Chapter Text
Dark.
It was what Atsushi saw. Darkness. At first anyway.
It was pitch black out as he sat by the river side, the water rushing past slowly and yet all too fast. He was going to steal, but everyone that passed by was either on a motorcycle, an army unit, or trying to drown themself. He didn’t get to the man in time, not realizing someone had been there, but a blonde man with longer hair had came and fished the chestnut haired man out of the water. They hadn’t seemed much older than Atsushi, not that they noticed him anyway, he hid behind a wall nearby and watched. It seemed that the more childish of the two at least felt his presence though, which was weird, he made sure to conceal himself as much as possible, as he did in the orphanage, it's how he avoided beatings after all.
The teen had stayed hidden until the sun set. It was far too risky to try and attack either of the two for money, something just seemed off about them. Despite the brown haired one seeming playful and childish, there was this weird air around him that made Atsushi want to hide away, he definitely wasn't good news. The blond seemed to carry himself with an air of a sort of confidence, and his stance in general, it seemed like he most definitely knew how to fight. A kid at the orphanage, who used Jiu Jitsu? Or was it aikido? Honestly, he can’t remember, but the blonde guy, glasses, that's what he’ll call him, stood the same way. Likely, glasses knew how to fight. Not good, there's no way he could fight him, at least if Atsushi didn't want to get his ass beat, that is.
Now, the boy sat on the ground, listening. It was dark, but his eyes adjusted quickly. He could always see well in the dark. He grew up in it, after all.
The teen sighed and got up, primarily staying in the shadows. It would be easier to attack someone if they couldn't see you after all. After just a few minutes of walking, however, the orphaned boy paused, something felt… off. To say the least. The sun had just gone down and the moon was hidden behind some clouds. The sound of an engine could be heard, and it got much louder. Huh? The silver haired boy turned around and was met with a hot pink motorcycle coming right at him, of course, he immediately jumped up and out of the way, but doing so led him back into a corner. The man got off the bike, taking his helmet off and a sort of dirty, strawberry blonde hair, though, it was closer to a sort of light auburn, maybe ginger? Whatever. He’s calling the man a ginger, shone under the moonlight. Mismatched eyes, the left a cool, icy cerulean, and the right a soft, bordering golden, chocolate brown. He had freckles too, wore expensive clothes, and, quite frankly, was very short.
It’s not like Atsushi had anywhere to run, plus, it didn't seem like he would be mugged, not like he had the money or anything of value, of course. The man before him seemed to be rich, if his nice clothes were anything to go off of, his bike looked expensive, and the cologne he was wearing was strong, but subtle in a way that Atsushi had actually quite liked. He seemed…. Familiar, though. Nostalgic, even. He felt like he knew him from somewhere and that he could trust him. That he knows him.
The man, for sure older, just looked at him. Taking in the teens dirty appearance, unique ametrine eyes, lopsided, silver hair and bangs, a singular black strip appearing at the longer end of his messy bangs. “Hm,” the older man hummed, “What’s a kid like you doing out here? You homeless or somethin’? There's a homeless shelter down the road that might have a few beds open for ya’.” the ginger stated with his hands in his pockets, tilting his head down the street to wear the supposed homeless shelter was, eyes never straying off of the young boy before him. Atsushi just hummed, examining the man before him. He looked…. Exotic, to say the least. He was pretty.
Atsushi had tried a homeless shelter once, when he was first kicked out of the orphanage, it was just easier to say that it didn’t work out over all else. So, instead, the white haired boy merely shook his head before he spoke.
“No,” the teen had quickly realized that he sounded pretty damn mean to a man that was just trying to help and didn't exactly know of his past, so, Atsushi had quickly added on, “No, I am homeless, but I don't like homeless shelters.” Seeing the man's raised brow, “Bad experiences.” He stated with a shrug and sat down on the ground once more, bringing his knees to his chest, arms wrapped around them tight.
The redheaded man let out a sort of weird hummed out sigh, seemingly of….disapproval? Weird…. The rich man sighed louder this time, leaning more heavily onto his right leg while his hands remained firm in his pockets, “Just how old are you, kid?” the man questioned, voice speculatory, “What? 16? 15? No… 14? 14. You look 14, so what's a 14 year old doing on the streets, hm?”
Wow, ok, seems like this random guy thinks he's 14, he asks Atsushi for his age, then decides it for him. Should he tell him? It might actually play out in his favor if he did tell him, just in case the rich guy was only rich because he kidnapped kids or something and sold them. No, let’s just see why this guy is so interested in him first. “I'm on the streets because my old orphanage had kicked me out due to being an extra mouth to feed. They weren't the best off, so they decided to kick me out so they could save money on food and feed the others. They deserve it more, they're just little kids after all.” Atsushi explained what he himself had been told and why everything happened.
For some reason, the redheaded man frowned. Why would this random man care or frown at what Atsushi was telling him? He shouldn’t care about some random person he literally knows nothing about. Well, except for the fact he was homeless, sometime in his teens, and kicked out of his orphanage for being an ‘“extra mouth to feed”. For some reason, Atsushi himself doesn’t buy that. There were other kids around his age, so why was he the only one booted out? Whatever. It wouldn’t do well to dwell on it right now. What he needs is some money and a way to survive, whether that be stealing or something else.
For a moment, the teen was almost tempted to try and attack the ginger standing before him, but everything in him basically screamed ‘NO!’ at the top of its lungs. He gave off the same vibes as the childish man and glasses from earlier. He could fight, now that he’s paying more attention to his stance, and his vibe was similar over all. Though, his aura was somewhat close to the brunet’s, in a weird way. Maybe they knew each other? That would be a bit ironic considering everything.
Atsushi had zoned out, not realizing the older man was talking, and only snapped back in when the man said, “Kid? Hey, you there?” The man had, at some point, crouched down, on the pads of his toes - at least from the looks of it and how he feet were - and heels off the ground with hands in his pockets, was right in front of him. Yikes. Ever heard of personal space? “Huh?” He basically hummed out, blinking a few times and the dazed, almost foggy, look faded from his eyes. Not that the silver haired teen had really even knew his eyes appeared that way.
“Ya’ hear anything I jus’ said to you?” The - still unknown man - said to him. Well, he clearly didn’t, so, of course, Atsushi shook his head. “Sorry, I didn’t. I- I sort of zone out sometimes, and I can’t exactly pop back in. Almost, in a weird way, I feel almost…. Disconnected? Like, I can’t feel emotion and—“ OK!! Calm down now and slow your roll Atsushi! You’re spilling way too much personal stuff to a complete and utter stranger!
The teen shook his head internally and continued to berate himself about how stupid and risky that was and could be. Fuck he was an idiot.
“Sorry-“ He said again, “I do that sometimes. Anyway, what were you saying?” The redhead made a seemingly disapproving “hm” noise, muttering something under his breath about disassociating or something? The heck did that mean? Whatever. It probably doesn’t concern him, hopefully. The rich man seemed to snap back to reality though, standing up straight again and reaching out his hand to the boy on the ground, “Come with me.”
What the fuck?
Why would he do that?! This is some random person!!
“Uh…. What?” Was all Atsushi stated, scooting back a bit more, only just to realize that he was, still in fact, cornered, and his back hit the cool cement of the wall. Well isn’t this great? There was this random man trying to take him home - and for all Atsushi knew - might want to kill him, or do worse…. The thought made him shudder and some not-so-great memories of Shibusawa came back full force and he had to suppress a wave of tears and the bile crawling up his throat. “Why the- why the fuck would I go with you?” He stammered out harsher than he had intended, but he hoped he had gotten his point across.
The shorter of the two men seems a bit taken aback at Atsushi’s sudden cursing, but the teen could hardly care. Why would, and should, he trust this random person? “I guess I should’ve worded that differently. What I’m trying to say is, you look like shit. Your hair is dirty and you’re thinner than a twig. When was the last time you properly ate?”
……
When was the last time he even ate-? Ok! Stop! Don’t think about food when you can’t fucking have it! It’s only going to make you hungrier and slow you down! “Why is that any of your concern?” He stated, feeling much more defensive than he did just minutes ago. He doesn’t trust this rich guy, and said rich guy seemed to have realized that whatever sort of “trust” he built with Atsushi was gone. Well sucks for him.
“Look, kid, I’m just saying you look sick. You don’t like homeless shelters right? Come with me and you’ll have a roof over your head, food and water, proper clothes, and the ability to actually clean yourself.” It was only then that the boy really looked down at himself. His clothes were torn and the already thin fabric looked like complete shit. There were holes and the paper thin textile looked like it was about to fall apart if it got wet enough. There was dirt and mud stains, plus— holy- was that blood on him?
Actually… it might be. They had given him a harsh beating before he left - rather was kicked out - that day. They being the headmaster, some of the other children, and some of the caretakers. Of course, not all at once. What was happening again-? Oh! Right! The creep…. “How can I trust you? What have you done that should make me trust you, hm? For all I know, you could be some hebephilic creep? You said I was 14, for all I know, you could be some random wanting a new toy to play with.” Atsushi made sure that what he said wouldn’t relate to his real age at all, or give the man a reason to believe his assumption was wrong. It could play in his favor. Having someone underestimate you is the key to success, and if playing a helpless, homeless 14 year old is what helps him, he'll be the best damned helpless, homeless, 14 year old there was.
At his words, though, the rich guy recoiled, looking genuinely appalled and, frankly, disgusted. “Oh fuck no! Ew-?! What the hell, kid?! I’m not some pedophilic - hebephilic - whatever creep?!” The man started and crossed his arms with a sigh, bringing his right hand up to pinch his nose. “Look, I know you don’t trust me, and, honestly, you shouldn’t. You don’t know me. So, good on you, I suppose, for at least being wary of people ya’ don't know. I’m not forcing you to come with me, I won’t make you if you don’t want to. Just- If you ever do change your mind or anything” he pointed over to the biggest building that Atsushi had ever seen - a skyscraper- . If I’m not there then wait around or ask people at the front desk. I sometimes leave Yokohama because of work.” The man stated and scribbled something down on a small notebook he seemed to carry with him. More so of a notepad, really, with a little spot for a pen. Atsushi used to have one of those when he was younger, Shibusawa had gotten him one for his birthday— NO! Stop thinking about him.
The teen repressed a shudder before glaring up at the redhead. No, he decided, he can’t trust this man. At least, not yet anyway. For fricken sakes! He doesn’t even know his name!!
“I won't come with you,” Atsushi stated, voice firm. “Not only do I not know your name, but I don't know anything about you.” He paused for a few seconds, as if to think, before saying, “Maybe- Maybe in the future, if things get worse and I have nowhere else or anyone to turn to, or if I end up trusting you. Only time will tell.” The silver haired boy had said, trying to keep a stern, firm voice, though he knew he could possibly be failing miserably at it. But, from the way the gingerhead looked, he seemed to have played it off well enough and that his voice didn't waver, at least much, anyway.
The redhead seemed satisfied enough with that answer, albeit a bit displeased and almost looked off put or, maybe even upset, about leaving Atsushi out here alone. But it seems that the boy got away with it. For now, at least, the guy will let him off easy, he may be more forceful eventually, but he’s in clearwater right now.
The teen boy sighed, still sitting on the ground with his knees hugged to his chest, although they were not pressed as tightly to him as before, were still held close, protecting his organs, a subconscious thing he had picked up from the orphanage, he supposed. Atsushi stood up then, though standing somewhat hunched over and facing somewhat away from the redhead, not that he could escape if he were to be attacked. “Well, I'm just going to do my own thing, if you're really all that interested in me, come find me again, someday, I guess.”
With that said, the white haired boy, despite everything in him screaming not to, turned his back to the ginger, half-expecting to be attacked, instinctively tensing up as he walked away and further into the darkness. Though, when no attack came, no blow to his back, he ever so slightly relaxed, at least internally. However, his body didn't get the message and he stayed as stiff as a board while he seemed to meld into the darkness, as if he belonged there. And, in a way, he did.
Unbeknownst to him, the man behind him frowned and muttered something under his breath before he himself turned around to leave.