That Night

Chapter Six

Chuuya led me into the kitchen after handing Atsushi the water. I was just starting to calm down because the suddenness of it all had freaked me out. I know how to deal with panic attacks because Gin has them every once in a while, but I wasn't expecting it. I did the first thing that came to mind and called Chuuya because I had a feeling that he would be able to help him. My feeling was correct and I was relieved when Atsushi finally calmed down and breathing calmer.

"Question, did he seem jumpy when the storm started?" Chuuya asked.

"Yeah." I nodded.

He muttered under his breath before sighing. "Okay, um, let's take him to his room and put him in bed. Then I will tell you everything I know about him."

I nodded and followed him into the living room where Atsushi was slowly relaxing. The glass of water was set beside him, seemingly untouched. Chuuya picked up the glass and looked up at me.

"Pick him up and follow me to his room." He instructed.

I nodded, not wanting to wake him up by protesting, and knelt down beside him. Slowly, I slipped one arm under his knees and the other around his back. I lifted him, expecting him to be heavier than he was. Once I was fully standing, he shifted in my arms, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. I looked up at Chuuya and he nodded for me to follow him.

We walked around the couch and down the hallway that went back about 15 feet. There were only two doors. One was, as I found out not a second later, a bedroom, and I assumed the other one to be a bathroom.

We entered and I took a quick scope of the room. There was a small dresser on the left hand wall, a bed on the right, a small desk in front of the window right in front of me, and a small bookshelf next to that.

I laid Atsushi down on the bed and Chuuya told me to wait as he left the room. He came back a minute later with the comforter Atsushi was using a little while ago. He draped it over the small frame of the grey haired boy and watched as said boy readjusted before settling down.

"Alright, let's leave him for now." Chuuya breathed and led me back out of the room.

We walked to the living room and he told me to sit down as he placed himself on the side of the couch Atsushi was on previously.

"Does this happen often?" I asked, wanting to get straight to the point.

"Not so much anymore, only when the storms are really bad. Sometimes he will get anxious around raised voices or violent atmospheres, but other than that, he is the happy carefree boy I told you about last time we talked." He responded.

I nodded as a flash of lightning filled the room.

"When Atsushi was little, he was given to an orphanage because of the death of his parents. The orphanage treated him more like a nuisance than a child. He was, in short, abused. Physically and emotionally." Chuuya explained.

"Wait, shouldn't he be able to tell me this in his own time?" I asked.

"Normally that's how it would work, but Atsushi thinks about his past quite a bit, whether he shows it or not. When someone asks if he is okay, he will start rambling on about his thoughts. He tends to forget that he hasn't told a lot of people about his past. Then, he feels like a burden by saying anything and feels like it's a requirement to tell whoever he was talking to, about his time at the orphanage." The shorter male explained.

I nodded, putting the pieces together in my mind.

"That is how I found out about his past. Now I am able to tell when he is getting lost in his thoughts and I take him away from other people. When it is just us two, he is able to speak freely and get everything off his chest." He continued.