"You have a job to do," the headmaster's booming voice echoes in my ears.
"wh-what do you mean?" I whimper in response.
"Do you think I went through the trouble of buying you from that sleazy man just to bring you all the way to this orphanage for no reason?? I know you're a gifted, and I know you can use your ability to tame any beast. Right?" He explains.
"Y-Yes. Yes sir. Why? What do you want from me?" I ask fearfully.
"I'm going to introduce you to someone. His name is Atsushi, and he is a gifted too. You are to stay by his side at ALL TIMES and keep him under control. If he causes any more trouble, it'll be your fault. Do you understand?" He phrased it like a question, but it was clear that this was an order.
"yes sir..I undertsand.." I respond under my breath. I can't bring myself to even make eye contact with the man. Hot tears were beginning to fill the corners of my eyes, threatening to boil over.
"Good. Let's go," he states, before walking away. I follow behind him silently. This isn't the first time I've been forced to "work" for someone I didn't know, even still, I am terrified to find out who the headmaster is bringing me to meet. At least this place seems a little bit better than the last one.
Nevermind. I take that back. It actually looks worse than the last one now. Down the long dark hallway, I can see nothing but rows and rows of these tall, heavy, iron bars. I hear chains rattling somewhere in the distance. What kind of terrible monster must they be keeping down here? I'm not sure I want to find out.
But then... I hear, crying? As we reach the end of the corridor, I see a small boy with white hair. He is curled in a ball in the far corner, sobbing. Is this Atsushi? It can't be. Why is such a small, pitiful boy chained at the ankles? What could he possibly have done? The headmaster unlocks the big doors, his metal keys making a loud jangling sound that cuts eerily through the stiff silence. The boy looks up, with surprisingly striking yellow eyes.
"Atsushi, say hello to your new friend, Kagami. She's going to be staying with you from now on," the headmaster states in a monotone voice. With that, he walks out of the cage, locking the door behind him and closing me in with the boy.
"If you both make it through the night, I'll consider letting you out of here," the headmaster says over his shoulder. Then, briefly noticing my stunned face, he adds, "Good luck."
The first few hours are painstakingly quiet, but eventually, Atsushi and I warm up to each other and start talking. The longer we talk, the more confused I become as to why this poor boy is locked in a cage. He seems perfectly normal to me. I'm actually kind of glad I get to be his friend. Once night rolls around, our eyes begin to become droopy and the conversation starts to drag. Atsushi falls asleep first, curled in the corner like a little kitten. Poor thing. All that crying earlier must've worn him out. I eventually resign to sleep as well, but there's still something nagging me in the back of my mind. 'This job is way too easy...' I think, 'The headmaster is right, he wouldn't have gone through all that trouble for nothing...'
Around midnight, when the moon is shining high above the clouds, I wake to the strangest sound- a deep vibration in my ears. Something was... growling? My eyes fly open to see a sight that makes my heart stop in my chest.
A tiger. A literal tiger is standing over me. Drool is practically dripping down its fangs, bared right before my eyes.
*******************************up next: Backstory pt.2 0.0*******************************
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Part of Your World {A Bungo Stray Dogs fanfic}
FanfictionAtsushi wasn't completely alone in that dreadful orphanage. He had a friend named Kagami. She was the only person he liked in that place. She made it a little bit less terrible and had this way of calming him down. This is the story of Kagami's jour...
