(This story represents little space and how those who deal with trauma use it to cope. No, this is not ABDL. No, this is not DDLG. And no, this is not Age-playing.)

(Now, I do hope you enjoy chapter 2.)

“I-It’s not what you think!” Aka exclaimed, picking the Pacifier up, and putting it in her pocket. “What do you mean it's not what I think!? What else could it be?!” Atasuru exclaimed back at her, wondering why she was sucking on a pacifier.

“I-I'll explain later!” She said, panicking. “I-” The sound of footsteps caught Atasuru's attention. Cutting him off as he turned around to see who was causing them.

The three girls who were in the bathroom were rushing towards them. And when Atasuru turned back around, Aka was gone. Leaving him alone now “Wha- I- Where did-” he was extremely confused about what had just happened.

The trio of girls made it to his location a few seconds later “Oi! You!” One of them pointed at him, “Have you seen a girl with pink hair around here!?” She asked in a rude tone.

Atasuru sighed. Finding this to be quite the predicament he got himself in. “No.” He simply answered, “In fact, I don't even think I've seen her at all.” He lied.

“Grr… That bitch will pay…” One of them mumbled to themselves. “Let's go, she has to be around here somewhere!” The girls began walking past him, leaving him to sigh.

‘Man… I guess this did get worse…’ He thought to himself, about to continue walking to class until the Janitor’s closet suddenly opened again, although it was only enough for someone to peek out.

Aka was staring at Atasuru, whining softly, catching him by surprise. “Uh… Hey, what’s wrong?” He looked back at her, “I-I’m scared…” She whined again, covering her face.

Atasuru looked around to see if the coast was clear or not, “Well everything’s okay, I promise.” He stated, not wanting her to be scared. Aka shook her head and whimpered again.

Atasuru was worried at this point. Was the bullying really that bad…? He looked at her with a bit of empathy, “Want me to stay?” He offered her.

She stood still for a bit, then nodded. It looked like she was simply scared of being alone. “Alright.” He sat next to the Janitor’s closet, and looked up at her.

“Now, can you explain to me why you have that?” He was referring to her pacifier. “Oh… It’s um… I-I Uh…” She shook, trying to find a way to explain it, “I-It’s just um… I kinda have a lot going on… At home and… The bullying has gotten worse recently… So I bring it to keep me from having an episode…” She explained, fidgeting with her hands.

Atasuru’s face went from one of curiosity to shock. He had no idea. “I’m so sorry about that… Gah, bullies. I swear… How bored do you have to be to hurt people who don’t deserve it?” Atasuru growled, “They piss me off.” He said.

Aka looked at him with surprise, and came out of the Janitor’s closet. “Um… Where can I find you during Lunch…?” She asked, shaking slightly. “Oh, you can find me um… I guess sitting on the benches outside.” He answered her.

“Thank you… And thanks for helping… Sorry about that…” She said, looking a little nervous. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” Atasuru was about to leave, but Aka stopped him one more time. “Um… Do you uh… Read manga…?” She asked, feeling her nerves spike slightly.

Atasuru was a little surprised by the question. “Yeah, who doesn’t?” He said, “No… I mean like… A-A lot of manga…?” She asked again,  “Well… Not really no. But I like Naruto if that means something.” Atasuru answered.

“Okay… S-Sorry, I’ll leave you alone now…” Aka started walking away, leaving Atasuru to look at her as she walked away, then realized he also had to get to class.

. . .

Aka was sitting by herself… Like always. Yet, she didn’t feel nearly as overstimulated or scared as she was earlier. She felt safe, and even… Happy? Did Atasuru really have that big of an impact already? No, that can’t be it. They just met!

Either way, she was happy, and she felt safe now. She could focus on her schoolwork, and reading manga.

She flipped through the pages of the current one she had. It was an interesting one, but it was also popular. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. The main character always made her excited, since she was an incredibly powerful Elf. Aka always loved to imagine herself as an ultra powerful mage. Having the whole school grovel at her feet and finally treat her with respect.

The thought of it made her giggle, thinking about all the things she’d have her bullies do, but knew it was a bad thing. She was so into her mindset that she hadn’t even realized she was giggling a bit too loud.

“Ms. Aka, would you like to share what you find so amusing?” The teacher looked at her and asked. Aka immediately had a big blush on her face as she realized what had been happening “N-No…” She answered, laying her head down in shame as the ones in the class giggled at her, and started spreading gossip.

After a few more minutes, the bell had rung. Signaling Lunch period. She grabbed her lunch money, and moved out of the classroom as quickly as she could. She may hate being alone, but something else she also hates is crowds. They’re loud, cramped , and annoying, is her way of describing it.

She grabbed an onigiri, noodles, mochi, and some teriyaki. Her favorite.

She was lost in thought as she walked towards the benches. Thinking about Atasuru, as well as if she really could talk to him. But currently, none of that mattered. What mattered most… was her Teriyaki.

She drooled as she looked at the chicken surrounded with rice and covered perfectly in soy sauce, just the mere thought of the taste made her stomach grumble.

As she was about to take a bite out of the teriyaki, there was a “Hey!” Loud enough to scare her into almost dropping her lunch.

She looked at the person who almost made her drop it, and was surprised to see not Atasuru, but an average height girl with brown ponytail hair, beautiful green eyes covered by her glasses, and a personality that had happiness surrounding it.

“U-Um… Hi!” She said, stuttering and blushing. “Watcha doing, all alone?” She asked her “I’m… W-Waiting for someone…” She said, holding her Lunch close. Specifically her Teriyaki. “Really? Well, can I sit next to you?” She asked in a polite tone.

“Yeah! Of course you can!” She answered, smiling slightly, and fidgeting her hands. Surprisingly, she didn’t feel even the slightest bit scared next to the girl.

The girl smiled back and sat down next to her, taking her lunch out which consisted of Takoyaki, curry, and a sushi roll. She clapped her hands together “Thank you for the food.” Then began eating.

Aka looked at her for a bit, then looked back at her own lunch, and started eating her teriyaki.

Around the same time, Atasuru had gotten his own lunch and was on his way to the benches. His lunch was rather standard, as they didn’t have anything that interested him. Just some Natto, a rice bowl, and maybe some Ramen.

As he walked towards the benches, he noticed the girl talking to Aka. The girl caught his attention simply because she reminds him of someone he used to know.

He shook his head at the memory, and walked over to the both of them. “Hey.” He plainly said “Who’s this?” He asked the ponytailed girl. “Ah, sorry… Forgot to introduce myself… I’m Mayomi Yujin. Call me whatever you’d like!” Mayomi smiled at them.

“Uh, nice to meet you Yujin-chan… I’m Ataeru Kinisuru. But call me Atasuru.” Atasuru said, then looked at Aka. “A-And I’m Jihei Akachan! But please call me Aka… O-Or whatever you’d like!” Aka said, hiding her face.

“It’s nice to meet the both of you!” Mayomi bowed, and smiled. Atasuru chuckled, and sat next to Aka, “Are you okay?” He asked her, noticing that she was still hiding her face. “M-Mhm… Just a little nervous is all…” Her voice had a squeak in it, and she felt a little anxious now that someone else was there.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. Let’s go somewhere else so you can tell me what you need to.” Atasuru whispered, and Aka shakily nodded. “Hey, we’re gonna go talk in private for a bit. Is it alright if you wait there for now?” He asked Mayomi, to which she nodded “Go ahead!” She exclaimed.

Atasuru smiled softly, and started walking somewhere private, with Aka following close behind… Really close. She was practically clinging to him.

After a bit of walking, the two of them made it somewhere private. And Aka was starting to sweat again. Shaking a lot. “So what did you want to talk about?” Atasuru asked, looking at the shaking girl.

“I-I um… I-I mean, only if you’re… C-Comfortable with it…” She was fidgeting with her hands as she spoke, showing she was scared and anxious about Atasuru’s answer to what she had to say. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. I promise.” He said, calming her down slightly.

“I-I um…” she took a deep breath, and spoke. “I want… You to be my caregiver.” Aka stated. Closing her eyes just in case Atasuru reacted badly to it.

“Eh? Y-You want me to…” He was surprised at the request “A-A caregiver!?” He exclaimed, hardly believing that’s what he heard.

“Y-Yeah… But… It’s okay if you don’t want to… W-We did just meet after all…” Aka looked down, feeling like he hates her now.

Atasuru looked back on all that had happened in his life up until this point. He thought for a moment, having a memory of an injured girl looking up at him with tears in her eyes… How he could’ve helped her had he not been so stupid and rude…

He looked at Aka with determination in his eyes.

“I’ll do it.”

Chapter 2: Completed