Work Text:
Atsushi hated stealing.
He despised it, with every bone in his body.
Yet, he did it to survive.
It was the only way, and he was extremely successful.
In a day, he was able to get at least six wallets and maybe snatch some cookies from his favorite convenience store.
On particularly good days, he would get around twenty dollars and one or two credit cards.
People even got a name for him, The Silver Thief.
Though, Atsushi thought it was a God-awful name.
Nonetheless, the now twelve-year-old was a known suspect in the slums of Yokohama Japan.
Atsushi, the overly generous one, was often found helping other kids as well. Sometimes even hitching a small partnership with a few.
His partnerships never lasted long though, as he never chose to stay long with anyone. He was a nomad, never found in the same area more than twice. Of course, he didn't leave the general area, but he stayed away from most areas he had already slept in.
With his ... Occupation, Atsushi also knew a lot. Too much, people would argue. If you lived in the slums for more than a day, he knew you.
Because he was so kind, Atsushi had many people equivalent to followers. Most kids, even young adults in the area Atsushi resided in, owed him big time.
Though Atsushi was extremely kind, he could also be pretty ruthless. By studying people from afar, he could easily pick apart someone's body language and tell if one was dangerous or not.
Atsushi was twelve when he ran into two strangers, literally. He had been running away from an angry man when he stumbled across the two teens. Making them drop anything they were carrying.
His eyes had immediately snapped to the two, apologizing profusely and bowing rigorously while bending to help them pick the discarded wallets and even a few papers.
After finishing his apologies and looking up, only to see the two were bickering, he snuck a small peek into one of their wallets. Hiding a small gasp, he shut his eyes to the still bickering couple and gently slipped the wallet into his coat pocket.
The red-haired kid was extremely loaded.
Arranging the things in his hands to where the remaining wallet wasn't visible under the papers, Atsushi stood from where he was crouching and held out the discarded things.
This, however, got the teen's attention as the brunette chuckled sheepishly and took the things from the grey-haired pre-teen.
Thanking him, the older tossed an annoyed look to the redhead and immediately started to reprimand him, as if it were his fault.
Sighing in relief, Atsushi took this as a cue to leave. He scurried off into the now crowded city of Yokohama and disappeared without a trace.
That was until he heard an enraged yell of a certain redhead.
"Oi! That little punk has my wallet!"
Atsushi froze before taking a dead sprint the other way. He had to weigh his options; he runs into a random alleyway and risked getting caught, give the wallet back and act like he didn't know he had accidentally taken it, or he would keep running in the crowd and cause attention to be put on himself.
Atsushi decided he would keep running, it was the less risky, and when he lost them. Then find an alleyway and access his new findings.
After around four or five minutes of weaving and out of the crowd as quickly as possible, Atsushi finally found a small alleyway where he could sit and rest.
Sighing with complete relief, the boy looked around a few times and nodded, they were gone, probably to a police station to try and find their wallet again, right?
Atsushi crouched down once he got to the end of the alleyway and pulled the wallet out of his pocket to look through it. It had at least two hundred USD in cash and an identity card with it. 'Nakahara Chuuya' it read. Atsushi could sell it for around five hundred dollars, which to any street rat, it was exactly like a million dollars.
Yet, as soon as Atsushi clutched victory, it was harshly taken from him in the form of two teens at the entrance of the old alleyway.
Atsushi whipped his head towards the entrance where the two teens were standing. Both with arms crossed and one looking very livid.
Two-toned eyes became wide with fear yet soon he tried to compose himself. It would do no good for him to panic. As soon as he did so, the brunette began to speak.
"We know you have the wallet, if you could just do so, give it back? Please?" his voice was sickly sweet with an underlying threat.
Atsushi could now tell; these people weren't people to mess with. The pre-teen narrowed his eyes, like a feline focusing on a threat, and stood up.
Deep in his mind, a beast stirred, yawning and stretching his unused joints. Its eyes opened and glowed a toxic yellow that would have many cower in fear.
Atsushi backed up a couple of steps before letting his eyes scan any escape routes. He was getting a bit panicky as he hid the wallet behind his back and slid it into his pocket while using his other hand to slip into his sleeve and grab a small pocketknife for defending himself.
The grey-haired boy swallowed as his eyes began to glow a yellow hue. Nervousness crawled up his neck as his eyes darted around for any escape. There HAD been a small opening where the brunette was located.
Yet, from his newfound panicked state, he hadn't realized the two had moved closer to where Atsushi was almost completely cornered with no way to escape, once he did, his body locked up and he pursed his lips. There were a few options, make a run for it, fight with the pathetic pocketknife in his hand, give up the wallet, or scream as loud as he could for help and act like a victim.
Atsushi felt a guttural rumbling sound from his throat as he defensively took a step back and posed his arm out in threat. He looked exactly like a cornered cat.
The redhead looked ready to burst, while the brunette only looked very amused.
Licking his lips, Atsushi looked over the redhead's shoulder and widened his eyes in mock fear. Immediately, the redhead looked back in confusion, that was when Atsushi lunged.
Like a tiger, he lashed out and used the small knife in his hand to slash a large strike across the small teen's face.
The teen yelled out in pain and clutched his now bleeding cheek.
Atsushi used this time to try to run, his feet moving before he could think. Yet, as soon as he got to the entrance, he felt himself go weightless. Widening his eyes, the child cried out and felt himself being pulled toward the two teens.
"Now Now Chuuyaaa, let's not harm the kitten, shall we?" The brunette chittered; his eyes gleaming with something Atsushi did NOT like.
Confusion and fear were the only two things Atsushi knew at that moment as he was harshly set down with extra weight. Yelping, he scrambled back and looked up at the two with wide eyes.
"He cut my face!" The now dubbed Chuuya argued as he glared down at the small child.
Atsushi had to get out of there and fast. He knew of ability users, it was impossible not to know with all the wallets he's taken, and he knew that most were involved in the Port Mafia.
"L-look, here take the wallet, just let me go!" The smaller bargained as he threw the now tattered wallet to the older, his pupils dilating as the two teens looked directly at him.
A victorious smirk crossed the redhead's face as he grabbed the wallet and made sure everything was in it.
Atsushi stared at the two before scrambling to get up and run, he got to around halfway out before hearing a sinister voice call out, "Why, Goodbye, Silver-Kun. 'till next time."
This made the child lock up in place, he slowly turned around to see the brunette smiling widely at the younger.
Fear.
And then darkness.