Chapter Text
You knew… fake warmth.
If that made sense.
Whenever you got a perfect score in a class at school, your parents were warm and loving.
Gave you the love you so desperately craved, however short lived it was.
You spent most of your time studying, never making any friends.
Your schedule was taken up by either that, school, or your various extracurricular activities such as dancing, music, or cooking.
You’d always wanted to do art, but your parents didn’t just discourage it.
They forbade it.
‘Art isn’t important’, they said.
And you listened.
You just wanted love.
So, you did as they said, and got good grades.
And on the off chance your grade wasn’t perfect?
Well, they had a long list to choose from.
Whipping with a belt, throw you outside when it was raining, not feed you until your grade was perfect again… or if they did feed you, it was generally rotten or otherwise not suitable to eat food.
You sometimes wondered what you’d done wrong in your previous life, if you had one.
Were you some sort of villain?
You weren’t sure.
Today was the day it’d end.
You’d had enough, and were old enough for the authorities to not throw you back to your parents once they found you.
Even you knew they never truly loved you.
They loved the idea of a perfect child, who got perfect grades, never talked back, did all the chores in the house… but you weren’t going to be that child.
You were going to be free.
Your parents had long since gone to bed, but you’d secretly gotten yourself an energy drink, to keep yourself up, and you quietly packed your most essential things.
You had earned some extra cash by helping around the school, without your parents’ knowledge of course, as they’d just take the money from you, and it was with that money you planned to live on.
It wasn’t much, but it’d keep you alive until you found a proper job.
… You hoped.
You’d graduated though.
And with your papers with you, surely someone would take you in.
Surely.
You quietly sighed as you made your way through the hallway of your home, having memorised which floorboards creaked and which didn’t, and safely made your way outside.
It was dark, obviously, but you had your phone with you.
It wasn’t like your parents could track you.
They were technologically illiterate, and so, you felt safe bringing it with you.
And thus, your journey to… somewhere began.
Somewhere away from this horrid place.
You sure wouldn’t miss it.
Three months passed.
You… weren’t doing so great.
You lived in the forest, in a cave.
You still had a charge on your phone, as you occasionally went into the nearby village to ‘borrow’ their electricity.
Hey, it was on public grounds, it was allowed!
But you had no money.
Your papers meant nothing, and either they wouldn’t hire you, or had no vacant spots.
That, or they wanted you to work for free.
To hell with that.
But you were free.
No one hit you, kicked you, or yelled in your face.
Your bruises had even fully gone!
Still… a proper meal would be nice.
As you were wandering through the forest, bag around you, you searched for any berries or fruit to eat.
You refused to steal, though… it was starting to sound awfully tempting.
But you knew if people found out it was you, you’d be in trouble.
And maybe even be thrown back to… them.
You couldn’t pay any fines, so surely, it’d just be given to them.
Eugh… how about no.
You sighed to yourself, though eventually found what you were looking for.
Free fruit!
You collected as many as you could, a relieved smile on your face.
Apples did the trick.
Better than nothing, that was for sure!
As you were picking, you failed to notice the footsteps from behind you, and your attention was only caught when a voice spoke.
“I hope you got money to pay fruit tax.” Someone said, causing you to jump, and you turned yourself around, already panicked.
“Fr-fruit tax?” You asked, holding a bright red apple in your hands.
“Don’t tell me you don’t know about fruit tax. Boys, she’s never heard about fruit tax.” Two others laughed, and you honestly felt rather embarrassed.
But… you’d really never heard of it.
Was that even a thing?
“Hey… you’re kinda cute.” Said the guy who’d talked about the tax, and stepped closer to you.
You stepped back, though found yourself backing into the very tree you’d been plucking from.
“Say, if you spend the night with us, we’ll let this entire thing go.” Ew.
“I’m not interested!” You said, finding yourself becoming smaller and smaller.
“It’s not a choice you get to make.” Said the guy, reaching out for your arm.
“You’re comin’ with us.” You screwed your eyes shut, and just as you were about to cry for help, you heard the sound of… fighting?
Slowly, you opened one eye, seeing the men on the ground, unconscious or at least incapacitated.
You blinked, barely able to believe what you were seeing, and looked around for the one who’d saved you.
A black hedgehog.
He stood not far away, his gaze cold as he looked to the would-be assaulters on the ground, before he turned himself, about to head off.
“Wait!” You called out, urging him to stop.
He turned towards you, his gaze still cold, but it seemed… less so.
“I… thank you…” You said, trailing off.
“I don’t need your thanks.” He sneered, though you placed a gentle hand on his arm, urging him to not go just yet.
“Please… if there’s anything I can do… I don’t have money though.” You admitted, smiling a bit awkwardly.
Though, it soon faded.
The hedgehog was silent as he looked at you, your gaze turned down, and he found himself fighting a battle with himself that he was losing.
He could leave you there, and let the elements eventually take over you.
But then, why had he saved you?
… Why had he saved you.
Even he didn’t know.
“What’s your name.” He asked, or more accurately, demanded to know, and you stood up straight, looking into his crimson eyes.
“Y/N.” You replied, unable to look long into those dangerous eyes, and glanced away.
“And… yours?” He remained quiet for a few moments, before deciding to answer.
“Shadow.” He replied, looking off to somewhere you weren’t sure.
“Shadow. Thank you for helping me… I really do appreciate it.” You said, truly grateful for what he’d done for you.
When you said his name, he glanced back to you, his eyes narrowing.
He felt… dangerous.
But he was your saviour, so the least you could do was properly thank him.
You jumped a bit when he groaned, and he turned himself away from you.
“Where do you live right now.” He asked, or again, demanded to know.
“In a, uh… cave. It’s not far from here.” Maybe you were stupid for telling him, but again, he was your saviour.
“Why do you live in a cave.” He asked, turning his head slightly when you didn’t immediately reply.
“It’s… a long story.” You laughed slightly, which quickly turned silent, and you just stood there, rubbing your arm.
You’d long since dropped the apple, and it laid on the ground, though you soon made your way to it, and picked it up.
You couldn’t afford to waste food.
“… Follow me.” Shadow suddenly said, with less force than had been in his voice previously.
You were hesitant.
But… if he’d gone through the trouble of beating up some guys, surely he didn’t mean any harm?
So, you followed him, unsure of what he’d do, or what the future would bring.
But anything was better than going back.