Chapter Text
The moment he flutters his eyes open. His eyes are blinded by the sunlight. The sunlight was warm, bright, but to Atsushi now, it is now a eye blinding weapon for him in the morning. He covers the sunlight with his hand.
Butterfly affect he thought to himself. The conversation ended quite quickly and it made a couple of plans to get into the Agency now.
Atsushi stretches his back. His bones cracked a little so does the branches. Wait…
*Crack.*
*Crack.!*
*Crack!!!!*
The branches that were holding his weight cracked and dislocated themselves from the tree. Atsushi fell with the branches. In a swift movement, Atsushi grabs the trunk by using his tiger claws, but his grip failed him and he fell on his back.
Totally a way to force my eyes open in the morning
Atsushi thinks, he lived with some broken bones in his back. Getting up, he massages his sore and bruised back. His sore muscles are a pain. The sunlight shone on him like some sort of spotlight. After he stretches his body, all the stiffness in his muscles are gone now. Atsushi looks around.
Now to get to the bridge
He reached the bridge, earlier than he expected and imagine. It took him two days. A day earlier then he should be. The eiber shimmer with the setting sun's glory. Atsushi hums. The night tomorrow is the full moon. Atsushi needs to communicate with the Tiger for a while. He settle down under the bridge and it's shade.
The cool air by the river cools his exhausted state.
He closes his eyes and hope that he can find a way to communicate with the tiger. The world around starts to stir around him. He closes his eyes but he knows.
He opens his eyes after a while.
Atsushi find himself in a white void. A thin layer of clear liquid pooled under him. It isn't water for sure but it is liquid however it won't wet his clothes and hands.
Atsushi takes a deep breath before shouting.
"Tiger!"
No response came.
Atsushi yell again.
"Tiger!!"
Again with no response.
Atsushi takes another deep breath and shouts.
"TIGER!!"
A low growl came behind him. He quickly turns behind to see a glimpse of white fur before something or someone pounce from his front.
The pounce was more like a friendly pounce, not an enemy pounce like the time the tiger pounced at him when he was falling from Mody Dick.
The tiger is obviously hungry. There are two stomachs in one body. Combined with the tiger’s stomach. He did remember that tigers have one stomach, right?
The tiger immediately finds its head nuzzling into Atsushi’s stomach. It nudges its head into his hand. Atsushi chuckles softly.
“I will treat you to tea on rice, the night tomorrow, full moon, okay?” Atsushi rubs his hands at the tiger’s neck. The tiger purrs delightfully and licks his cheeks, happy about the news. It is going to receive a feast tomorrow. “Plus we already ate a bird two days ago. I think I gained some weight” Atsushi sweats on the thought when the branches cracks when he streaches his back.
He really need a weight check.
The tiger huffs, and nuzzles its nose at Atsushis’s hand. Trying to tell him that he is not fat, not chonky, just that the branches are weak to hold his weight. Atsushi whispers a thanks while petting the tiger’s head.
“Oh and I am here to inform you about something” Atsushi says. The tiger lifts its head, tilted before nuzzling its nose into his hand again, begging to receive pets.
“So tomorrow, I am going to give you, full control during the full moon. However, I would like you to not slaughter anyone” Atsushi warns. The tiger purrs lowly, clearly not impressed of his last commend. Atsushi sighs at the tiger’s disagreement. “I don’t want you to commit man-slaughter” He repeats to the tiger.
The tiger is one bloody creature that is out for blood. For what exactly? Fyodor, he bet. He also want that Rat Dead. However not now, he is not going to jail before he got a reason to slaughter the man, russian rat.
Atsushi calmness the tiger’s neck. “We can go hunt some birds in the forest sometimes, once this is over. We can go fishing for fish, legally. You like fish right?” The tiger purrs excitedly as Atsushi describes the activities when the whole incident is over. The tiger listens while nuzzling deeper into Atsushi’s hand.
The talk ended after a while, Atsushi sighs before muttering a goodbye to the tiger. The white void slowly disappears around him and being replaced by the under view of the bridge, the fur on his hand slowly disappears too. Atsushi sighs and closes his eyes before opening them again, slowly.
To be greeted by a cat in front of him in a sitting position.
The cat made a small meow. The cat is a calico cat, covered with patches of orange, dark brown, and white fur and brown eyes. Atsushi also notices a red collar around it’s neck. Hey isn’t this… “The Agency’s cat?” Atsushi mutters. “You aren’t suspense to be here” he scratches the cat’s lower chin when the cat offer it’s head under his hand. As if the cat didn’t understand his words. The cat plods itself in between Atsushi’s crossed leg.
Atsushi sighs but continues to pet the cat. The sun is slowly setting into the shadows. The sky is getting darker. The red crimson sky is replaced by dark blue. The cat jumped out of his hold.
It meowed as a goodbye. And starts to walk away. Atsushi looks at the cat’s graceful steps on walking away.
I better learn skillful fighting skills this time His thoughts are cut off by a sharp pain at the back of his head. The sharp pain is growing, and growing again. He crouched and fell with a small thum on the floor with his face landed straight at the concrete ground.
“Congrats on reaching the bridge, Atsushi”
The child smiles at Atsushi. He resists the urge to slap the child. “YOU! AT LEAST INFORM ME THAT YOU WANT TO MEET UP WITH ME!? NOT TO KNOCK ME DOWN WITH THAT HELLISH ABILITY OF YOURS!” Atsushi rushes in front of the child. His index finger pointed sharply at the child’s face. The child smiles with closed eyes.
I like to bully you, Atsushi. That's why”
The child stats. Atsushi sighs, slapping his palm at his forehead. “At least there is something you want to talk about except congratulating me” Atsushi hopes so, the sharp pain at the back of his head is not worth it unless there is something more important.
“Nope”
Atsushi falls to the ground and gets up again. Having a crisis inside of his head. The child can read his mind and sighs. “W-we can talk about the future” the child makes a humming sounds as a respond of Atsushi’s request.
“We discussed that two days ago, for the next incident, we can discuss that a few days later”
A random lolipop appears out of thin air and the child grabs it. The child unwarps the packing, before eyeing Atsushi
“You want one? We can talk about some interesting kind of topics”
“What kind?”
“Like reciting the bible?”
“I pass”