Chapter Text
Haruno couldn't sleep.
As he stared at the rotted ceiling above him, he could hear loud music from the next room. He frowned a little; his parents must have drunk that horrible juice and left the radio on again. Shivering, he turned to look out the window, staring at the stars shining brightly outside the window. A tiny sigh escaped from his mouth as his eyes watered with tiny tears. How he wished that he could be a star in the night sky, shining so brightly. He often eavesdropped on the other kids whispering about shooting stars and how one makes a wish on them.
If one was lucky, their wish would come true.
He looked at the doorway before sinking down into his covers, leaving a little peephole to watch the stars above him. Closing his eyes real tight, he folded his tiny hands and, in the softest voice imaginable, he wished to whoever was in the sky and stars up above to hear him. He wished he was taken away by a knight in shining armor or perhaps a hero, maybe a frog royal, so that he would never have to bother his momma and step poppa ever again. As he continued to wish, he felt tears slide down his cheeks and his heart just break in two. How he wished that he was not a burden to his family.
'Interesting,' A sinister voice crackled in his ear. 'How very interesting.'
He froze, a shiver crawling down his spine. He didn't make a single sound as the feeling of a sharp claw pierced his cheek. Slowly, slowly, slowly he turned around and was face-to-face with a horrible creature leering at him. It was smooth, shiny, with two glassy eyes staring into his soul.
'My, my, my,' The creature chuckled, grabbing his face with its claws. 'Aren't you cute.' Its mouth was widened into a sharp grin filled with sharp teeth. 'I bet you're quite tasty, mi pupino.'
"-away from him-"
"-he's got Gio-"
"-no-"
Haruno could only watch in sheer terror as the creature turned towards the doorway. Those voices. They sounded scared, frantic, as if they were looking for someone. Were they people from downstairs? The ones where Momma and step-Poppa yelled and screamed at the top of their lungs about him? He shivered. Those days were never good days. They would be so mad and step-Poppa would have to get his belt and hit him again. He whimpered, shivering, shivering, shivering, as the creature clicked its tongue in disgust.
'Tch, how rude,' The creature sneered. 'Oh well, I have already gotten what I wanted for now.' It slowly leaned in over to whisper in his ears, an eerie scent wafting from its grin and the feeling of horrible dread washing over him. 'Sweet dreams, little topo.'
Haruno felt his eyes slowly close against his will. He fell back into the bed, a hypnotizing heaviness sinking him further into the thin mattress.
.
..
...
He felt so heavy and tired. His eyelids were pressed into his eyeballs and his body was too heavy, pained, and tired to even move a muscle. For a few moments, he just lay there, soaking into the warm bliss of his bed. Then, he felt strange. His mattress was too thin to be this soft and warm. The room didn't smell like rotting wood and bad juice anymore. No, it smelt like flowers from the local flower shop and a small hint of orange. A slow smile crept to his face; he liked oranges. They were one of the only fruit Momma would get from the store.
So, where was he?
He slowly opened his eyes to bright light and a fancy light above him. He blinked in confusion for, as far as he knew, the only light he had was a tiny bedside lamp. As he slowly sat up, his eyes widened as he took the room before him. Instead of rotting wood, chipped walls, and a cracked, tiny window, everything was huge and fancy. The floor was red, soft, and with gold lining the walls. The bed was large and decorated in a pretty fancy way, complete with jewels on the ends. His eyes sparkled in wonder and awe. There was a closet and a large dresser that was decked in an extremely bright gold.
'Did my wish come true,' He thought as he clutched the soft blanket. 'Was I rescued by a hero? '
He bit the inside of his cheek and looked down at the blanket. It was a dark purple color with lovely gold thread decorating the corners. He kept staring in awe, not believing his luck. Even if it was for a little while, he could tell the other kids that his wish came true. His wish came true and that was enough for him. However, his smile faded as he looked over to his hand.
It was not his hand.
It was too big and too long. He wiggled his fingers and was taken aback when the long, big fingers wiggled back. He didn't remember his hands being this big. He looked at his other hand and found that it was just like the other hand. Wait. He had seen these hands before. These were big hands, hands that he remembered a couple of friends that step Poppa would have sometimes. His eyes widened in fear. No. Did he turn into one of step-Poppa's friends?
A mirror.
A mirror.
He had to get a mirror.
There was a mirror nestled in the corner of the room. He stood up and a wave of dizziness washed over him, making his legs wobble. His breath hitched as he looked down. His legs were too tall, too big, too long. There was also the manner in which he dressed. He was in a fancy black suit complete with green ladybug pins. His breathing slowed a little as he was taken in by the pins while wandering to the mirror aimlessly and slow. When he stopped in front of the mirror and looked up, he nearly fell over, his eyes widening.
It couldn't be him.
It just couldn't be him.
Looking back at him was a man, a pretty man. His hair was long, blonde, with three donuts on his head. His bright green eyes were shimmering, as if they were the green jewels on Momma's necklace. His face, his face, he didn't know this face. He reached to touch his face and the man did the same. He waved and the man did the same. Taking a glance around the room, he stuck out his tongue and the man did the same.
"W...Who..."
He coughed. His voice was deeper than he remembered. He touched his throat. Was it because of that creature last night? He remembered that a weird, weird creature was in his bedroom last night, stroking his cheek. It looked like a terrifying angel, an angel who wanted to eat him. He was so scared of that angel. It turned him into this person. He had a lot of questions. A flicker of fear coursed through his body as he remembered it and the chance that it was here. No, it appeared in a dream. So, was this a dream as well? He bit his lip as he tried to recall.
What did you have to do when you wanted to wake up from a dream?
Haruno pinched his arm. Real hard. He winced as the wound smarted and waited for himself to wake up in his bedroom. Nothing happened. The man was still here, staring back at him. He was too long, too big still. He gulped. He didn't want to believe it. He just couldn't.
Haruno screamed at the top of his lungs.