DETOUR

The boy sat quietly in the darkness of the alley. He watched as people passed him by, holding his younger brother close as they covered themselves with their only cloak. It was old, dirty and fraying at the bottom. It didn't smell good either, there was no water source where they were and they knew better than to go to one. Out there, exposed to the sun. Where everyone could see them. It never worked out well. They were always chased off by security, something about not polluting the water with their filth. Jokes on them, they had no idea the kind of things that had been thrown into that water at night, when no one was watching. The gangs took over the area when the lights went out, and there was no telling what they would do at any time. He had seen it all. The river was never a place they could get to, regardless of whether it was daylight or night time.

They had been on the streets for a while, and he knew where he could linger. Where he could rest for a bit, never too long, without being harassed for a while. Areas that he could scavenge for food, a place with a burst pipe they could get some water to drink. He had to learn or they would be dead by now. He watched silently in the dark, right at the edge. Close enough to the light he could touch it but knew better than to reach out. A few blocks away, a small crowd had gathered. A hero had just taken down a villain. He wasn't well known though and the crime wasn't anything major, just a pick pocket. He recognized the guy. Had met him a few minutes earlier. He was the one who gave them his left-over sandwich in passing before pulling his hood up and exiting the alley. He looked like he needed a hospital.

That hero had gone overboard, showing everything he had in his arsenal to take the 'villain' out in grand fashion. He wouldn't last long.

A reporter was setting up to interview the man, the camera was facing his way. He knew the moment they noticed him in their line of sight. The disgust that briefly reflected on their faces as they quickly angled the camera in a different direction, pretending like he didn't exist. Like his existence dirtied their world. He held his brother tighter as he watched it all happen. He hadn't noticed the boy watching the same thing happen a few steps away.

One building after another blew past Maru as he made his way home. He had his UA blazer wrapped around his waist with his white sleeves rolled up as he blew past one building after another. The thrill of speeding down a street, dodging pedestrians always got to him. More so now that he was taking a different route. He had to keep his focus or who knew what random crack would have him diving into asphalt. From the start, he had decided to get familiar with everything within a 10km radius from his home so he always took a different path home. It was worth it. From discovering the noodle restaurant he read about online that he visited with his friends, to the unexpected park in the opposite direction, there was always a new landmark for him to find and with time, fully familiarize himself with the area.

Being who he was, he also learnt a lot more. From shortcuts between buildings, to alleys he knew he would have to fight to get through. From where the street was covered in cameras to where it wasn't. Slowly but surely, he mapped out each new route. It would take much longer to find the hidden gems and understand the norm in each area but for now, he wouldn't easily get lost and knew where to go if he needed something. It was always an adventure. He could see just how much the place had changed first hand. For him, this was both a joy and a sorrow.

His old man had once said something about the worst slums being located near the richest neighborhoods. He was venting about something Maru couldn't remember and he hadn't fully understood what he meant then, but this new route brought it back to his mind. Nobody would expect that right beside a major mall, would be the dark and dingey alleys where nothing but crime was guaranteed to dwell. As he skated down the street, he could tell the imaginary boundary that separated people from both sides. Occasionally, someone would cross that border, mostly from the dark alleys, and you could see a few people shrink away and avoid whoever it was but they would quickly blend in and disappear without drawing too much attention.

The fact that his family was well-off was known to him from the start. He never lacked what he needed and occasionally, what he wanted. His parents had made it a point to drill into him that money was but an object. He remembered saying the same thing to a classmate when he was much younger and only new to echo the words of his parents, feeling all smart and mature. What the girl said to him in return, he had never forgotten. 'Only the rich can say that comfortably. I'd say the same thing if I were you.' It had stunned him and left him speechless and had childishly reported the matter to his mom. She had smiled sadly and given him a bunch of books to go through in order to form his own opinion. It took a while for him to understand both his parents' perspective as well as the girl's. He'd learned about the hierarchy of needs and a how money works to some degree and was still learning. The sharp divide he could so clearly see while skating down the street was, plainly speaking, shitty. It was the dark reality that the bright side pretended didn't exist.

He watched as a hero, barely a block away postured for a small crowd of people. He watched the reporter, camera man and hero, notice a boy in the alley and look away in disgust, acting as though he was thin air. He watched the boy look on, unphased, other than wrapping his hands tighter around his coat. He watched the crowd act as though one side of the street didn't even exist. Maru had been exposed to both the good and bad from a young age. From the innocence of childhood dreams to the cruelty that could exist in that very same innocence in the form bullying. He had been around people much older than him for a long time. Watched them humor him his antics and formed unexpectedly strong bonds with people twice his age. He had matured fast but knew he was still a child with a lot of growing left to do. One who wasn't even that interested in being hero. From the start, he never expected to save everyone. But he had decided long ago, that he would not lie to himself. He wouldn't try to white wash reality no matter how harsh it was. That was the one thing he had a firm stand on so far. At the very least, he did not plan to live whatever was left of his life pretending to blind.

The sun had started to set and the boy knew it would soon be time to move. The crowd was slowly scattering and the hero was busy chatting up the reporter as the cameraman put his gear away. In a few minutes, the streets would be completely dark and those further in would start wondering out. That hero had set a target on his back with how he dealt with the pick pocket. If he kept patrolling in these parts, he soon wouldn't see the light of day. These darker parts had their own form of justice. No one liked the showboat heroes. They always caused more damage than was necessary putting a lot of people's livelihoods at risk. The faster they were gone, the better.

He heard foot steps approaching and saw a boy with silver white hair and ice blue eyes coming his way. He had a skateboard sticking out behind his head from his back pack with two small paper bags from a restaurant he knew was nearby. He considered jumping the guy for the food. The leftover sandwich wasn't much. Both himself and his little brother hadn't had a full meal in ages. It would be worth the fight. You pick up a few things in these parts, he had confidence he stood a chance to escape if he ran. The little guy in his arms though… Well, there's always next time. The boy curled around the little guy asleep in his arms, silently comforting himself. He could only swallow the saliva that had started to pool in his mouth.

That was until the smell hit him. He looked up and watched the boy walk his way. He was briefly shocked but quickly leveled his gaze on the boy. He looked right back at him without turning away, He watched as the boy came straight to him and crouched down right in front of him. The boy set down two bags of food. His eyes almost automatically zeroed in on the food. Even his younger brother stirred in his embrace. He noticed the shock that passed through the others eyes when the shock of orange hair pooped out from beneath the grey coat. He probably thought he was alone. His brother was incredibly tiny. They both were. But even the dirt couldn't hide his vibrant locks. The tiny boy looked straight at the food. The black-haired boy pulled him closer to himself. Only then did he notice the silver haired boy in front of them and eyed him cautiously.

The white-haired boy was already going through the second bag and pulling out sets of clothing from inside. None of which looked expensive but they were thick. There was even a pair of non-descript sports shoes. Both of them couldn't hide their shock as they watched him. They unintentionally jumped a little when he spoke.

"I suggest you wear these inside the clothes you already have. Less visible that way."

The black-haired boy already knew this. The back streets were never safe, not even for a child. He wouldn't be surprised if someone jumped him for these clothes. They weren't the only kids in these alleys and there were some adults who wouldn't give a damn about their age if it meant free food. What startled him even more was when he pulled out a flashlight. That could serve as a weapon when they needed it. Then there was a bunch of pills and capsules. Vitamins, cold medicine and stomach medicine, the white-haired boy explained before getting up and pulling out his skateboard. They shrunk back a little but the boy took off down the street leaving them gaping in shock. This… was different. They wasted no time and quickly ate up the food they had been given. He smiled as he watched his younger brother struggle to fit more than he was used to into his stomach. He didn't stop him though. He was doing the same. Who knew when their next full meal would be? Other than the bread buns, everything else was cleared. He helped his younger brother get changed before getting dressed himself. The clothes were thick and warm. They brought a brief smile to his face. They could fall asleep in these, even without the coat to cover them. He had slammed them on the ground to get them a bit dirtier so they didn't look new. And hid away the vitamins and medicines inside his clothes in different places for whenever they needed it.

"Haruto-nii," the orange haired boy called as he smiled at him. No words needed to be said. Haruto felt the same way.

"Let's get out of here Sun-chan," Haruto said to his younger brother as they both made their way down the alleys, further from the light but much warmer than they were before. He had the old grey coat on as he held his brother's hand. They took several turns doing their best to avoid the dangerous corners they were familiar with before coming to their water source. A burst pipe they had found at the edge of an old abandoned dilapidated building. It was also the place they considered home with a small stack of boxes inside the building used as shelter. They never stayed during the day since a bunch of delinquents used it as their base. They drank a bit of water before covering the leak with a plastic sheet already wrapped around it and got comfortable in their little space. Warm and well fed.

Despite being malnourished, Haruto was considered tall for his age. He was 15 with Sun-chan being 12, a few months shy of being 13. He knew he could convince someone to hire him for some work but he wasn't comfortable leaving Sun-chan alone. But maybe he would luck out and get a place that could use them both. No one minded free labour in these parts. He hadn't lucked out so far but maybe this time it would be better.

It was then he felt a chill crawl up his spine. Sun-chan similarly started looking around with his eyes wide open, like a startled small animal that had sensed a predator but couldn't see it. That's when they had the sound of someone dragging a large case approaching them. They got up, alert facing the person that was approaching them. When he got closer, they could see the man was covered in blood. He had a grotesque tattoo covering most of his face of a thorny weed that occasionally spread across his face as he dragged a huge wooden chest.

"Phew! I really thought I was a gonner this time. Who knew fresh meat would walk right up to me," the man said. His voice alone made them both feel as though their blood turned to ice. It was disgusting and cloying. Like a parasite crawling through your blood stream. Haruto gave Sun-chan a look as they eyed the bloody man with the human sized wooden box and activated their quirks. Whatever happened, they would have to face it anyway. At least they would face it together.