[ What if Atsushi were to be picked up by the Guild instead? A drabble inspired by a conversation w/ Matt I had earlier today. ]
Words were foreign to the poor teen as he listened to the man talking to him almost in an excited way. All he had understood from the torrent of words seemingly vomited by the blond at the sight of the younger was that the other was named Fitzgerald, but nothing more. At the very least it didn’t look like he ( or his assistant who was nervously clutching a book to her chest and had been referred to as Alcott ) meant any harm to him.
“Let me try.” Came a softer voice followed by the appearance of another male; tall and bright orange haired. His expression was far kinder than the other’s ( maybe just Alcott coming close to being anything remotely welcoming ) as he gazed upon the orphan.
Scared orbs immediately snapped in the direction of the voice, scanning his surroundings until they landed on an unknown person; expression morphing once more into confusion, but with a hint of curiosity as well.
“We mean no harm.”
The reaction was almost instant. Previously strange words became intelligible. The foreign language the other two were using had been traded for one he could easily understand.
Atsushi perked up, position straighter than before as he continued to listen to the stranger. The fear in his gaze had subsided somewhat, giving way to something else; hope.
The other seemed content with the response as well if the little smile that bloomed on his face and the encouraging nod he was given were anything to go by.
“We want to make you a deal, how does it sound? Fitzgerald-san wants you to join us. We will provide you a roof over your head and food in exchange for your help.”
Help? What could he help them with? He was a mere orphan, he couldn’t do anything!! Moreover, he was followed by the man-eating tiger so he was surely going to cause them so much trouble!! He couldn’t put all of them in so much danger.
He opened his mouth as to protest only to be silence by a wave of the other’s hand. “We know about the weretiger. We will take care of that too.”
This... this was too good to be true. And if he were really dreaming then he wished he’d never wake up again. He couldn’t face the cold and unforgiving reality.
“A-alright.”
It had been perhaps the best decision he had ever made since he had been kicked out. No more wandering the streets at night, worried that he was going to be eaten by the weretiger. No more wondering if he were going to survive until the next day with the little food he could get his hands on.
“My name is Tanizaki Junichirou. And you’ve met Fitzgerald-san and Alcott-san.”
“Uh-huh. I’m Nakajima Atsushi. Thank you for everything!!”
Much like a lost duckling, Atsushi stuck to Junichirou’s side for as long as he could, following him everywhere ( occasionally even hiding behind him whenever an unknown member of the Guild passed by them ) and watching as he went on about his duties. The older male was the only one he was comfortable with being around constantly despite the warm ( if a little awkward ) welcome the others gave him.
It wasn’t long until Junichirou was asked to start teaching Atsushi English in order for him to be able to talk to the other members of the Guild. It wouldn’t do for him to keep close only to the orange haired teen, of course. They had taken him in for a reason after all.
Most of his schedule consisted of tutoring sessions ( spending his time staring at English words, writing them over and over again and trying to pronounce them ) and helping around the place. It was the least he could do in exchange for being offered a home.
