Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a summer afternoon, hours before the sun would sink deep into dusk. The sun was overhead; it was still light enough to see the streets. Of course, this meant no parents telling the kids to come back into the houses for dinner. So naturally, the school-aged children wanted to enjoy playtime for as long as they could.

The children all gathered in a semicircle to discuss the next game. Among these ten-year-olds was, of course, Shuriken, quite the playful one.

A hand raised from among the crowd. “We should play tag!”

“We did that last time.” A voice replied, a hint of complaining laced within it. “Ugh, but we don’t have access to the dodgeball field!”

“How about Simon Says?” Someone suggested.

“You’re kidding, right!?” Shuriken called out. Everyone looked towards him. “We have the entire neighborhood to ourselves until sunset! We need to get out there, so let’s play hide and seek! The boundaries are from here, all the way until you see the cars on the road. So, basically… let’s just play hide and seek within the entire faction of Thieves’ Den!”

This fostered many gasps and murmurs from the gathering of children, many questions of are you sure? Is that allowed?

Shuriken, however, confidently placed his hands on his hips with conviction. “It’ll be fine. We all know this place, and I’m sure there are lots of spots that just make sense. I’ll even set it so five seekers will start out!” He finished.

The group then started to discuss who would take these roles. It was quite a commotion of noise, at least for Vinestaff, who was inside her room. She could see and hear the entire meeting from her window on the second floor. She couldn’t wait for them to actually start hiding because it would give her the quiet she needed to finish her summer homework.

The very same summer homework that Shuriken was assigned as well. She turned around to look at the small table which supported the thick stack of papers, the seemingly endless amount of assignments that Shuriken hadn’t even bothered to look at.

She shrugged. Vinestaff had made her way through almost half of the assignments, and if her brother was going to beg her for the answers the day before they were all due, then she supposed she could oblige in exchange for a share of his Halloween candy.

Vinestaff thought that over. There was no way he would keep that promise.

…She would think it over later. The congregation of grasshoppers outside of her window had gone to hide for the winter, and now she could focus. Vinestaff turned back around and lowered her head over the worksheet.

—

Shuriken had been left as a hider, and he knew exactly where he would be hiding. He chose a garden next to a building en route to the school. It was a common place to pass, so he knew the seekers would gloss over it.

The ninja walked further into the garden, where there was a circular clearing near the edge of the forest. It was thick with foliage and tall trees, and there was a small fence inserted among them. The crevice was like the pages of a book surrounded by the curtains on a stage. It was perfect. All Shuriken had to do was sit there.

The spot itself was rather small, even for a little child. But Shuriken had always been an expert at fitting into tight spaces, so he knew he could do it. He squeezed himself into the hiding spot, perfectly placed and folded like an origami crane. There, he was set. Shuriken knew that the countdown for hiding was over, and he could even hear the footsteps of seekers rushing in like valkyries.

He snuggled into the comfy grass and leaves and began to doze off, idly wondering what he will have for dinner when the game is over. He knew he would like to have some watermelon… and maybe he could watch TV while snuggled into the kotatsu…

Zzz…

—-

“Is that everyone?” Someone asked.

“Ten, twelve, fourteen… woah, wait, there’s one of us missing.”

“Really? I’ll count again.” Another voice chimed in.

One of the children looked up. “Hey, wait, it’s Shuriken! We haven’t found him!”

“But we checked everywhere!”

“We’ll check again, but we only have ten minutes until the street lights come on. And if my mom catches me outside that late, I’m totally grounded…”

The children split into different groups, going to the places around Thieves’ Den. But when they regrouped, nobody brought him back.

Eventually, one kid ran off in one direction, calling Shuriken’s name. The group then followed suit, but they couldn’t reach the garden in time. After all, it was dusk. Everyone had to go home.

And another two hours passed.

Shuriken was wide awake now, and he wondered why nobody was able to find him. Surely, they would have at least come close… but no.

He waited and waited, even taking out one of his weapons and spinning it around in his hand.

It was starting to get lonely. He had absolutely no communication between him and the rest of society. Not only that, but it was starting to get dark. Darker than dusk. Usually, when he saw the stars come out, it was behind the safety of a window, under the protection of a roof.

And suddenly, Shuriken could feel the prickliness of the plants surrounding him. He was sure that he had many mosquito bites by now as well. It all caught up to him, and the tears began to fall.

He wiped his face with the backside of his arms, calling out for someone to help him. He wanted his friends, or his family to come and save him. He wanted to run out into the street, to yell to everyone, “I’m here!” But it was no use. Shuriken was completely overwhelmed with the situation, it weighed him down and he couldn’t stand up.

As the darkness settled in, so did his sadness.

—

Vinestaff had heard the voices of many children calling Shuriken’s name, which was odd, but kids will be kids, right? She told herself that she would check out the commotion once she finished a paper, and she had just finally got it done. So she headed downstairs.

Just as she had put on her slippers and touched the doorknob, someone knocked on it urgently.

She opened the door, unknowing of the situation. She was greeted with the sight of a few of the schoolkids from the playing group.

“Oh, hello. Here to bring Shuriken back? You’re just in time, dinner’s–”

“Um. We–” The children exchanged nervous glances. “We couldn’t find him. He’s still out there.”

Vinestaff stared back at them blankly.

“We tried looking for him–” One of the kids said nervously. They put up their responses like a shield.

“--But we couldn’t find him. We looked all over.”

“I see.” Replied Vinestaff.

The kids looked at each other once again before stepping backwards. “We– we have to go now. It’s time for us to… to go.” They dashed away. “We hope you find him!” They called out.

Vinestaff closed her eyes and breathed in. When she exhaled and opened her eyes, the dark void of night stared back at her. The stars in the sky had come down onto the street in the form of lamps. They gave off a warm light. It was enough to see.

She swiftly swung a jacket onto her shoulder, walking with purpose out the door.

“I’ll be back! Shuriken’s being dumb again!” She called out to the house. She would have liked to give a more proper explanation face-to-face, but she was on a time crunch, fueled by annoyance and worry.

Vinestaff hopped down to the ground. She had connections with all of the plants, but she had to really hone it. She mustered all of her energy to sense where her brother could be, and breathed a sigh of relief when he was among more plants.

She jumped back up and sprinted to the hiding spot, shoes clacking against the concrete.

—

By now, Shuriken had stopped crying. But his knees were still locked up against his chest and his arms folded on top of them. His head focused on the ground. It was so late. And he was still outside. Simply left to be alone.

He squeezed his eyes shut. Maybe then it would all disappear.

Then, the sound of footsteps crunching grass.

His head shot up.

And there, his sister. Standing above him with an unreadable expression across her face. Her hair gently swaying in the cool wind. Backlit against the calm moonlight.

“Shuriken.” She said.

“Vine… VINESTAFF!” He cried out, jumping straight into her arms. He ignored the way she said his name so harshly. Shuriken was about to start crying again from happiness and relief.

His sister caught him in an embrace, hugging him tightly. They spent a few moments wrapped in silence.

Then, Vinestaff’s expression turned stern again. She pushed him back by the shoulders, quickly, but still gently.

“Are you hurt?” She moved her head around, even spinning him a few times. “Your clothes are so dirty! Just how long have you been like this, you–!” She stopped. It seemed like she had so many things that she wanted to say, so she ended up not saying any of it at all. She wordlessly slipped her jacket off and put it on Shuriken’s shoulders instead.

She huffed. “I’m glad you're okay.”

“I’m so glad that you’re here, Vine,” Shuriken choked back a sob. “My arms and legs hurt, and I’m so hungry… and, and–”

“Shh, c’mon. Let’s go.” She said softly. She began walking away, but turned around. “Here, I can carry you on my back.”

Shuriken followed her like a duckling, and when he reached her, she pulled him up. They began trekking back to their house.

Many thoughts swam through Vinestaff’s mind. He should have been at home, working, she thought. She sighed. Once Shuriken was all settled in, Vinestaff would make sure he learns a lesson from today’s events.

When they got back inside, Vinestaff turned to her brother. “There’s still food. Do you want to take a bath first?” Shuriken nodded. “Okay. I’ll get you a plate while you wash up.”

He made his way up the stairs, understandably exhausted from the day.

—

When he came back down, the siblings sat together at the dinner table across from each other. They simply ate without exchanging a word. They were pretty hungry, after all. The two finished at around the same time, so they placed the dishes in the sink for tomorrow. Then they walked back upstairs, Vinestaff reminding Shuriken that they must brush their teeth.

Afterwards, they sat in the same room. Vinestaff had dragged him there. He needs to be properly scolded, she reasoned, and she also wanted to vent out her frustrations.

“Vine, I’m really sorry. I’m sorry for making you worry and come out really late at night.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m just glad that you weren’t hurt.” She spoke truthfully. “But it isn’t very responsible of you!” She carried out the syllables of the long word, copying how the older kids would say it. “Don’t you dare do anything dumb like that again!” She said, and Shuriken looked down in shame.

“Remember the story about getting ready for winter?” Vinestaff continued. “The ants who do their work will be prepared for the winter, and the grasshoppers who play all the time won’t have any food!”

Shuriken stared at her blankly. “That’s not how the story goes! The grasshopper plays the fiddle for the ants while they work, and he plays his music during the winter too! Then the ants give him food in exchange for it.”

“Actually,” Shuriken corrected himself, “I think that it should be the opposite of what you said. The grasshopper gets to have fun all the time, and the ants get bored to death by working, VINE. You stayed inside all day today!”

“You stayed OUTside all day today, and look where that got you.”

Shuriken sighed. “Fine. I’ll do some of my summer homework tomorrow. You're probably gonna force me to stay inside anyway.”

“Well, yes.” Vinestaff replied, glad that he understood the basis of this conversation. “Because then you won’t get hurt, and you won’t come home with scraped knees or a bunch of bruises.”

“Is that it? You don’t want me to get hurt from playing?” He asked. His sister nodded.

“What!? That’s so lame!” He exclaimed. “Those are my medals of honor from all the games I play outside. It’s suuuper fun! The only time you come outside is for the garden. Here: the day after I do my homework, we’re going outside to join the rest in playing games.”

Vinestaff shrugged. “Deal.”

With this in mind, the two each went to their rooms to sleep. Shuriken stared at the ceiling, feeling the aches on his skin be comforted by the soft bed and chilly blankets.

Chapter Text

The memory of him and his sister as kids was quite vivid to Shuriken in this moment. Currently, Shuriken was in the middle of a lengthy phight. The time limit was almost up, and one team needed to get only one more kill, and that would result in the team’s victory.

So, Shuriken had the genius plan of hiding in a crevice so that the enemy wouldn’t spot him, and therefore, they wouldn’t be able to score on him. He easily folded himself into a gap between the wall and a washing machine. It’s easy, and it makes one less target for the opposing team. His teammates could definitely take home the match.

…Though, this is not to say that he wasn’t entirely confident. The enemy team had some real threatening members. Currently, Banhammer was sharking around Shuriken’s hiding spot, Hyperlaser was watching like a hawk, and Scythe was out there too, probably tracking his scent or something.

Shuriken just hoped that it would all be over soon… today’s match was really exhausting. He had been running around and jumping all over the place. So, getting to rest in the tiny crevice was a bit of a respite for him.

Soon, Shuriken heard the sounds of an exploding sword. Hooray, teammates to the rescue! He could hear Sword facing off against Banhammer while Boombox put up a shield against Hyperlaser. Skateboard was distracting them as well.

He peered out from his hiding spot to get a good look at the battle. And he saw a familiar shade of pink– his sister was here, too! She was supporting from the sidelines, but Shuriken figured that it was probably her work that led the team to victory in the end.

Now that it was safe to come out, Shuriken snuck himself out of the hiding spot to run up to her.

“Awesome job, guys!” He cheered.

They all turned to him. “Were you hiding in there?” They all asked him. Vinestaff was especially flabbergasted.

—

The sibling pair was walking home after the day’s set of phights. The warm, orange glow of the sunset was enough to light their path.

“I never thought you’d pull a stunt like that again ever since what happened when we were like, ten and eleven.” Vinestaff remarked, still exasperated from the fact.

“Yuuup.” Shuriken replied, stretching. The battles of the day had really worn him out. Even still, he smelled like detergent. “What can I say? Still got my flexibility after all these years.”

“And what would you have done if the match ended and we all left? Stayed in there until it got dark?”

“Oh, shut up.” He huffed.

Vinestaff continued to tease him over the childish memory. “Don’t worry, I would have come to save you.”

“I don’t need saving…!” Shuriken protested. He let out a yawn, and Vinestaff took note of his slower pace.

“Okay, fine.” She smiled. “But here, I’ll carry you the rest of the way home.”

Shuriken’s tiredness seemed to dispel any frustration he had earlier. “Really?”

“Yeah, I can still do it. Let’s run home!” She extended her hand and he took it. It was just like when they were kids.

Vinestaff’s surprising athletic ability didn’t cease to amaze Shuriken. She kept jogging at a solid pace, so much so that Shuriken’s hood slipped off of his head.

Soon, the pair arrived at the doors to their apartment. When they got in, Shuriken flopped onto the couch, completely exhausted. Vinestaff got a small blanket for him.

“Thanks…” He said. “Sorry. Once I wake up, I’ll do the dishes…”

“Sounds like a fair trade.” His sister agreed.

As Shuriken dozed off to sleep, he remembered the game of hide-and-seek that they played so many years ago. He remembered the days he spent after the incident, always being cautious whenever he played outside. Luckily, Vinestaff was considerate enough not to go tattling to everyone about him getting lost.

Hide-and-seek… well, it was just like what he was doing today during the phight. And his sister even gave him a piggyback ride home again, just like when they were kids.

The only thing that was different was that he didn’t have any homework to do. He smiled as he drifted off to sleep. He could spend all day playing outside, and he could even invite his sister to stop working and enjoy the day.

But then, he would be able to turn around and be responsible, and get his work done.

She always tended to keep him in line like that.

And so, he slept, planning to repay the favor towards Vinestaff in the morning.