Big Job Hunting [Alastair/Natsumi]

Natsumi’s eyes widened only for a brief moment when she noticed that small change in his features. It brought a joy to her as well, but it lasted as long and as strong as his smile did. Too bad, she thought she had changed his mind…

Natsumi looked to the floor, saddened at the idea of going elsewhere. The little girl in her showed itself as she tightly grasped the bottom of her sweater and took a deep breath. “Momma works here, so I know it’s supposed to be a good place,” Natsumi said and sighed. She looked up at Alastair with a level of conviction. She could do this, and as long as she was allowed, she would do this.

“Alright, then. Go on and sign me up.” Natsumi smiled wide and gave a thumbs up. “I’ll go on and do the things I’m s’posed to, with the superior and subordinate thing an’ all that, but I get to report things to you if anyone is givin’ me orders that don’t make no sense or are gonna hurt someone else. You mind that at all?”

"Very well. I look forward to seeing what you can achieve with us. I will always endeavour to make myself available to my colleagues, but there is also the chain of command to consider. This will be explained to you in basic training, and I trust you will be paying attention."

There was a weight to Alastair's tone that made it carry an unmistakable gravitas, and yet he also radiated positivity in response to her words. In seeing Natsumi find their conviction, whether it was truly galvanised or not, he took no small amount of pleasure after having watched her struggle to find her place in the world that she had once been denied interaction with.

"Now, I can escort you to one of the recruitment offices if you wish, to make sure that you do not go wandering off where you shouldn't again. There will be time to inform Coordinator Miller of your decision too, as I am sure that she will want to know about what you plan to do."

Natsumi’s smile grew as she stood straight and saluted her new boss-man! She was officially a member of the Vandenreich and the excitement bubbling in her stomach made her want to start immediately! “I will, I promise! Let’s go!”

Natsumi froze mid-step. Inform Coordinator… Miller. Momma… Natsumi’s eyes widened, but in a young terror, like she was going to get in so much trouble. “Y-You know Momma?” Natsumi thought back. Did she mention who she kept calling “Momma?” She couldn’t remember. Natsumi grabbed at her head and ruffled her own hair, trying to physically grab the memory, but she coul-…

Wait. She looked at Alastair and pointed up at him. "You spyin' on me?"