolation, mentions of abuse, blood-letting, let me know if I missed any

Summary: Keigo finds out what exactly has been happening to the kid.

A/N: Hey, another update! I'm probably going to try and get the rest of the fic up today, since I'm thinking about it. I'm also going to go back and change the summaries to reflect the chapter content, that'll be fun.

Whenever Keigo visited after that he brought a few books with him, mostly children’s books to help preschoolers learn sign language. The kid, he found quickly, couldn’t read. They stared at the hiragana the same way he remembered looking at English letters when the Commission had taught him. So he would quietly sound out the words for them, then sign the word. It was a learning exercise for the both of them, and the two of them were soon able to hold short, simple conversations.

“How are you feeling?”

“I am good. How are you, Keigo?”

“I’m fine. It’s cold outside.

“It is cold here. The nest is warm. Keigo, you will follow me.”

The kid’s nest was indeed warm, he found out. Despite being crafted mostly from thin, ratty blankets, the thick one he’d got at the start of winter did a lot to insulate it, and the clothes he’d brought before lent the thing some extra structure.

It was in a different place every time the kid offered to bring him to it. He suspected they just wanted him to know where they were, in case they didn’t respond. He was glad they did come early spring.

The recording devices had picked up on the sounds from whatever happened before the kid got fresh bandages, which had happened regularly, every two weeks or so, throughout the winter. It was a lot of screaming from the kid, a lot of cursing from the man holding them captive, and the occasional word from a third person, younger than the man. This new person, a buyer of some variety it seemed, sounded raspy, and he spoke softly. The only reason Hawks knew he was a client was that the man would respond occasionally that he’d “get his product once this little rat held the fuck still.”

Whatever it was they were doing, it left the kid exhausted after. Exhausted enough that, in the early weeks of spring, Keigo had to search the attic for them. He’d long since become accustomed to avoiding the creaking on the attic floor, following the kid’s movements as they played with his feathers and led him around the dark room.

He found them curled up on the floor. The kid was pale, like they normally were when the bandages were changed. Except there were no bandages this time. The kid was sprawled out, arms extended to show pockmarks up and down the inside of their arms. They were concentrated near their wrists and elbows, but there were some in other places. There was some bloody tubing nearby. One end was attached to a large needle, the other held what looked like a screw top, a few empty vials nearby that looked like they would fit on.

The kid was heaving for breath, eyes hardly open enough to scan the room as he got closer. He tried to sign to them, but they didn’t seem like they could see properly.

“Kid, what happened?” he whispered.

Slowly, shaking as they did, the kid raised one hand to tap their other arm, wincing as they did. Then they traced their finger along their bottom lip.

“Arm is red.” That didn’t make sense. He knew their arm was red. He could see it, some of the pockmarks were leaking blood still.

And there was tubing and empty vials right next to him.

“Are they taking your blood?” His kid just laid still. They were still breathing, labored and slow, but they didn’t move otherwise. “Dammit. Just… stay here, okay? I���ll be back soon.”

Keigo tucked a feather into the kid’s shirt, all the way beneath them so it wouldn’t be found easily, then quietly strode towards the skylight. He made it out right as he heard the attic door open.

He listened through his feather as he flew, trying to remember what foods the nurses in hospitals recommended him when he’d lost a lot of blood. The man knelt down, berating the kid as he pulled on them. They whimpered and he snarled at them to shut up before going back to whispered words.

“It would go so much easier for you if you would just hold still.”

“You brought this on yourself, you understand me?”

“You should be used to this by now.”

“Might need to tie you down tighter next time if you don’t behave.”

“You’re always too damn loud. Hurts my fucking ears, you stupid brat.”

There was a grocery store nearby, and Hawks frantically searched through the shelves for anything with iron in it that was ready to eat. He grabbed a large container of raisins and an American brand of cereal that looked bland but had a decent amount of iron in it. He grabbed two water bottles as well, paid, and left before anyone could try and slow him down, feeling as the kid got up and moved somewhere softer. The man had left the attic by that point, and with no car in front of the house Hawks figured that he’d left. He dropped through the skylight, walking as quickly as he could, considering the creaks, towards the nest where his kid now lay. Their arms had been bandaged now, but with all the marks it couldn’t have been doing too much good. He could feel that they were still breathing, which was a small relief. Near the door out of the attic was a cold steak, left whole on a paper plate.

“I’m back. I brought some food.” The kid lolled their head towards his voice, and he knelt down as close as he could. They shied away at first, but reached out and grabbed his coat. He waited for them to let go, but their weak grip remained. Slowly, he opened the raisins and handed some of them to the kid. The arm not holding him didn’t move.

“Please, you have to eat. You’ll feel better, I promise, just please take a bite.” The kid stayed still. Their eyes drifted towards the food in his hand, but they made no other move. God, how much had they taken from this kid?

He slowly reached for his kid’s head. He opened their mouth as gently as he could manage, though they tried to pull away.

“It’s alright,” he said, speaking the way one might speak to an injured animal, low and even. It was enough to calm them a little, and they weren’t pulling as hard. “I’m trying to help. I need you to eat this, okay? Please, just…” He didn’t know what he was asking them for. Not to bite him? To eat? To be alright?

He was able to open their mouth and place a few raisins in. As soon as he let go they pulled their head slightly away. There was a long minute as they chewed the raisins, then swallowed, before they turned their head back towards Keigo and opened their mouth.

“Heh. Just like a little bird, huh?” He placed a few more raisins in their mouth, and they ate them just as slowly as the first.

He stayed with them for an hour, most of the time spent feeding them slowly. By the end they were leaning up and feeding themselves, shoveling handfuls of raisins and cereal into their mouth. He thanked God that the cereal was dry enough that they had to slow down to chew it, or he was certain they would have choked.

He handed them one of the waters, and they chugged it down while he used a feather to cut the steak into smaller pieces. He didn’t trust that they wouldn’t try to shove too much in their mouth and choke. It was the only time he’d seen food up there, and he was sure that his kid was already starving, even with the snacks he snuck in. He’d have to start doing that more often.

”Will you be alright?” he asked. He didn’t want to leave them alone here, not with what he knew.”

“Yes. Things do not feel pain.” They signed it like a mantra, like if they just said it enough it would become true.

“You aren’t a thing.” And then it hit him, plain as day.

“Seijin.” The kid glanced at him, and he signed it while he spoke. “Seijin. Your name.”

“Things do not have names.” Keigo was going to rip the man holding his kid to pieces when he got the chance. He didn’t even want to know what it had taken for this kid, for Seijin, to think of themself as less than human.

“You aren’t a thing. And I’m giving you a name, so you can’t be a thing.” The kid considered that, then shakily copied the signs he’d made for their name.

“Seijin. I am Seijin.” A smile started on their face, breaking into a grin as they signed their name over and over again. They noticed as he stood, letting out a short, high coo.

He signed that he was leaving, and they waved back before turning to the steak, shoving one piece into their mouth and then continuing to sign their name. Keigo grabbed the remains of the food he brought and the last recording device and left.

[nyxi-pixie]

like mentor like mentee i guess

[owlf45]

youtube stealers are getting a little ballsy

[aster-draws]

Piece for chapter 6 of Wanted: Dead and Alive, my dpxdc crossover fic that Consumes my every waking thought. Also I care very much about these stupid little birds. So.

[haru-chi]

Okay, let's talk about the recent Natuyuu chapter for a little bit ... and something that just moved me to tears ><

let's ignore that the appearance they teased was for the cats and not what I wanted and wished for which's fine I'm fine I knew it was impossible .. yet hoped nonetheless

the chapter was really cute indeed, but I was shocked that the Reiko's pic was gonna be addressed right after the reveal !!! that took me by surprise yet a very happy one to confirm what I was saying back then ...

but before that, the way Natsume started to realize and know for sure that that might've been Reiko by remembering his father was too much for me ...

this chapter was such a good demonstration of how much our little sunshine has grown so much emotionally ... I was tearing up seeing him trying very hard to remember that blurry memory of his father taking him to an amusement park T^T

the boy who forced the memories out of his system so as not be broken down by it .. the same boy who refused to see the only parents' picture he had so that he won't be hurt or cry when he sees them ... who always pretending to be fine talking about his real family .. who ran away from any mention of them that he just purged any faint memory he once had till the point he really forgot everything related to them despite how this act of itself was hurting him deeply ...

this same boy right now is doing his best to remember his own father .. to remember a said precious memory .. he was trying really hard something the past Natsume would never do .. but sadly, all he managed was those blurry images .. he no longer remembers his father's face .. yet he wasn't broken down or sad .. he was actually happy as if he holds something dear to him .. that even if it's blurry, even if he no longer remembers it much ... the fact that it exists no matter how faint it was was enough for him .. he does have such a happy memory inside of him afterall .. he was content by this alone .. not pain or sadness but happy to know it was there ..

I can't say it well enough how much he has grown up now ...

and when by the end he did remember this faint memory very clearly .. he didn't cry or was sad (I sure was tho) No, he was very happy as if he was above the clouds dreaming something nice ... even Madara comment that he was weirdly happy and daydreaming ...

this was just ... how to say it ... it just moved me to tears with happiness ..

and his father ... his father was such a kind loving father which just break my heart even further .... Natsume didn't cry but I cried in his place ... even tho I was also happy and proud of him so much ..

Now to Reiko ...

I really was happy how Midorikawa-sensei proved my point when I said that Natsume lacks the ability to recognize a happy Reiko because he just never seen her like that, so even when that picture was indeed Reiko Natsume's mind was like "a girl that looked like Reiko" ... I won't dig deeper for this since I already did for a bit in a different post.

"if that picture was indeed Reiko, is the reason I didn't recognize her because that was an expression I have never seen before ?? I think that smile perhaps was ...."

the way Midorikawa-sensei let Natsume realize that through his father's memory was clever yet cruel to me .. while also proving that that smile was indeed toward someone she loved (her husband) .. a kind of smile that you show to someone dear to you like the loving smile Natsume's father showed to him in that memory ...

now was the artist her husband ?? or was it a 3rd party who knows both of them, so they only captured the moment ?? in the first place why was her picture in an exorcist auction ?? I guess that the next question that Natsume needs to address now that he confirmed she was indeed Reiko :)

slowly but surely, the grandfather reveal is upon us and I'm here for it and all the pain he will bring with Reiko's full story :)

PS : a funny thought that occurred to me when Natsume was thinking " what kind of person will buy that picture I wonder?" and my mind went "who knows, maybe he will be Yorishima as plot twist" as if that shut-in exorcist will go to auctions or even leave his house for that matter xDD

[essektheylyss]

okay I finished the fear research book and it was GREAT, like I want to print out the last two pages and post them on doors and signposts across America great

[thornswoggled]

elias pisses me off so bad YES youre RIGHT chise IS a child but we dont need to hear it from YOU

[virgothozul]

adfgfsgafsgvhhg 

[reineyday]

in the last lil narration during the olympics chapter when the rules of vball are being explained again and the double page spread with the narration of "to connect" has all the little throwback boxes of everyone in karasuno, i love that tekeda-sensei is the last one there before kageyama and hinata, and that it's this shot of him smiling against a backdrop of clouds and the school.

one of the major themes in hq!! is that sports is all about connections, and takeda was so integral in getting karasuno connected. not just to ukai for their coaching needs & nekomata for their wider high-level practice games, but also to the idea that volleyball can be about their lives as a whole. that the wins and losses and team metaphors can and do extend outside of the game: that you always have to get back up after a loss, that teamwork works best when you're all smooth cogs in a machine or individual colours mixing into one, that taking care of yourself and your health is also a part of playing the game.

takeda didnt know anything about volleyball when he decided to sign up for the team, but he knew how to teach, and teaching is about helping students get connected in whatever ways they might need. his role is understated, but it's so fitting that he's the last one we see before our eyes go to kageyama and hinata. he made such a huge difference with his guidance, support and enthusiasm, and i just wanted to point it out.

[moretheta]

the fact that these were a page apart. like yeah ok. ok yeah

[plasticfreckles]

seen my favorite band in the history of ever and Imma make that my entire personality for the forseeable future (= until veilguard drops lmao)

[seirindono]

Hello! I just binged your comic and adore it! I love the mystery around Mel and her dynamics with the other skeletons - especially her and Blue's bond! His characterization is lovely and bounces off the others well. The backgrounds are phenomenonal, too, and I can't imagine how much time and effort you've put into drawing them and learning how to draw them so well. Thank you for sharing your comic with us!!

Also, one question for curiosity's sake: are any of the skeletons romantic interests to Mel? Or familial? Or just platonic? Thank you again!

Ooh, thank you anon!

I enjoy working on character interractions and dynamics so that's really speaking to me, ahah. Blue and Mel are two friendly Monsters who met under less than ideal circumstances. It's interesting to see how a friendship can still develop under these conditions, and how they can influence each other.

The same goes for Black, Axe and the others. It's just too bad I don't have the time to showcase it more often (eventually!)

As for the art part, obviously I can't spend too much time on each page or the story would get nowhere, but thankfully I'm starting to get the hang of it, and I'm ever so thrilled when you guys take a minute to enjoy a bg, pose or a panel you find pretty. The pride of the artist within (*¯︶¯*)

Regarding your question, without going into too much detail, none of them currently have any "romantic interest" so to speak.

Depending on the skeleton, it ranges from curiosity to wariness, but it's bound to evolve, that's for sure! Perhaps even to an almost "familial" attachment, as you say.

[thefisherqueen]

“Now, Watson,” said Holmes, rubbing his hands, “we have half an hour to ourselves. Let us make good use of it.

More than enough time for a quickie ;)

[presumenothing]

ok we reached episode 38 and i have to say. with the mandatory conflict of interest disclosure that the corresponding prison break chapter would probably be my pick for most favourite and Iconique™ bit if i could only pick one chapter to vote for. but novel wins this one hands down for me

[torgawl]

SOEMONE IS REALISTIC AHSNWHSJSJ