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odissey061 · 4 years ago

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Parenting with(out) you [pt. 2]

I didn’t specify very well in the last chapter, but the reader was a member in an organization similar to the Haunting Dogs (for the ones who read the manga), but with the difference that this organization was subdued to a politician, so their missions could also be like kill x person. She is a skilled killer and a very good fighter you have no idea about how many scenarios played in my mind with a Mafia!Dazai x Killer!reader. Dark couple power, guys--.

It’s also implied that the reader and Chuuya were friends when Dazai worked with the Mafia and when she escaped from her boss, Chuuya offered her a shelter (the first time Chuuya appears in the anime, he said he just arrived in Japan after spending some time in the east)

[Mild smut]

The gif has not plot purpose: I juast wanted admired once again this hottie in a white suit

Your first encounter with Keiko… didn’t go very well: you teared up as soon as you saw her, but she hid behind her father’s leg, refusing to see you. Of course, Dazai told her that there was the possibility she could see you for the first time, but it was like three month ago and in the meanwhile the kid started to believe she was not going to meet you. For the first month, she saw you as a woman who wanted take away from her the only parent left. She only changed her behavior with you when Dazai scolded her harshly, because she said she hated you and she didn’t want to see you again. That was the first and the last time Dazai slapped her.

Hearing those words, you started to cry too: you know it wouldn't be easy to make Keiko accept you in her life, but still… From another room, you listened to Dazai saying “I know is difficult for you; but she is your mother. I already told you that she didn’t leave us because she wanted, but because she was forced” and also “I just want the two women of my life to love each other, can you do this for daddy? ”.

Then she came into yours and Dazai’s room and she sat on the bed, close to you. Keiko gazed at you for a long time, then she spoke:”You have the same hair as me and also your face is similar to mine. Daddy says that we can both understand him the most and that my character is really similar to yours when you meet for the first time. Are you really my mommy? You are not trying to take away my dad away from me, right?”. “No, of course not. I love you so much, Keiko. I’m sorry for disappearing, but I didn’t want to put yours and Osamu’s life in danger. I’m so, so sorry, Keiko”.

Then you showed her your wallet: there was a folded photo of your daughter with Dazai. Only then Keiko understood you really were his mother and you were with her. She hugged you, crying, and begged you to don’t leave her again. “I will do everything in order to have your pardon” you said and with that words you firmed your own end. But we are going to see this later.

When you started to work at the ADA, you requested to be Yosano’s partner, due to your ability: you could force someone else to do what you wanted, but you had to hurt yourself and the more lethal the wound, more control you had. You and her became friends really fast since you were the woman more close to her age. Sometimes you helped her in her laboratory and other times you carried on a case alone.

You two often spent time together out of work and you accompanied her to go shopping under the other members of the Agency’s blessing, of course, but you refused whenever she proposed to you to drink together, saying that somebody was waiting for you at home and she teased you about your lover. Well, she wasn’t completely wrong, but you were talking about your daughter. (Neither you or Dazai told your coworkers you were in a relationship and you also had a child).

At work, nobody knew that you two were engaged: the smarter ones understood that you and Dazai weren’t completely strangers, since you entered at work and left it at the same hours, really often you spent your breaks together etcc…; but they couldn’t imagine you were actually engaged (and you were parents!)

Let’s answer one of your questions: how did Dazai behave with you at work? Apparently, he treated you just like a colleague, but he subtly showed only to you how he cared for you. Dazai’s love language at work was impossible to notice until you knew him: every morning he left a cup of your favorite drink on the lab’s table, he was always slacking off or ignoring his work free when you had breaks and he spent them with you and he always searched for your eyes and smiled at you when you were in the same room (when you were in the lab, he often gazed at thee closed door. Kunikida seemed to have a super effective radar for when Dazai was distracted about you: every time he hit his head with the pile of documents he ignored). And he also loved caressing your hand when he passed by the spot where you were, or when you casually brushing his hair please, ask me to write something about this point T-T. His gestures were discrete and small, but they were there. you still preferred them to that time he made love to you in his study when he still worked for the Port Mafia cough cough.

You preferred to maintain a professional facade at work, but sometimes, at the first occasion nobody was looking, he took you in an unused room at the floor to spend some time with you alone ;). You two usually kissed for a long time, even if you seldom indulged in more carnal acts. You protested everytime, but Osamu insisted with his usual dramatic act that it was impossible to resist when you were so cute in that outfit. He also used the excuse that at home you had no privacy since Keiko was glued to your side, even when it was time to sleep much to Dazai’s mild annoyance since he couldn't do anything with you because Keiko slept between you and your boyfriend in your bed.

Speaking about your relationship, Yosano was the first who suspected that you and Dazai were engaged. In the Agency’s bar there was the rumor, between the maids, that Dazai had found a s/o, since every morning he bought for them a cup of their favorite drink. A day, you, Osamu and your respective partners went there to have a meal and a maid was thanking this Dazai’s s/o for existing, because thanks to them nor her of her colleague were harrassed by the question of committing a double suicide together. With a mild anger in your voice, you asked her to be more specific and for every word spilled by the maid, Dazai’s face became paler. needless to say, that night he slept in Keiko’s bed, as your daughter was with you. Yosano connected the dots and she understood you were something more than colleagues, but she kept your secret.

But how did the Agency find out you had a daughter? That’s a fun story. Remember when I said that the quote “I’ll do anything for you” doomed your downfall? Well, the little rascal (your kid) took this really seriously. This wicked brat listened to you talking with your boyfriend about you abandoning her and she exploited that to steal your attention: were you talking with Dazai on the sofa? She sat between the two of you, saying that she wanted to play with you. Were you working at home? She cried so much loudly that you gave up what you had to do and the list went on. It took a while to Dazai to realize that his daughter was stealing you away. You were fooled by Keiko’s angelic face, but Dazai knew this little devil too much well to be tricked. (He was one fours surprised for the cleverness she showed and three fours annoyed by it. Dazai, what did you expect from your own daughter XD). Having said that, a day Keiko feigned to be sick in order to spend more time with you, but you had to work and the babysitter wasn’t available, so you thought bringing her to work was a good idea (spoiler: it wasn't).

The first ones to see you with Keiko were Atsushi, Kyoka and Kunikida. A few seconds later came Kenji and the Tanizaki’s siblings. They all were fooled charmed by your daughter and they started to play with her, complimenting how cute she was. Then Naomi said:”Somehow, she looks familiar” and, after staring at her for a while, they all agreed, trying to understand who the father was. Kunikida shivered for a second noticing how similar she was to Dazai, but he couldn't imagine Dazai having a lover, let alone being a father. You heard a crash behind you and when you turned you saw a very much shocked Yosano who held in her hand a cup handle and Rampo with the open mouth as he was eating a candy. Your partner knew your relationship with Dazai, but discovering he was also a father shocked her too much, Rampo probably understood everything when he saw Keiko.

Atsushi wondered:”But who is the father? Does he work here too?”. The poor, naive Atsushi, didn’t have the slightest idea and you couldn't even have the time to answer, that Keiko jumped off Kenji’s lap, screaming:”Daddy!!”. All the members turned to see Keiko clinging to Dazai’s leg. Kunikida’s lenses audibly cracked, some of them felt the urge to sit and Yosano had to assist a couple of faintings. Some seconds passed in the utter silence as they tried to metabolize the shock, then they started to assault you and Dazai with questions.

The sight of Dazai lifting up his daughter was a sight to behold and eventually they accepted the fact that Dazai is a father. the image of Dazai giving a esquimo kiss to his daughter, holding her in his arms, has me melting on the floor. “How old is she?” Naomi asked and you answered:”She’s four years old”. She thought about it for some seconds:”But if she’s four that means that you and Dazai met when he worked with the Port Mafia, isn’t it?” and luckily Yosano was quick:”There are some things that are private in a couple. Now let’s work that we already lost enough time”. She saved you before the questions became too personal.

Dazai and Kunikida left the office for a mission and you went in the lab with Yosano, telling Keiko to don’t come in, since the room was full of lethal weapons. Feeling abandoned, she cried as loudly as she could, thinking that you’d rushed over she used the same technique at home when you are with your boyfriend. It worked every time. But you didn’t. Rampo decided to take care of her: he shared his candies with her and he asked her to help him to resolve his cases. Keiko quite enjoyed staying with him.

After a couple of hours, when Dazai came back to the office, all of your colleagues kicked you three out, begging you to take a stroll with your child. Above all the experience was traumatic and the shock too huge for them, but what surprised them was that even someone like Dazai could have a family and be a good father. It’s murmured that that day, when Kunikida went at home, he declared:”After four years of being Dazai’s partner, I asked to the Grim Reaper to take me, but he said “no, you have to suffer a bit more” and he placed Dazai’s daughter on my path”.

You also wondered how Chuuya would react to a mini Dazai? you sadists. You, Keiko and Osamu were in a luna park to spend some quality time together as a family. Both yours and Dazai’s guard was very high, considering your past works, especially when Keiko was with you. Recently, you heard news about a child kidnapper, so you were even more anxious, but Osamu reassured you: nobody was so stupid to kidnap the daughter of an ex Port Mafia director and of an ex agent. Right? No

All happened in a second. The park was really crowded and in a second you were holding Keiko’s hand and in the next one she was no longer by your side. Surprisingly, Dazai was the most scared one: he told you before that the reason he stopped to think about suicide was Keiko, so he was really attached to his daugher (more than a normal parent). But the moment of fright and bewilderment was really brief and in the next second, both you and Dazai analyzed the situation with utmost rationality. You watched in Dazai’s eyes and you shivered: they were ruthless, without a shred of magnanimity, just like whe he woked under Mori's command

But the kidnapper was doubly unlucky: he kidnapped not only Keiko, but also Elise-chan. When Mori knew that she was kidnapped, he sent Chuuya to retrieve her. His orders were: make sure that guy regretted turning against the Mafia (you know, usual Mori stuff).

He found the kidnapper hideout and he killed him without any problems, but the troubles for him had just started. As soon as the man was dead, ten kids or more ran away from that place (Chu Chu instructed them to go to the nearest police station), but a brunette kid stayed there.

Keiko, to put it simply, fell in love with him as soon as she saw him using his ability. Osamu didn’t mention at all he was a mafioso (he wanted to show to her daughter only his best sides), but he talked about his ex partner. She clinged to Chuuya’s leg with adoranting eyes. Chu Chu was a bit creeped out: why was that child not scared? She was kidnapped, for the God’s sake

Chuuya tried to push her off, but he miserably failed. He gazed more carefully at Keiko and with dread, he admitted that she somehow reminded him of his ex partner, but that was only a coincidence, right? Elise asked her:”Why weren’t you scared?” and Keiko answered:”Because I know that mommy and daddy will come soon”. Then she looked at Chuuya, trying to remember how her father called him and she said:”Chibi-chan?”.

And the cruelty of reality hit Chuuya like a thunder: not only that wasting bandage garbage was still alive, but he also reproduced! He wanted to die, no, better: he wanted to kill Dazai once for all. But the final stroke arrived with the next question:”Do you want to marry me? Daddy told me to ask this question to a very special person”. Being proposed by Dazai’s daughter… in what other wicked ways his ex partner did try to send him to the Creator?! That was even more successful that putting a bomb in his car

Luckily, you and your boyfriend arrived at that moment. At the sight of his daughter clinging to the person he hated the most, Dazai almost had a stroke (to Chuuya’s happiness). As soon as Keiko saw you two, she runned in your direction (Chuuya was two times happier).

“You bastard, what did you say to her abou-” he started to yell at Dazai’s direction, but you interrupted him:”Thank you Chuuya for saving our daughter”. And you hardly hit Dazai's stomach with your elbow, so that he thanked Chuuya too.

In Chuuya’s mind something activated and he came to the general comprehension of what happened four years ago and why you met him some time later; but he didn’t say anything about it. He changed the topic:”You are the only woman in the world that can handle him, so be sure to be by his side”. That sounded almost like a blessing, but you didn’t dare to say it. “It’s what I intend to do”.

And walked in different directions, then Keiko yelled:”The next time we see again, tell me your answer” and you were almost sure to hear Chuuya trip to the ground. “What question have you asked?” you wondered half curious and half amused and she smiled dreamly:”If he wanted to marry me”. This time was Dazai’s turn to stumble on his steps. You laughed so hard that you stomach hurt, but you couldn’t stop, Osamu glared at you with a look of betrayal.

For the whole walk to your home, Dazai kept telling her how Chuuya was a bad person, but Keiko retorted that someone as beautiful as Chuuya couldn’t be a bad person. For a second Dazai glared at her with a sad smile, wondering if she would have told the same thing after he confessed to her all of his crimes. Knowing his thoughts, you tightened the grip of your hand on his, smiling:”For Keiko, you are the best person in the world, no matter what you did in the past”, then you added with a cheeky smile:”even better than Chuuya, I bet”.

After tucking Keiko in her bed, you and your boyfriend retired in your bedroom. Dazai whined:”My daughter, my sweet, beloved and innocent daughter… How could she propose to another man? Especially him. She broke my heart: until yesterday she wanted to marry me. What did that slug do to her?”. You chuckled:”Are you sure it’s his fault? When we arrived it seemed like Chuuya was shocked too. I admit too that he’s beautiful”.

At those words, Dazai’s body froze, but you didn’t notice it, too focused on changing yourself for the night. “You and him seem to be well acquainted” his voice was somehow restrained and it was just your impression, or Dazai was jealous? “Not really. When you were in the Port Mafia we met only twice, but after my escape, he saved me. I had a high fever, no place to stay and I didn’t eat in the last days. I was probably on the verge of death. He took me in his home and he helped me to get better”.

In your stream of words, you didn’t notice that Dazai’s mood changed. In the Port Mafia he was possessive and he get jealous really often, but at least he vocalized it in his words or by action; but this Dazai was different: since once you got together, he never showed any sign of uneasiness, probably because now he knew that there was no possibility that you could fall for someone else. But Chuuya was the exception and knowing that he was by your side when you rejected his help, fueled his insecurity. And in the next second, you were under him, his hands already on your pajamas.

Notes: if you are curious about certain aspects in this AU, you can always ask me

You lost your occasion to say:”Nothing that you imagine happened, really”, because his lips were already on yours, kissing you until you didn’t have any more oxygen in the lungs. That night, Osamu kept asking who you loved not really for reminding you but for himself. He made love to you all night along, coaxing an orgasm after another one from your body, hungry for your love. You were quite sure that the both of you have been quite vocal and you hoped to don’t wake up Keiko. After he washed you, you took his face in your hands, saying only two words, a single question, Osamu gazed surprised at you for a while, then he smiled, answering your question with three letters: yes.

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pumpkinpatchkid · 4 years ago

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Got Your Back - 002

Pairing: Atsushi x F!Reader soulmate au

Rating: 18+

Warnings: toxic thoughts, parental abuse, self-doubt/confidence issues

And that’s how you found yourself sat in an unfamiliar office, your clothing half burnt off and wrapped in Dazai’s large, beige overcoat. You watched the older gentleman sat across from you at his desk, with the blonde and Dazai accompanying him. The blonde man was watching you, stoic faced, his only movements since you entered the office was to either push up his glasses or check his watch. Dazai on the other hand, kept peering over the notes on the desk, and grinning to himself. Occasionally though, he’d hum a tune to himself that you’d never heard before.

“So,” the man sat in-front of you started after clearing his throat. “I’ll start with introductions. This here, is Kunikida,” he motioned to the blonde.

“I’m aware you’ve already met Dazai,” he continued, gesturing to the eccentric brunette you’d only met an hour ago. “And my name is Fukuzawa. I’m in charge of this group of misfits.” He said, offering you a warm smile. You nodded, subconsciously pulling Dazai’s coat tighter around you.

“Y/N L/N.” You spoke quietly to fill the silence. Fukuzawa nodded and wrote something down on the notes in front of him.

“And how old are you, L/N?” He asked, not looking up from the papers.

What month are we in? August? Yeah, that’s about right, hard to keep track when you can’t afford a calendar, or keep your phone charged for half a day.

“I’m uh… I’m eighteen… Next month, the 20th…” You replied and looked down. Surely your age would rouse suspicion within the group. Surely enough, Kunikida looked at you as he cocked his eyebrow, but said nothing. You felt a blush creep onto your cheeks under his stern gaze. Fukuzawa hummed and wrote down the new information.

“And Dazai told me you were searching for a job?” He asked, finally looking back up at you. You simply nodded, unsure of what to tell him. He nodded in return before straightening up in his chair.

“I’m correct in assuming you have a gift, L/N? A supernatural ability?” Fukuzawa asked with caution in his voice. Your eyes widened. Nobody had ever spoken so openly about your… nature before. Not like this. Not without poison, or malice. Not just out of curiosity.

“That’s not exactly how my parents described it, but sure… I have a…. gift,” you muttered sheepishly, tugging at the singed fabric of your ruined favourite jeans. Fukuzawa hummed in approval, almost as if he understood your predicament without having to ask.

“Well that’s what we call them here. Our organisation is the Armed Detective Agency. We’re run to help the police and government protect Yokohama from people out of their range of capability.” He explained, gauging your reaction.

You sat there in utter disbelief. You had been told you were a monster by everyone surrounding you in your old life. You were nothing but a freak, a monstrosity to them. But here you could not only be useful, but a good person? You head spun.

This has to be a fever dream or something surely.

With your silence, Fukuzawa sighed softly. He opened his mouth to say something and stopped when you shifted in your seat.

“I’m sorry, Fukuzawa, sir, but I really don’t understand what any of this has to do with me?” You said, or more asked. You scratched the back of your neck sheepishly, afraid you’d spoken out of line, only to be answered by Dazai giggling. Both Fukuzawa and Kunikida shot him a stern look, and he simmered down fairly quickly, the odd snicker still falling from his lips. The silver haired man then turned his attention fully back to you.

“We usually conduct an entry exam. This is an intense and stressful situation, although harmless, to bring out the best in people. It’s designed to show us who would be capable of giving their life for others if the situation arises. However, due to the circumstances that brought you here today, I believe you would have passed our exam. Dazai also believes so, as he was the one to inform me of your actions.” Fukuzawa flashed you another half-smile. You could only sit there in shock.

This is NOT happening right now.

“I-“ you started.

“We’d like to take you in, Y/N! We want you as part of the Agency! Come on, what do ya say?” Dazai sang, moving from behind Fukuzawa to wrap his arm over your shoulders, shaking you slightly.

You were about to gladly accept, until the memories came back to haunt you. The worst timing.

‘You’re nothing but a monster!’ Smack. Your father had screamed and hit you again. ‘You’re disgusting! You should die in a hole!’ Smash. Your mother had thrown her favourite vase at you, missing your face by inches. ‘Nobody will want you! You’ll end up in jail for being a disgrace to this earth!’ ‘We’d all be better off without you alive!’ They had both hurled insults, beatings and objects at you until the sun had risen.

You snapped out of your memories with a harsh flinch and glanced up at Dazai.

“I-I’m not sure… I just… Is it really true?... Can I be a good person, even as a monster?” You trailed off into a whisper, tears welling in your eyes as you looked at your lap.

A soft hand with slender fingers cupped your chin, and through blurry eyes, you could only just make out Dazai, who was now crouched in front of you.

“Hey, I get it… I promise I do. But even monsters have a chance to be good people. You do too, and I can also promise it’ll make your life a little more beautiful.” He spoke softly, wiping away a few stray tears that trailed down your face. You were in awe – the man who was an eccentric, loud and slightly strange character when you first met him only hours ago, was now giving you some of the most motivational words you’d ever heard.

You sucked in a large breath and steadied your whirring mind. You closed your eyes for a moment, letting your thoughts dissipate before looking at Fukuzawa.

“Okay. I’d like to accept your offer, Sir.” You said with a half smile. While Dazai returned to his odd self, whooping and dancing around the room, and Kunikida checked his watch again for what seemed like the hundredth time, Fukuzawa nodded, scribbling some more. Dazai threw an arm around you and pulled you into his side, a large smile plastered on his face.

“Welcome to the Agency, Y/N!” He sang, twirling with you. You felt your cheeks heat up immediately, and you couldn’t help but let a giggle slip from your lips.

“You’re so obnoxious, Dazai.” A deep voice piped up. You looked up to see that it was Kunikida who had spoken for the first time since you met him. His face was stern as he stared at the brunette prancing around you, but you noticed the look of fondness in his eyes. Fukuzawa stood from his position, and you looked up at him as he approached you.

Are they all this tall?... You wondered. With a slight bow, he handed you a small piece of paper – a cheque with a sum that made your eyes bulge from your head a little. You’d never been allowed to get a job due to your parents’ fears of your ability being found out – and they had only given you small amounts to keep you alive.

“I-I uh… Thank you so much…” You stuttered, still processing the amount in your shaking hand.

I’m certainly not going to worry about money now… A smile crept up onto your face.

“Consider it your first pay-check. Since my schedule isn’t fully booked today, I’ll be the one introducing you to the rest of our members.” Fukuzawa nodded and led you to the door of his office, where you could now here muffled voices and rustling behind it.

I suppose they must have just arrived at work.

A bubble of anxiety brewed in your stomach when a large hand patted at your shoulder. You looked up at Fukuzawa once more.

“They may look like a strange bunch, but they’ll become your family sooner than you think.” He finished with opening the door to the main part of the office.

Kunikida immediately returned to what was presumably his desk, muttering something about having to get back on schedule, pushing his glasses up and huffing.

Fukuzawa cleared his throat, and everyone, except Kunikida turned their attention to him, and you, the new girl.

“Everybody, this is Y/N, our new recruit. She’ll be working close with you all, do please take care of her.” Fukuzawa asked – or more instructed politely. At that moment, Fukuzawa’s phone started ringing. He sent a silent apology in your general direction and gestured for Dazai to take over, and with that he was by your side again.

“That’s Yosano,” Dazai pointed to a young woman with a short black hair style, legs crossed over one another, as she read today’s paper. She looked up and smiled, before returning to her paper.

“Kenji.” He pointed to a shorter blond boy in dungarees with a smile as bright as the sun. He waved to you with the hand that wasn’t occupied by a watering can, before turning to tend to the plants on the windowsill once more.

“We have Kyoka” A short, teenage girl with long dark hair and big eyes pulled her attention away from assisting Kenji and have a short wave before going back to her duties.

“We have the siblings, Naomi and Junichiro Tanizaki.” He pointed to an older teenage girl sitting at a computer, maybe high school age, sitting next to a sweet looking ginger male, who’s sweater sleeves covered his hands. They both offered quick ‘hellos’ and smiles before working once again.

“And the young lady with the pretty face and brown hair that you saw at the entrance of the building was Haruno. She’s our secretary.

And that’s everyon- wait. Where are Atsushi and Rampo?!” Dazai cried dramatically.

“Rampo wanted snacks and dragged Atsushi with him for help. You know how Rampo is getting about.” Yosano spoke without looking up from the paper as she turned the page. Dazai flopped against your shoulder, sighing into the crook of your neck. You patted his head awkwardly, sure that you’d have to get used to his affection quickly otherwise things could get uncomfortable.

“I suppose you’ll have to meet Rampo and Atsushi some other time. Give me your number and I’ll walk with you tomorrow.” He sprung up again. You chuckled softly at his antics and added your number to Dazai’s phone. As he led you to the door, Dazai flashed you the charming smile he introduced himself with.

“Can you find your way home from here?” Dazai asked, leaning against the door frame.

“I can, thank you. Would you uh… Like this back?” You gestured to Dazai’s over coat still draped around your shoulders. He grinned.

“Keep it until you get yourself some new clothes. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He blew you a kiss as you entered the hallway and you laughed, calling your goodbyes to the rest of the team, waving to Dazai as you walked off. As you got to the main entrance of the building, a young man, dressed in brown, a paper boy hat and glasses bumped into you. He looked lost.

“My apologies, are you alright?” You bowed slightly. He looked up at the building, then at you and cocked an eyebrow.

“I’m fine, thank you, Miss. I’m just waiting for a friend.” He dismissed you with the wave of a hand. You smiled and nodded before making your way through the streets to return to your shack – which seemed warmer and more welcoming than when you’d left it this morning.

Rampo and Atsushi. I wonder what they’re like. You hummed to yourself as the names of the two missing members settled in your mind, smiling to yourself. You shrugged off Dazai’s coat and laid it over the arm of your small sofa, and traced your fingers over it lightly, his words coming to the forefront of your memories, making your heart swell with hope.

It’ll make your life a little more beautiful…

#atsushi nakajima #soulmate atsushi #soulmate au #slow burn #got your back #atsushi x reader #atsushi x y/n #atsushi x you #bungo stray dogs #bungo stray dogs fic #bungo stray dogs x reader #bsd #astushi #pumpkinpatchfics #f!reader #fem!reader

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patchwork-panda · 4 years ago

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If A Moment Is All We Are (20/?)

AO3 link: HERE

“...Maybe I shouldn’t have left Kunikida-san to deal with Dazai-san and the Tanizaki siblings back there,” I mumbled guiltily as Atsushi, Kyouka and I headed back down the hallway towards the Armed Detective Agency. “After all, Dazai-san is my case partner right now and I do owe both him and Kunikida-san for helping me out this morning...”

But Atsushi was already shaking his head.

“Kusunoki-san,” he mumbled, looking uneasy, “I feel bad too, but trust me when I say it’s better if we let Kunikida-san handle things on his own. The last time I tried to help before, I got caught between them and well...”

He swallowed nervously and for a moment, the light in his purple-tinted eyes seemed to fade.

“Dazai-san used him as a shield and Kunikida-san wound up punching him instead,” Kyouka finished for him, indicating her head towards Atsushi as the tiger-boy clutched his stomach and shuddered at the memory.

I winced in sympathy.

“S-sorry that happened to you.”

Atsushi tried to laugh but it came across more as a weak cough.

“It’s fine. Things like this happen sometimes...”

Kyouka merely shrugged.

“I’ve seen people get hit much harder back when I was still a part of the Port Mafia,” she said quietly, “And sometimes it wouldn’t end with just a hit.”

Atsushi and I exchanged a strained glance. I’d heard Kyouka say something like this once before, when I was getting tea in the break room but I didn’t know how to respond any better now than I did back then. I was hoping that inviting her to lunch and getting to know her a little better, with Atsushi acting as a sort of buffer, would help make me feel more at ease around the former assassin, since we were now sharing a work area. Unfortunately, she was the most deadpan person I’d ever met and even after we spent all of lunch together, I still didn’t feel like I knew her very well. Then again, I did find out that she liked rabbits and tofu, so maybe I hadn’t abandoned Kunikida for nothing...

I sighed.

Despite Atsushi’s reassurance, I still felt like I had been pretty inconsiderate. I could have at least brought Kunikida a coffee to go or something...

“Kusunoki-san, you have a faraway look in your eye,” Atsushi pointed out. “Is something bothering you?”

“Huh? Oh! No, it’s nothing!” I stammered, hoping my face didn’t look too pink.

I scratched at my cheek.

“I was just wondering if I should’ve brought something up for Kunikida-san. He was kind enough to treat me when I got this scrape earlier and I thought maybe I could thank him with some coffee...”

I stopped scratching at my cheek and frowned as I thought to myself.

“Then again, Yosano-sensei did mention he should probably cut back on the caffeine if he didn’t want to end up on her operating table any time soon...”

Atsushi looked thoughtful.

“Kusunoki-san, you really care about Kunikida-san, don’t you?”

I flushed.

“I-it’s not what you think!” I stammered, my face and neck burning as I tried to think of a coherent response in response to Atsushi’s innocent remark.

Beside him, I could see Kyouka looking up at me with her bright blue eyes, quiet and observant as she waited patiently for my response. For some reason, this only made me more flustered. Something about the look on her face made me think she somehow already knew...!

“It’s just that—!” I managed, turning to Atsushi and hoping I really didn’t sound too desperate, “Kunikida-san has been so kind to me ever since I met him and I really appreciate everything he’s done for me so far. I really look up to him!”

Blushing harder, I turned to Atsushi, practically wringing my hands from nerves.

“That’s all, I swear!”

For a second, Atsushi just blinked at me. Then, his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and he flushed as well.

“Oh my gosh!!” he exclaimed, slapping his hands over his reddened cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Kusunoki-san! I didn’t mean it that way! It’s just, when I saw the two of you back at the infirmary—I thought—! I thought you were getting along really well, and—well—to be honest—!!”

At the mention of the infirmary, I was instantly reminded of Kunikida’s smiling face, the gentleness in his gray-green eyes... My heart skipped a beat.

“—I think it’s great that you’re getting along so well!” Atsushi rambled, making wild, erratic gestures with his hands, “I mean, I’m really happy that I can get along so well with Dazai-san and Kyouka-chan and—”

“You should make him something to eat,” Kyouka abruptly chimed in.

At once, Atsushi and I turned to stare at her. Unused to the attention, Kyouka looked away slightly, her cheeks tinged with a delicate, soft pink.

“Men like food,” she said quietly. “Atsushi-kun likes it when I make him breakfast. If you like Kunikida-san, you should make him something too.”

“Kyouka-chan!” Atsushi moaned, slapping his hands over his cheeks once again. “You can’t just say stuff like that!”

My eyes widened.

“You think so?” I asked.

Atsushi looked stunned. And a little confused.

“Eh?” was all he could get out as Kyouka nodded beside him.

“If you find out what kind of food he likes, you could make him a bento,” she said as Atsushi turned from Kyouka to me and back and forth.

The dark-haired girl lowered her eyes shyly.

“I’m not that good at it, but I’ve been cooking for a few years now,” she said quietly, fidgeting a little with her hands. “If you’d like, I could come over and help you? Or... you could come over to our place?”

I brought my hands to my mouth.

“Kyouka-chan...!”

How could I ever have thought she was scary? She was honestly really cute and so sweet for offering...! And given how well my latest adventures in cooking had gone, I needed all the help I could get.

“Yes! Thank you so much!” I exclaimed. “That’s so sweet of you, Kyouka-chan! Do you have anything you like to eat? Maybe I could treat you to a snack after we finish—?”

“Crepes!” Kyouka decided, her blue eyes shining. “There’s a stall near the park that sells really delicious ones. I like the strawberry ones!”

“Of course! It’s the least I can do!”

“Um...” Atsushi interrupted, awkwardly raising a hand, as if he were a student in a class. “I thought you said it wasn’t like that...?”

“It isn’t!” Kyouka and I declared, turning to him as one.

“If you appreciate someone, it’s natural to want to feed them,” Kyouka stated firmly.

“Yeah, Atsushi-kun! Haven’t you ever treated someone to a meal for doing something nice for you?”

“Of course I have!” Atsushi squawked, looking more confused than ever. “But I thought you said...?”

But Kyouka and I were barely listening and we were already continuing down the hallway without him. Kyouka started asking me about the cooking utensils I had on hand but when I asked her why she needed more than one, she just bit her lip and informed me it was probably better if I came over to her place instead.

Atsushi sighed and trailed after us to the office.

“I... I’m sure Kunikida-san appreciates you too, Kusunoki-san,” he mumbled, sounding defeated.

He thought to himself for a moment.

“Maybe his favorite foods are written down in his notebook somewhere! Oh, but now that I think about it...”

Atsushi grinned at me.

“His favorite foods are probably those that are ideal for a healthy lifestyle,” he joked, a small chuckle escaping him as he spoke. “I’m sure if you get some of those... eh? Kusunoki-san, what’s wrong?”

“H-healthy...”

I slapped my hand over my forehead as I thought hard.

“W-what counts as healthy food?”

Atsushi thought to himself for a second.

“Rice, fish, vegetables,” he listed, “seaweed, chicken, soup, tea...”

Was he actually answering my question or was he just listing off the ingredients needed to make ochazuke?

When I pulled out my phone to start copying this down, he stared.

“Wait a minute. Kusunoki-san, what have you been eating this entire time?”

“Ramen and vegetable juice...”

“Oh my God...”

“The... The last time I had to think about this,” I mumbled sheepishly as Atsushi appeared horrified (Kyouka’s eyes merely widened a fraction and she wisely stayed quiet), “was when Yamazaki-san dragged me out to get groceries.” Atsushi’s eyebrow quirked up.

“The lady you saved right before you joined the Agency?”

I nodded. I’d told Atsushi and Kyouka about Mrs. Yamazaki during lunch, when we were discussing our pasts and how each of us had joined the Agency. As the three of us finally arrived at the end of the hall, stopping just before the door to the Armed Detective Agency (it sounded like things had quieted down, although the faint smell of smoke still lingered in the air), Atsushi’s golden eyes widened a fraction in realization. He snapped his fingers.

“I have an idea! Are you still in touch with Yamazaki-san?” he asked abruptly, “If you are, then maybe she could give you some tips on a healthy, well-balanced bento? You know, like the kind that adults prefer? Did she cook for her husband?”

I stopped moving.

“I... I actually don’t know,” I said quietly, my hand stilling on the doorknob. “I didn’t really know her that well. She seemed to be home at the same time I was but I never actually met her husband.”

I turned to them.

“She did say that she was still married but I’ve never seen her husband home before. In fact, the only time I saw anyone else at her place was when she had her friends over for mah-jong.”

However, I knew her husband definitely existed because I’d seen photographs of him in the apartment, the most prominent of which was a large, framed color photo from the Yamazaki wedding some decades ago. On the left was a much younger Mrs. Yamazaki, looking rosy-cheeked and overjoyed in a traditional white Japanese wedding kimono and headdress. Standing just behind her, with one hand placed gently on her shoulder, was Mr. Yamazaki, a tall, thin man with a tiny pair of round, circular glasses perched elegantly on his slightly hooked nose; he, too, had been wearing traditional Japanese wedding attire. While he looked rather awkward with the large white knot around his waist almost bumping into Mrs. Yamazaki’s hat, his small, dark eyes seemed to shine with the same kind of joy that his wife displayed so readily.

“Oh...”

Atsushi grew timid.

“Is he perhaps, no longer around?” he asked, rubbing his arm in embarrassment.

But I shook my head and smiled.

“He’s around,” I said slowly, “just not physically. Yamazaki-san mentioned that he works abroad and doesn’t get to go home much but he does send her money every month so that she can pay the bills.”

I opened the door and headed into the office.

“I haven’t been in touch with her since she left for her nephew’s place in Nagano, but maybe I could send them an email? I should ask Dazai-san for their contact information, see if it’s safe to reach out—”

I stopped abruptly.

Sitting there, slumped over at my desk, with more bandages on his body than ever before... was Dazai. Even though I’d stopped walking towards him, he somehow seemed to sense my approach and before I could quietly back away and try to ask Kenji to share a desk again, Dazai looked up.

“Kusunoki-kun...”

Without moving his head up from the desk, he jutted his lower lip out in an obvious pout, his cheek still squished against my desk top.

“You went to lunch without me?”

His lower lip wobbled.

“And not only did you leave me here with Kunikiiiida-kun, you took Atsushi-kun and Kyouka-chan, too! How could you...?”

“Whatever Kunikida-san did to you,” I said flatly, putting my hands on my hips, “You deserved it. And why did you set that bin full of papers on fire, anyway?”

Dazai blinked at me.

“The paper shredder was busted,” he stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, “so I thought we could save energy by burning the trash instead. You know, since Kunikiiiida-kun’s always going on about our budget and the energy bills and all that other stuff...”

“All that other stuff,” Kunikida seethed, a vein pulsing visibly in his temple, “is the reason you even get a paycheck, Dazai-san.”

I jumped.

“K-Kunikida-san!”

He was standing right next to me and I’d been so focused on Dazai that I hadn’t even heard him coming up behind me. Apparently, I was the only one who hadn’t. Atsushi and Kyouka were already sitting at their own desks, heads bent low over their laptops, and as I quickly scanned the room, I realized that other than Kunikida, I was the only person still standing in the middle of the room and not working.

But before I could apologize for anything, Kunikida continued right past me until he had arrived at my desk and was staring down Dazai with his notebook out and his arms crossed.

“Is there something wrong with your desk, Dazai-san?” Kunikida asked, tapping one finger irritably against his bicep. “If not, I must ask that you return to your own workstation and stop harassing Kusunoki-kun immediately.”

“Oh relax, Kunikiiiida-kun,” Dazai sighed, “I’m not harassing her at all! Kusunoki-kun is my case partner and I thought we could share a workstation. Hardly unusual at this office, especially considering how short we are on desks at the moment—”

“The only reason we were even short on desks was because you had Kyouka destroy half the office during Kusunoki’s entrance exam—!”

“—And besides, I need to work closely with Kusunoki-kun if we’re going to solve our case in a timely manner.”

Dazai sat up and took out the documents that we’d been given this morning, spreading them over the desk and leaving barely enough room for our laptops.

“I’m sitting here because it’ll be more efficient to work like this,” he said, taking out a highlighter and lazily marking up the printouts. “You’re all about efficiency, right? Wouldn’t you agree that it’s much more efficient for us to be sharing a workstation? That way, we can look at all our documents at the same time. We wouldn’t have to constantly ping each other over email, or worse, talk loudly next to you and disturb your work—”

“Kusunoki’s desk is already right next to yours,” Kunikida stated evenly. “How much more efficient could you possibly become, moving just a short distance over?”

But when Dazai went back to highlighting the printouts, giving his partner no indication that he’d heard him, Kunikida’s hands balled into fists. Without warning, the tall blonde detective stomped over. He slammed his hands down on my desk, and for one brief, terrifying moment, I thought I saw cracks appear on the floor beneath my workstation.

“You really think you’re fooling anyone, Dazai?” Kunikida snapped, “It’s obvious what you’re up to. You’re just trying to get into Kusunoki’s space so you can get all cozy with her during work hours, aren’t you?”

He jabbed a finger towards the far side of the desk.

“I bet you even put that stapler all the way over there just so you have an excuse to put your arm around her! Well I’m not having it. Go back to your own desk right now!”

“Kunikida-kun!” Dazai gasped as I went red at the idea of getting that close to Dazai. “I had no idea you were so creative! Don’t tell me you’ve been spending time thinking of ways to get closer to Kusunoki-kun? I’m actually kind of impressed...!”

At once, Kunikida went red as well.

“I—” he sputtered, “I would never—! That is completely unprofessional—Don’t lump me in with the likes of you, Dazai!!”

“Aw, there’s no need to be so embarrassed, Kunikiiiiiida-kun,” Dazai chuckled, propping his chin up on his half-bandaged hands, grinning widely in a show of mock-sympathy. “I can see where you’re coming from. I mean, Kusunoki-kun is pretty cute, riiiiiiight?”

Kunikida didn’t answer. Instead, he made an odd choking noise and turned away, his face flushing further until it was the color of an overripe tomato.

I stared.

No way...

I clapped my hands over my mouth, my face burning as well.

Did Kunikida actually think I was cute...?

“You can admit it,” Dazai teased, getting to his feet, so he could peer more closely into his coworker’s face. “I saw the way you looked at her after she got that makeover. Not that you didn’t sneak glances at her before—”

“Shut up!!”

Without warning, Kunikida grabbed Dazai by the lapels of his striped shirt and shook him, his fingers closing over Dazai’s bandaged neck the instant the brunette burst out into a peal of manic laughter.

This is getting out of hand...!

To my relief, I spotted Yosano out of the corner of my eye and chased after her as she disappeared out into the hallway.

“Y-Yosano-sensei!” I exclaimed, chasing her down and grabbing her by the sleeve. She turned to look at me.

“Oh. Kyou-chan,” she said, looking me up and down. Her eyes lingered on the bandage on my left hand and she rubbed her chin. “Do you need to be healed?”

I shook my head and she sighed in disappointment.

“I’m fine,” I explained, “but Dazai-san and Kunikida-san are fighting again!”

I pointed behind me to the commotion coming from the main office. I couldn’t tell what either of the detectives were saying but the sounds of their yelling were spilling out into the hallway and I winced as a particularly loud crash echoed all around us.

“Help me stop them! If we let them keep going like this, someone really will get hurt—!”

“Oh! Well, why didn’t you say so?” Yosano exclaimed, her pink-toned lips stretching wide with glee. “This is perfect! I’ve been wanting to cut someone up today!”

As I watched her dash off towards the infirmary to get her big black bag, I realized I would have to stop Dazai and Kunikida myself.

I groaned and ran back into the office.

“Dazai-san! Kunikida-san!”

I poked my head through the door just in time to hear Dazai let out something between a laugh and a wheeze.

“I’m just asking,” he pointed out, his eyes momentarily flicking to me as I came back in, “don’t you think you’re being a little unfair? I mean, what kind of guy gets mad at his coworker and fellow mentor for simply sharing a desk with the new girl when in fact...”

His lips twisted into an all-knowing smirk.

“he got to spend an entire week with her? Eh? Kunikiiiiida-kun?”

Kunikida’s hand twitched and I saw his grip on Dazai’s bandaged neck loosen just a fraction.

“If I recall correctly,” Dazai continued nonchalantly, putting on an expression like he was struggling to remember something, “not only did you share a desk with Kusunoki-kun for that entire week, but you also stayed late at work with her almost every evening. You even took her back to her apartment two or three times while you were working that case! Not to mention...”

He raised one eyebrow.

“You’re the one who dragged her into the infirmary to have a private conversation with her earlier this morning.”

Dazai grinned.

“Who’s the one getting ‘all cozy during work hours’ now?”

Kunikida froze. His grip loosened so much that he actually dropped Dazai, who landed back in my chair with a solid crash.

“That was different...!” Kunikida sputtered, his neck and ears slowly going red again. “It was a work-related conversation!”

“I’m sure it was, Kunikiiiida-kun,” Dazai said, getting back up and dusting himself off. “After all, a professional such as yourself would never even think about doing anything inappropriate with a coworker, much less a newcomer the President tasked you with mentoring.”

He clapped Kunikida on the shoulder—hard—and his mischievous grin widened.

“Right?”

Kunikida...? Having inappropriate thoughts...? About me?!

“He wouldn’t...” I gasped.

I hadn’t even realized I’d said anything aloud until I saw Dazai peering over Kunikida’s shoulder at me with a peculiar look on his face.

“Oh, Kusunoki-kun! Good timing! Care to weigh in?”

“I—!”

I looked around but nobody seemed to be paying attention. Except for maybe Kyouka. While Atsushi had his head bent low over his desk, seemingly intent on focusing on his work to block out the chaos, the blue-eyed assassin was actually sitting up a little higher than usual in her seat and she was watching the conversation unfold with an expression of rapt attention.

I glanced back at Kunikida, who was now looking less like a detective and more like a tomato wearing a blonde wig. The man, it seemed, was completely broken; I couldn’t even tell if he was still breathing or not...

I shot Dazai a withering glare.

“Kunikida-san is not that kind of person,” I said firmly.

I took a couple steps forward, my eyes firmly fixed on the still-grinning Dazai.

“He’s an upstanding person and a good mentor and he would never do or say anything even remotely inappropriate towards anyone.”

I frowned and crossed my arms.

“Unlike some people.”

Dazai rubbed his chin.

“Is that so, Kusunoki-kun?” he asked, brushing past Kunikida and advancing on me, “Is that what you think?”

He stopped before me. His grin widened.

“Do you actually think Kunikiiiiiida-kun is incapable of having inappropriate thoughts? He is still a man, you know.”

“I know that!!” I retorted. Loudly.

I clapped my hands over my mouth and flushed as Kunikida suddenly twitched—violently. His face was redder than ever.

“I...” I stammered, heat rising in my face and neck as I looked past Dazai’s left ear and out the window.

I heard a clattering noise, which I took to be Kunikida collapsing at his desk nearby. I couldn’t blame him. This was too much for me, too.

“I mean I know that—” I coughed, “that Kunikida-san is a professional... and that... um...!”

“You really care about Kunikida-san, don’t you?” Atsushi’s voice floated back to me from our conversation in the hallway.

“Um...!”

As I struggled to put my jumbled thoughts into words, Dazai skipped forward. He bent down a little, dropping his voice low so he could talk right into my ear.

“You should confess,” he whispered, his eyes sparkling. He squished one long finger into my burning cheek. “C’mon, do it! It would be really cute!”

Confess?!

“Are you crazy?!” I squeaked, suddenly feeling dizzy.

I can’t do that! I’m nowhere near his ideal yet...!

Distantly, I heard a voice calling my name.

“K-Kusunoki-kun...”

It was Kunikida, and his voice sounded low and hesitant and quiet, as if it were coming from somewhere very far away even though he was sitting right there. His face had turned a bright, florid pink and he was refusing to look at me as he spoke.

“I appreciate what you’ve said,” he mumbled, “but I think that’s enough...”

“Kunikida-san?”

Oh no. Had I said too much? Had I embarrassed him?

“I—I’m sorry,” I mumbled, turning around so I could head to the bathroom and dunk my head in the sink.

I suddenly wished my workstation was a little further away from Kunikida’s—I wouldn’t be able to look him in the face for the rest of the afternoon. But before I could make it out the door, Dazai bolted in front of me and blocked my way, looking perkier than ever.

“So now that that’s out of the way, can we talk about our case, Kusunoki-kun?” Dazai chirped, looking thoroughly satisfied with himself.

I groaned.

“Alright, fine...”

“Great, because I’m going to need you to write most of those case reports later—I mean—”

He chuckled a little as I glared at him.

“I have something I’d like for you to check out. Right away, if you’re up to it.”

I scowled.

“Of course I’m up to it. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Dazai grinned down at me. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

And with that, Dazai reached into his trench coat and pulled out a sleek, black card. At first, I thought it was a credit card and my mouth dropped open at the thought of someone like Dazai having one of those fancy black credit cards—the kind that only billionaires in movies were shown to have—before I realized there were no numbers on its surface and there was no way Dazai would actually own one of those, even if it was the real thing.

He held out the card to me. As I took it from him, the edge of the card caught the light and I saw a flash of gold. Surprised, I brought the card up to my eyes, turned it so that I was looking directly at the edge and squinted at it. There, hidden at the very edge, or possibly tucked just inside the edge of the card, was a tiny strip of circuitry, so thin it was almost invisible and as I turned it over in my hands, my curiosity grew.

“What is this?” I asked, looking back up at Dazai.

“Some kind of access card,” Dazai replied.

He smirked.

“I swiped it off that gatekeeper this morning. Looks important, don’t you think?”

I nearly dropped the card.

“You what?!”

As I thought back to the severe-looking Shimada and the gun hidden inside his jacket, a wave of ice washed over me.

“Dazai-san...” I whispered, horrified. “Why...?!”

Dazai shrugged.

“Well, what did you expect?” he asked, blinking at me. “Those printouts they gave us this morning are basically useless. Unless we’re directly plugged into their software somehow, we have no way of accessing the accounts and therefore no way of trying to track down either Tsushima or the money. How do they expect us to solve this case if we don’t have any way into the system?”

He tapped the card.

“That’s where this comes in. While I go talk to some information brokers, to see if anyone knows anything useful, I want you to take this and see if you can find any trace of either Tsushima or the money. This should help you track something at least.”

“But I don’t know the first thing about hacking!” I protested, brandishing the card at him. “What do you expect me to do with this—”

But before I could finish, Dazai whipped his head around, brought both his hands up to his mouth and suddenly called out to the man behind him, who had just sat down at his workstation to begin working. It seemed the blush hadn’t quite faded from his cheeks...

“Oiiiiii! Kunikiiiiida-kuuuun!” Dazai hollered, making his coworker slam his hands down on his desk in anger.

“Could you come over here a second—?”

But I grabbed onto Dazai’s sleeves and yanked his hands down. Blinking at me, he stopped yelling and shot me a curious, if bemused, look.

“What are you doing?!” I demanded, my voice no louder than a harsh whisper, “Haven’t you bothered Kunikida-san enough? Just let him work in peace, please!”

“But Kusunoki-kun,” Dazai returned, “I thought you liked working with Kunikida-kun—”

“I...!” I stammered, shooting the tall, blonde detective a furtive glance, “I do, but Kunikida-san isn’t a hacker either! Why are you calling him over?!”

But Dazai was no longer paying me any attention and had already started heckling his coworker again.

“Come here!” he called again, and when that didn’t work, he started making weird clicking noises with his tongue as if he were calling a cat or a dog instead—complete with really demeaning hand gestures.

Before I could find some way to put a stop to it, Kunikida rose from his workstation (“Ah!” Dazai exclaimed, clapping his hands together in delight, “It worked!”) like an angry giant and stalked over to us, his olive-green notebook in hand and a pen in the other.

“Dazai-san,” Kunikida seethed, opening his notebook and preparing to attack. “If you don’t cut the crap right now, I’ll see to it personally that that ridiculous death wish of yours is granted—!”

“I appreciate the offer, Kunikida-kun,” Dazai said, sounding strange in his politeness, “but I’ll have to pass. After all, I’m looking for a lovely lady to accompany me across the River Styx, not some straight-laced, anal—”

“What. Do. You. Want.”

Dazai jerked a thumb at me.

“I want you to take my case partner here to see Tayama Katai-san.”

Kunikida looked taken aback. He exchanged a very quick (and very awkward) glance with me and as one, we turned to stare at Dazai.

“Why should I take time from my busy schedule to help you with your case?” he asked suspiciously, as I nodded fervently beside him.

“Because,” Dazai explained simply, “One: Katai-san is your old friend and he’ll only do it if you ask him. Two...”

He grinned and shot me a meaningful look.

“The Port Mafia is definitely involved in this case and if they figure out we’re harboring Kusunoki-kun, even having her work for us, they might take the opportunity to kidnap her again.”

He threw his arm over Kunikida’s neck and shoulder, hooking it just right so that he brought the taller man down to his level, looking pleased when he heard Kunikida’s pained wheeze.

“And we wouldn’t want that, now would we?” Dazai asked, looking cheekier than ever. “Not when we’ve all become so attached to our adorable little sketch artist-slash-detective-in-training. Right, Kunikiiiida-kun?”

There was a long pause and for a moment, no one said anything.

Then, Kunikida sighed—heavily—and pushed his glasses up his nose. I noticed he didn’t look at me or Dazai as he did so and the tips of his ears seemed to be once again turning pink...

“It can’t be helped, can it?” he mumbled, sounding perturbed.

He turned to me.

“Kusunoki?”

I chewed the inside of my cheek.

“Y-Yes?”

“Come with me,” he said, tucking his notebook away in his vest and heading for the door. “There’s someone you need to meet if you’re going to get anything out of that access card.”

As I hurried after Kunikida out into the hall, I heard Atsushi’s hushed voice coming from the direction of my desk.

“Dazai-san?” he whispered in disbelief as I rounded the corner. “Are you just going to stay at Kusunoki-san’s desk for the rest of the afternoon?!”

“Why not?” Dazai’s voice carried down the hallway after us.

I could actually hear the smile in his voice as he finished speaking and I flushed angrily and would’ve run back into the room to smack him if Kunikida wasn’t already waiting for me in the elevator.

“It smells really nice right here.”

***

“W-wait, Kunikida-san! Could you give me a minute?”

Gasping with exertion, I leaned against the railing as Kunikida paused several steps ahead of me. It was already pretty difficult to keep up with Kunikida when he was walking at a normal pace, with his long strides and steadfast gait (he tended to have a tightly-packed schedule, after all and was probably used to walking quickly), but trying to keep pace with him when he was going uphill and walking unusually quickly was downright punishing. Wiping the sweat from my brow, I paused next to a tiny playground, which consisted only of a single tiny elephant slide and minimal set of swings, and tried to catch my breath.

We were in one of the hillier residential areas on the outskirts of Yokohama, relatively far away from the central downtown area and it had taken us two train changes and a short bus ride to get to this part of town. As we stepped off the bus, Kunikida had announced we would be finishing the rest of the trip on foot and I’d quietly followed him up several long flights of outdoor stairs. In the distance, the familiar black towers in the center of the city grew smaller and smaller as we headed deeper into the tree-lined hills.

The air was pleasant here, cooler and more fragrant, and with every brush of wind, I could hear the sound of the leaves rustling on the trees. There were more individual houses than apartment complexes here, more mom-and-pop shops than boutiques and I noticed that the relative age of the residents we passed seemed to increase as we went further into the neighborhood. Clearly this was a part of the city where people could take it easier and I could sense the slower pace of life from the way people went about their day.

Which made us stick out all the more—Kunikida seemed to be walking much faster than he had when I’d first worked with him and I couldn’t help thinking it was because he was rushing to get back to his regular schedule before I could throw it off even further. I sighed, the black access card feeling oddly heavy in my pocket.

Kunikida hadn’t spoken much on the train (or on this entire trip at all) and after everything that had happened, I wasn’t feeling too talkative myself. I’d tried to keep up for as long as I could, unable to say a word to him myself, but as the uphill climb wore on, I found myself trailing further and further behind. Just as we arrived at the playground, I noticed my legs were starting to cramp and it took nearly everything I had to open my mouth and ask Kunikida for a break. I noticed he still looked just as awkward as I felt but I was feeling oddly grateful that he wasn’t really looking at me, because I couldn’t really bring myself to look at him either.

How could I?

There was something odd about the way Kunikida had acted when he found Dazai sitting at my desk, something that seemed to go beyond their usual antics. Although my new coworkers had always insisted that Dazai and Kunikida fighting at work was a constant, seeing Kunikida get all awkward like that and even back down towards the end of it struck me as unusual.

If I was reading the situation correctly, then it meant Kunikida thought I was cute. But that couldn’t be right!

That meant I might have a chance with him...

I shook my head to try to clear out the crazy.

No, that was impossible. It was just Dazai playing mind games again. That suicidal pervert thought every girl was cute and I’d bet my sketchbook that he’d flirted with all of the girls working at the Armed Detective Agency at least once, except maybe Naomi who seemed to have eyes only for her brother...

But that left one other thing: why had Kunikida gotten all hot and bothered about Dazai getting in my space anyway? If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that he was acting jealous...

I slapped my hands to my cheeks to try to put a stop to the nonsense, only to startle Kunikida with the sudden noise.

“Everything alright, Kusunoki-kun?” he asked hesitantly.

“I’m fine!” I babbled, giving him a thumbs-up (oh God, WHY). “I’m ready to keep going whenever you are!”

Nodding slightly, Kunikida lifted his wrist to his face to check his watch.

“We should be there in just a few more minutes,” he said, “it’s just up the next couple flights of stairs.”

He dropped his wrist and looked at me in concern.

“Are you sure you don’t need more time to rest? Your face is kind of red...”

“Huh? Oh! It’s probably just the heat,” I laughed weakly, loosening the ribbon around my neck just a touch even as a cold wind suddenly gusted down the steps. “I should’ve left my jacket at the Agency, huh?”

“N-no,” Kunikida mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I must’ve been walking a little faster than usual. Sorry for not noticing and leaving you behind like that.”

For a moment, neither of us said anything. The silence was starting to get uncomfortable and I found myself staring at the dingy, painted-on eyes of the blue elephant slide when Kunikida cleared his throat awkwardly and spoke.

“I believe I owe you an additional apology, Kusunoki-kun,” he said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose in such a way that I couldn’t really see his face. He sounded tense.

“About earlier. That is, back at the office, I...”

He paused, sighed and tried again.

“I... I went too far back there. I didn’t mean to imply that you and Dazai were up to anything inappropriate. I don’t think that you’re that type of girl—I mean, I know that you’re not that type of person. That is... what I mean to say is...”

Kunikida dropped his hand at last. His cheeks and the tips of his ears were once again tinged with pink and before I could figure out what he was actually trying to say, he dropped his head forward in a very low bow.

I was so shocked that I actually took a step back.

“K-Kunikida-san?! What—?!”

“I’m deeply sorry for my behavior earlier today, Kusunoki-kun,” he said. “I can’t help but feel that I’ve acted very unprofessionally and I want to apologize for any discomfort I’ve caused you.”

What are you saying...? You don’t need to apologize...

“I still remember when I spoke to you the other day and asked you to come talk to me if Dazai was ever making you uncomfortable...”

His hands balled into fists and I watched the end of his long, blond ponytail slip over his shoulder as he bowed even lower.

“How humiliating. In the end, I was the one who made you uncomfortable first.”

“Kunikida-san...” I breathed, bringing my hand up to my mouth.

I climbed up the steps towards him.

“I-it’s okay!” I insisted, “You haven’t done anything wrong, really! I don’t feel embarrassed or insulted at all. If anything, I feel like I should be apologizing for embarrassing you.”

When Kunikida lifted his head and looked at me in confusion, I added:

“In fact, I don’t think you could do anything to make me uncomfortable—”

“...you should confess!”

I stopped talking immediately, as suddenly, Dazai’s words floated back to me, his whispered voice echoing much louder in memory than it had in reality.

“C’mon, do it! It would be really cute...!”

“I... I mean,” I coughed as Kunikida stared at me doubtfully, “Maybe it was a little embarrassing but that wasn’t your fault! Things just got a little weird back there, that’s all!”

I smiled nervously.

“I promise... if anyone at work makes me uncomfortable in any way, I’ll definitely speak to Kirako-san about it. Alright? And, uh... Kunikida-san?”

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and turned away.

“I want to say sorry about one more thing, too,” I mumbled, staring out at the city and towards the bay. “I’m sorry for disrupting your schedule this afternoon. I know you get really busy around this time of day... You’ve probably got better things to do this afternoon than escort a useless kohai to a former colleague’s place, huh?”

I let my eyes come to a rest on the bridge in the distance.

“You... didn’t have to come with me, you know? If you’d given me the address, I could’ve found Tayama-san’s place by myself and found my own way back.”

“You say that now, when we’re nearly already there?” Kunikida asked quietly.

I felt his hand come to a rest on my shoulder and I had to shake off the sudden urge to put my hand over his.

“You’re not useless, Kusunoki-kun and you needn’t worry about my schedule. Rest assured, if it’s a work-related matter, it’s no trouble at all. I hate to admit it, but...”

Kunikida frowned and his gray-green eyes seemed to soften a little as he looked at me.

“Dazai has a point. If the Port Mafia really is involved in this case and they haven’t quite given up on you, they may take any chances they get to try to take you again. Until we determine that this is no longer the situation, it’s best if you don’t make long trips by yourself, even if it is to visit a former member of the Agency.”

He dropped his hand and we started going back up the stairs together.

The awkward mood from earlier had dissipated entirely and I couldn’t be more grateful that it had.

“Former member of the Agency, huh?” I asked, now picturing Tayama as an older, well-groomed man, one who favored either suits or fashionable yukata like President Fukuzawa. “So he’s an old friend of yours?”

“You could say that.”

Kunikida made a face.

“He left the Agency some time ago but I knew him fairly well when he was still formally working with us.”

He didn’t say anything more on the subject until we came to the top of the stairs and stood before a dingy-looking, mid-sized brown apartment complex. I followed Kunikida up the stairs and kept walking a few paces behind him until we stopped in front of one of the second story rooms nearest the outdoor stairs. The small nameplate just outside the door had been left unmarked and as I watched a handsome tortoiseshell cat make its way down the hall, Kunikida spoke up again.

“Kusunoki-kun...”

He turned and shot me an uneasy look.

“Before we go in, I think it’s only fair to warn you... While Katai is a brilliant hacker and as capable as any member of the Agency ought to be, he can be rather... eccentric. Additionally...”

He put his hand on the doorknob and he made another face.

“His living situation may seem... familiar to you. Just so you know, I don’t necessarily think of you two as very similar...”

I quirked an eyebrow as Kunikida took a spare key out of his pocket and opened the door.

Familiar? What’s that mean?

But no sooner had the door opened, than I covered my nose and let out an undignified noise somewhere between a gasp and a gagging sound. There was an awful smell coming out of the room, like unwashed clothing and spoiling food and as I took off my shoes and carefully tiptoed after Kunikida into the room, I saw that the entryway was full of garbage bags. The sink to my right was filled with dirty dishes, the counter top barely visible under all the empty bottles of sake and convenience store drinks and as I squinted ahead into the darkened chamber beyond, I saw even more mounds of trash lining the paper-screen walls and covering the tatami mat floor.

“Katai!!” Kunikida yelled, pushing his way into the room. “Why is there garbage all over this apartment?! Again?!”

He waded through the piles of trash bags, clearing a narrow path for me in his wake and as we approached the sliding paper-screen doors in the center of the hall, Kunikida motioned for me to stand back. He grabbed the doors and pulled with all his might. As the door slid open, I stepped into the room with him and stared.

Unlike the near-empty rooms we’d passed through to get here, the large central chamber in the middle of this studio apartment was filled with the humming of computer towers, an entire row of which lay on the floor against the far wall. Above them glowed no less than seven computer screens, each monitor displaying dizzying amounts of code and layer upon layer of maps and graphics, filling the room with a shocking amount of cool, blue light. A set of blackout curtains on my left blocked out any trace of the bright afternoon sun and as my eyes slowly adjusted to the room, I saw that there were piles of trash lying against every wall, save the one with the computers. While this room was distinctly cleaner than the others, the smell of unwashed laundry seemed to be coming from the purple, geometric-patterned futon in the center...

As I took a step closer, the futon suddenly shifted, and I let out a surprised shriek as a large mound in the center suddenly rose from the floor like some kind of ancient, smelly bed-sheet ghost.

“How do you expect me to take out the garbage,” the futon spoke, in a low, tired-sounding voice, “if it means I have to go outside?”

The covers fell down over a pair of shoulders and the speaker was revealed.

There, sitting in the middle of the room, his futon piled around his entire body like a cape, was a rather disheveled looking man with short, messy black hair, several spikes of which protruded up and out from the back of his head. His chin and narrow jawline were covered in patches of stubble and from what I could see, behind that pair of thick, eyeglasses, his dark eyes looked somewhat listless and forlorn.

Until he saw me.

At once, his jaw dropped and his eyes widened so comically they almost took up the entirety of his large, round glasses.

“W-w-w—why—?!”

Before he could even finish his sentence, the man suddenly grabbed the covers of his futon and dove back underneath it, wailing the rest in a muffled cacophony of sound within his makeshift cocoon.

“Why would you bring a girl here, Kunikida-san?! And a cute one at that?! Wait. Don’t tell me...”

He poked his head out of the covers once again and crawled forward very quickly on his hands and knees (the covers still swathed around him like a giant purple cocoon) so that he could get a closer look at me and without thinking about what I was doing, I darted behind Kunikida to hide.

“K-Kunikida-san...?” I whispered, gripping his sleeve tightly and peering out from behind him, “Is this...?”

“This,” Kunikida sighed, rubbing his temple, as if trying to stave off an oncoming migraine, “is Tayama Katai.”

#bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs #kunikida doppo #bsd kunikida doppo #bsd kunikida #bsd dazai osamu #dazai #dazai osamu #bsd dazai #kunikida x oc #kunikida x reader #dazai x oc #dazai x reader

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auroreswritings · 5 years ago

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Aaaaaaaand here comes the last entry for the Dazatsu Halloween event! It’s a little late because life, and stuff, you know, but it’s finally done! Hope you like it, it’s a light piece to finish the week on a cute note! (Can you tell I’m a big scaredy-cat and just CANNOT DEAL with horror stuff? haha)

I would like to thank the mods who made this event possible, Cherish, Datura and Mango, thank you soooo much, I had so much fun writing all these stories! It got me out of my writing comfoort zone and made me explore genres or themes I probably wouldn’t have explored on my own. Thank you!!

Now that I’m done, I’ll be reading through all the other works submitted and enjoy eveyone’s hard work!

Find this on A03.

Demon in the Dark

The Armed Detective Agency was as busy as ever, but for once, the detectives were not drowning in paperwork. Halloween was approaching and they had decided to host a costume party. All the staff was invited of course, as well as notable clients and other officials who had worked with the agency before. The office had been entirely decorated for the occasion, ghosts and bats hanging here and there, pumpkins and spiders adorning desks and walls; even a bloody trail had been drawn on the floor of the corridor, leading the way from the elevator to the office’s door. As evening was approaching, the detectives were making sure it was all perfect, dusting a shelf here and there or adjusting a decoration on a desk. Food and drinks would be served at the arrival of the first guests. They had spent the day cooking and baking, preparing all sorts of savory and sweet appetizers and cookies: pumpkin tarts, tiny spider-shaped rice balls, cupcakes topped with orange or white buttercream, cinnamon-flavored ghost cookies and other deliciously evil dishes were patiently waiting to be eaten. Several cocktails, with and without alcohol, had been mixed up, ready to be served in massive punch bowls. Some even had lychees filled with cherries floating in them, mimicking a soup made of eyes floating in blood.

All the detectives had dressed up with their best costumes: Kunikida had put extra care in his vampire costume, even bringing a huge coffin to the office, Kyouka was posing as a puppet master, walking around with a stuffed rabbit wearing a dress similar to hers, Rampo was dressed as a witch, massive bag of candies attached to his broom, the Tanizaki siblings were impersonating the monster of Frankenstein and its wife, Yosano was a spider queen, black dress gracefully undulating around her, Kenji had a forest spirit costume on, with moss and leaves hanging from his little antlers, Dazai was wearing the long cape of a reaper and swinging around a giant scythe, and Atsushi had become a mummy, bandages usually reserved for Dazai now dangling around him, sometimes dangerously getting caught around his feet. Even Fukuzawa had dressed up, impersonating what looked like a vampire hunter, having traded his usual kimono for a more Western-looking outfit.

The first guests arrived with nightfall, and soon the office was filled with animated conversations, loud laughter and the sound of clinging glasses. Music was playing in the background, keeping all the costumed guests entertained. Candles had been put around, giving the room a somehow mystic atmosphere despite the electric lights shining above heads. Most of the detectives were delighting the guests with conversations of past cases. Most of them, because Atsushi was just awkwardly standing in a corner, not really sure how to approach the important people filling up the room. As he was new to the agency, he didn’t have much to talk about and was a little intimidated by the fantastic stories his colleagues were narrating. Kenji, who had noticed him from the buffet, approached him with a sweet smile.

“-Atsushi, why are you alone here? You should go and talk to people, it will be fun!

-But I don’t know what to tell them!

-Don’t worry about it. You can just join in one of the others’ conversations, I’m sure you will find some interesting things to say!” The teenager tried to reassure him, pointing to a small crowd that had gathered around Dazai.

Taking the hint, Atsushi left his corner and walked to his mentor, who was extravagantly retelling their last investigation, clearly including exaggerated details here and there. His scythe was only adding to the dramatic effects in his storytelling. The people around him were holding their breath, hanging to his every words, relishing in the nerve wrecking stories. Atsushi blended in the group, amused by Dazai’s manners. The older man’s gaze fell on him, and with a wide flailing of his arms, he wrapped himself around the tiger, continuing his story.

“-Atsushi! This young kid, here! He was so brave! Oh, you should have seen it, my belladonna!” he reached for one of the women’s hand, who blushed and giggled at the gesture, “He ran to the villain head on, not caring for anything else but MY LIFE, and tackled him to the floor, restraining his moves so he couldn’t touch me anymore. I wouldn’t be here to tell this story if it wasn’t for him!” He rubbed his knuckles against the weretiger’s head, ruffling his hair playfully.

The young man didn’t remember any of these things but he smiled as people were praising him, humbly accepting the kind words. Dazai kept with his tale, sometimes coaxing Atsushi into agreeing to a weird detail here and there, although most of them were obvious lies. The tiger was slowly getting more comfortable with the crowd, easing up into his own conversations. Dazai was glancing at him from time to time, happy to see his junior gaining confidence.

Suddenly, the lights flickered a couple times. A few people around the room joked about a ghost or spirit roaming the building, others were laughing nervously. Atsushi looked around, a little anxious. Nothing happened in the following minutes, and everybody went back to what they were doing. The tiger, still tensed, engaged in a conversation with a client he had met a few months back. After about ten minutes however, the lights turned off completely. The only light left was the ominous glow of the candles casting long shadows against the walls. Silence had fallen around the room, people not daring to make too much noise. A few nervous whispers were running around the crowd.

“-I will check the electricity panel, everyone stay put!” Kunikida’s voice flew up from a corner of the office, and soon he passed through the crowd with a candle in his hand, walking out the find the source of the problem.

Atsushi could feel his nervousness grow. As much as he liked Halloween and other spooky things, it still made him a little jittery to think about ghosts and haunting spirits. He suddenly felt a cold breeze blowing against his neck. A high pitched shriek escaped him before he could stop it.

“-Aren’t you a little jumpy, my dear Atsushi?” Dazai voice was whispering right in his ear; the weretiger could sense the mocking smirk gracing the man’s face.

“-D-D-Dazai! That’s not funny!” Atsushi rubbed his neck, trying to erase the uncomfortable feeling creeping up his skin.

“-But I find it extremely amusing.” His voice was teasing, tone a little darker than usual.

Atsushi’s body stiffed at the words. Dazai was up to something, and he was going to be his victim, he was sure of it. Just as the thought crossed his mind, he felt the man’s hands on his shoulders, making him jump a little. Dazai’s fingers were trailing up to Atsushi’s throat, tugging at the bandages. As he was about to rebuke his mentor, the lights turned on again, blinding everybody around. The weight of Dazai’s hands lifted from his shoulders, and he clearly heard a frustrated sight behind him. Turning around, he saw his mentor running towards the tall blond who was entering the office again.

“-Kunikida! You saved us! I was so scared; I thought a demon was going to attack me in the dark!

-Shut it, Dazai!”

Atsushi couldn’t help but scoff at the remark. A demon in the dark, he was one to talk! The party went back in full swing. The tiger tried to forget about Dazai and immersed himself in the festive atmosphere again, enjoying the food and entertaining the guests.

Eventually, as night progressed, the office emptied out, people returning home after having enjoyed the thrilling stories and filled their bellies to the brim. Soon enough, only the detectives were left, a little drained from all the socializing. Kenji and Kyouka had fallen asleep on the sofa, Rampo was sprawling on a chair, rubbing his candy-filled stomach. The siblings had just left and Kunikida was already clearing up his desk, while Yosano and Fukuzawa were putting the remaining food and drinks away in the fridge. Dazai was sitting at his desk, lost in thoughts and Atsushi was nibbling on one of the last cookies he had found. Everybody had fun and clients and officials had assured they would ask for the agency’s services in the future when needed. It had been a successful night.

The detectives eventually left the building, leaving Atsushi to close everything. He had stayed behind to swipe the floor a little; they would have a big cleaning day tomorrow, but he had still wanted to get most of the crumbs away before leaving to avoid having any crawling visitors during the night. After he was done with his broom, he checked around the office one last time to make sure no food had been left behind and turned the lights off. As he was about to close the door, a strange noise made his whole body tense. All his senses were alert. A soft scratching sound was resonating through the corridor, as though mice were digging their way through a wall. Atsushi tried to ignore it and closed the office entrance. He put the key in its hole and as he turned it, the sound intensified, getting closer to him. Loud steps were now resonating through the hall as well. Atsushi took a step away from the door as silently as possible. His heart was beating uncontrollably, filling his ears with its frantic pumping. He raised a hand to his chest, clutching the bandages of his costume, hoping whatever was in the room wouldn’t hear the fear inside of him. A small whisper suddenly echoed:

“-Atsushi! I know what you’ve done!” The tiger jumped at the sound. What had he done? His heart started pumping faster, his breathing getting shallower. He tried to reach the elevator, the only light helping him the faint one of the emergency exit sign. The scratching intensified, and the voice started again:

“-Atsushiiiiii! I know what happened! You will be punished for your wrong doing!” Fear made Atsushi’s legs a little wobbly, and as he tried to step back some more, his feet got caught in one of the dangling bandages and he fell back to the floor. He let out a small cry, pain and panic mixing together in his voice. He crawled back a little but was soon stopped by something pulling at the bandages around his legs. The voice, louder than earlier, rose through the air once more, sending horrible shivers down Atsushi’s spine:

“-Atsushi! You have abandoned me! You will pay for this!” The poor man’s mind was filling up with incoherent thoughts, trying to understand what was happening.

He tried to crawl back again but his legs were still stuck. Was he going to die here tonight? As the dreadful thought took over his mind, the lights went on, revealing the tall silhouette of the Reaper standing in front of him, large scythe glistening under the electric light. A loud scream escaped Atsushi’s lips. This was it, this was the end. A sudden clear, happy laugh filled the corridor, stunning Atsushi for a second. The Reaper took its hoodie off, revealing a cackling Dazai, tears almost running from his eyes. Realization soon hit the weretiger and he tried to get up without success, bandages still stuck under his mentor’s feet.

“-Dazai! Stop it already, this is not funny! I was so scared!” The man moved away from him, freeing his legs, but kept on laughing, unable to stop himself.

“-A-A-Atsushi! You should have seen yo-your face!” he managed to let out between giggles.

The younger man huffed, his heart and breathing slowly coming back to normal. Now that fear had washed out of him, he was slowly getting pissed. He couldn’t believe Dazai had played such a trick on him. He knew the man had something planned, but still, this was actually pretty mean. Atsushi gave an annoyed look to his mentor and turned around, deciding to take the stairs instead of the elevator. As he stomped down, he heard Dazai call his name. He didn’t stop until he reached the door downstairs. Running steps were coming towards him.

“-Atsushi, wait!” Dazai quickly reached him and stopped him from opening the front door. “I probably shouldn’t have gone all out like this, but you’re so cute when you’re scared. It’s Halloween after all, I just wanted to mess with you a little.

-I know, Dazai, but still, that was mean! I can’t believe you waited for me just pull this out!” Atsushi turned around to face him, accusing look in his eyes.

“-Actually, I didn’t really wait for you, you almost locked me in the building.” A smirk appeared on his face.

“-Wait, is that what you meant by ‘abandoning you’? Seriously…” Atsushi let out an exasperated sigh, hints of a smile tugging at his lips. He couldn’t remember seeing Dazai leave but hadn’t seen him in a while so he obviously concluded the man had left and was going to close the front door without checking the toilets or anything, which would have successfully locked the man in for the night. He looked up at Dazai, his mischievous look infecting him right away and making him smile back.

“-Okay, maybe I deserved a little scolding. But all that… That was too much.

-I’m sorry, Atsushi. But as I said before, you look adorable when you’re scared, I couldn’t help it.” The young man blushed at the words, gazing at the floor, smile still gracing his lips.

Dazai patted his head softly then walked past him, holding the door for his flustered junior to walk out. He knew Atsushi couldn’t stay mad at him for too long. He had been lucky to see his cute scared face tonight but, most importantly, the look of relief he liked to see on his features so much. It had really been a successful night.

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hnnnfdfds · 6 years ago

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the whole ADA and Atsushi with 4. :3

Thank you, dear Anon! This has been such a blessing for my soul.

Feel free to request something!

—

4. Napping in sunshine // Atsushi and the ADA

—

"Oh! Everyone, I found him!"

"Be quiet, idiot!"

"Now, now, you yourself are quite loud, Kunikida."

Yosano steps closer and looks at the sleeping boy on the ground, sending a quick glare at Dazai and Kunikida.

"He looks peaceful…," mutters Tanizaki, a small smile forming on his face. It’s a rare sight after all. Atsushi still seems to be on edge all the time as if he’s just waiting for something bad to happen.

"Atsushi's really just like a wildcat," comments Dazai, sitting down beside the said boy and reaching a hand out to gently move the strands of hair from his subordinate's face. He can’t stop the smile forming on his face, and his gaze softening at the sight.

"Well, it is a rather warm day," Yosano replies.

Ranpo doesn't hesitate to lie down beside Atsushi, stretching his arms and smirking at the others before he turns to look at the weretiger to point something out. “He must have been really tired to fall asleep here in the open.”

The others stop what they are doing, processing the detective’s words. Ranpo’s right though, Atsushi would normally never fall asleep outside all alone. He’s been homeless before and those times must have definitely impacted the way he acts in public. His trust must have been screwed, seeing what can happen if you’re careless.

They can’t help but forget that he’s been homeless sometimes. It’s easy too, with the way Atsushi hides everything behind warm smiles and reassuring words he stutters as he gestures with his hands.

But there’s a lot off.

He’s always wary when they are outside, even if he doesn’t show it, avoids touch a lot with the exception of some moments (Dazai’s working on it with all the head pats), blanks out and gets that far-away gaze that they all understand (it’s so reminiscent of their own gazes sometimes for memories are far too cruel sometimes), and whilst he has no problem offering all his help—all of himself—to others, he has a hard time accepting the same from others.

A few well-placed smiles can shove a lot aside, huh?

Fukuzawa shakes his head.

“Everyone should take a break now,” he tells them, turning around to stare at the kittens that gather around his sleeping subordinate, “it’s well-deserved after all.”

Even Kunikida doesn’t complain, instead choosing to sit down beside Dazai. He takes his notebook out to scribble things down as Dazai doesn’t waste time in teasing him. The Tanizaki siblings kidnap Kyouka to go down the little hill to the lake at the bottom, wanting to see the ducks swimming in it. Ranpo chuckles as Dazai notices it and goes on about a “perfect opportunity for suicide guidelines” he found recently, which of course encourages lakes and seas as perfect was to kill oneself.

Kunikida slaps the back of his head. Kenji chooses that moment to ask Dazai if he’d be comfortable drowning in the water surrounded by all the dirt humans throw in and where the fish do their business. The effect is immediate—Dazai deflates and starts whining about it to Kunikida.

Of course, the president is feeding the kittens with cat food—Ranpo wonders where he got the food from—and he smiles. Yosano sits down beside him.

“It’s a nice day,” she comments, staring at siblings and Kyouka playing around in the lake.

He grins. “It sure is.”

- + -

He can feel something brush against his cheek, tickling him. There’s a weight on his shoulder and he slowly opens his eyes, only to close them immediately, the light too blinding.

Blinding but warm.

Slowly, he opens his eyes to the sun’s warm rays and blinks.

The sky is tinted in hues of purple, yellow and orange and the weight on him is getting more prominent, so he lets his gaze sink down to be greeted by dark brown.

Dazai’s head.

Apparently, he still wasn’t awake enough because slowly, he can feel heaviness on his legs and left arm as well.

Ranpo has claimed his arm and the Tanizaki siblings his legs. The rest of the members lay near them as well, everyone wearing a peaceful expression.

In the warmth of the sun, he tries to sit up, without waking anyone, leaning on his right arm for a moment before he’s finally steady.

Slowly, he lifts his hand and lays it on his mentor’s head, caressing his hair.

There’s a slight wind breeze as he stares up to setting sun.

“It’s such a nice day,” he whispers back to the wind, hoping for it to carry his words away.

Atsushi lets the tears trail down his cheeks.

#bsd #bungou stray dogs #nakajima atsushi #request #my stars #sensory prompts #Anon #ask

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misstinfoilhat · 5 years ago

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The Boy in the Belfry Pt. 10, a Bungo Stray Dogs fic.

Dazai limped as fast as he could over the garden at the grand estate that had been his home for the past three years.

He had been good. He had been so good. Done everything they told him too. Spoke when told to speak, shut up when told to shut up. Fucking barked when told to bark.

But, even he had his limits.

Kill when told to kill. No, he just couldn't. How could they expect him to kill a defenseless animal?

The dog had been caged. It looked so defeated. Given up, abused, tired, starving, just like himself. They might as well tell him to kill himself. But he knew they would never give him that satisfaction.

He had lost count of how many times he had tried now. Nothing ever worked. Hanging, overdosing, drowning, starving, cutting his main artery, bag over the head and stabbed himself.

Once, he'd been so desperate that he tried to bash himself to death by slamming his head repeatedly into a brick wall. Obviously, which he realized after the fact, he hadn't been in his right mind. It should have been pretty clear that he would lose consciousness long before he would actually die.

He could never do anything right.

Oh god, that poor dog. Stumbling down a small hill between Kouyou's flowerbeds, he ran towards the gazebo and huddled down behind it, drawing his sore knees to his chest, resting his sling-bound arm in his lap behind them and buried his face in the arm he left on top of his knees.

'Excellent camouflage, stupid- no one will ever find you here', he ridiculed himself, but couldn't move. His breathing was too quick and before doing anything else, he just needed to calm down.

“Hey kiddo, you alright there?”

Dazai startled and pressed his back against the gazebo as his head snapped up towards the sound.

It was a young man, older than himself. He was tall, had auburn hair, beard stubbles on his cheeks and greyish eyes that looked at him with a mix of confusion and concern.

Dazai couldn't remember ever seeing him before, and his tan coat didn't fit in with the black ones usually worn by the members of the Port Mafia. That didn't mean he could be trusted, though. Or maybe it meant he definitely couldn't trust him.

Shit, he didn't know. He didn't know anything anymore.

“You okay? You looked a little distraught over here,” the man smiled and crouched down in front of him, his arm moving from his side and proceeded towards Dazai.

Dazai quickly braced himself for whatever he was going to do to him, but was surprised when his rowdy bangs were gently brushed away from his face.

With weary eyes, Dazai peeked up on the man, still guarded.

“My name is Sakunosuke Oda, but, most people just call me Oda.”

His smile didn't budge. It was unnerving for Dazai. The only smile he was used to was Mori's twisted plastered-on and stiff grin. This one seemed… genuine?

Could that really be, in this house of horror? He decided not to say anything yet, just to be safe.

Oda chuckled mildly. “I'm new. I just got hired. You don't have to be shy.”

Voices were heard closing in on them, yelling Dazai’s name in an indecipherable tone. Dazai curled more tightly in on himself.

“Is that you? Dazai?” Oda asked, and looked towards where the voices were coming from.

“You probably shouldn't be seen with me,” Dazai's said weakly, peeking up from where he had placed his face against his knees. “You might get in trouble.”

Oda looked at him with keening eyes, before getting up and meeting Mori as he turned the corner to the gazebo.

“Oh,” Mori exclaimed. “Sakunosuke Oda. How nice to see you again.”

“Dr. Mori,” he smiled. “I just had the pleasure of meeting this bright young man,” he said, gesturing to the trembling boy in the grass.

“Really? Yes, he certainly is a brilliant young man. Now, if you will excuse us, we have some training to get back to.”

Mori's eyes hardened as he looked down at Dazai. “Come on, Dazai. Recess is over.”

Dazai got up on shaky knees, obediently following his mentor back to the house. Looking over his shoulder one last time, he could see Oda give him a short wave, looking deep in thought as they disappeared back towards the mansion.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The dog wasn't as defenseless as Dazai had thought.

The furry body laid, finally unmoving, in a bloodied pile. A few feet in front of the cadaver, sat Dazai in his own pool of blood with his back turned away from it,

His body was covered in bites and scratches. Most noticeably, his face had several bleeding wounds, and his inner thigh had a deep bite mark.

He sobbed quietly, holding the small butter knife he'd been given as his only weapon in a tight grip. The taste of bile was in his mouth, and he could only shift slightly before his stomach churned and he retched and started to throw up all over the floor and himself.

As soon as his belly had settled, he scooted away from the vomit and further from the carcass before he hurled the knife with all the force that was left in his battered body to the wall. It chimed sharply as it bounced off of it and landed somewhere behind him.

The sobbing was less quiet now, but he didn't care. He wanted to scream until his voice gave out. Wanted to shout and curse and cry and laugh and... die.

He just wanted this to be over.

If only Master Mori would come back and let him out soon. See how good he had done. Maybe then... it wouldn't be so bad. Mori always praised him when doing good, and he had, hadn't he?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

He'd been sitting there for several hours, but Mori had still not shown up. The floor was cold and his entire body was covered in goosebumps- blood and goosebumps.

Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to travel to his happy place.

It was in the garden, except, the mansion wasn't there. He imagined that it had burned down with everyone in the Port Mafia still in it. He had locked the doors himself.

It was just him and Chuuya, teasing each other, laughing and playing soccer. How long had it been since they had been allowed to play together? Probably more than a year. They were still talking, studying together sometimes, but, they were never able to actually enjoy themselves anymore.

To his surprise, a tan coat appeared in the picture. The auburn hair waving slightly in the refreshing wind, smiling reassuringly at them and standing with his hands in his pockets.

How he wished he had that coat now...

Dazai snapped back to reality. But, not to the dark room with the dead dog.

No, the reality.

The reality where Chuuya and himself had been bitter enemies for years. The reality where Oda was dead. The reality where his father had seemingly rose from his grave.

The reality where he was chained to the wall in the belfry, just like he had been as a child.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The first place Kunikida wanted the agency to look, was at the dorms. History tended to repeat itself. Even if he had his doubts, he wouldn't do the mistake of not checking, like the last time.

He sent Tanizaki and Naomi to check there (actually, he had sent Tanizaki to check, but he would not get into whatever fucked-up relationship the two siblings had when Naomi automatically followed).

Initially, he had tried to send Ranpo and Kenji to the hospital to search for any leads over there, but Ranpo had blatantly refused. He thought his abilities were needed elsewhere. So, in his place, he had to send Kyouka.

Fukuzawa had an important meeting but told them to call him whenever they found something of importance, and that he would be there as soon as possible if he was needed.

That left himself, Atsushi, Yosano, and Ranpo.

Kunikida thought carefully through their next step. He knew they needed to go back to that ominous church. Also, it would probably (unfortunately) be useful to make another phone call to that unbelievably condescending mafioso, Nakahara Chuuya. If nothing else, just to let him know what was going on. Something told Kunikida that he wouldn't be the worst person to have on their side in a potential confrontation. Either with the stubborn idiot or potentially, his attacker.

“So, Ranpo. What do you think?” he asked, turning to the brown-clad man, sitting with his legs folded on his desk with a lollipop in his mouth.

“I never thought you would ask,” he grinned and reached ceremoniously for his black-rimmed glasses, imagining the air around him shifting into a small whirlwind swirling around his body and mumbling the name of his 'ability' ultra-deduction.

The rest of the group acted impressed and cheered him on, a little less eagerly than usual.

“He didn't escape by himself this time. Considering his injuries, and the complications of them after his last escape, he is in no way able to move around by himself. He was abducted.” Ranpo hesitated and took off his glasses with a frown, to the other's confusion.

“They must be defected or something,” he said, wiping off the glass and peering at them suspiciously.

“What did you see?” Atsushi asked.

“I didn't,” he confessed. “Well, kinda. I'm not sure.”

“Just... tell us. Maybe it will be useful, even if your glasses are... broken,” Kunikida tried.

Ranpo hesitated while his teeth started to crunch as he began to chew at the lollipop.

“I don't know...”

“Oh come on!” Kunikida snapped. Yosano's hand grabbed his shoulder painfully tight, letting her nails bury themselves into his skin.

“Sweety,” she said pleasantly. “It would probably be more helpful if you told us what you think than nothing at all. Maybe we could piece something together.”

Ranpo sighed. “Okay. Well, I think that Dazai might have been raised in a strictly religious household, based on his knowledge of bible passages and prayers. And, I guess that it possibly could have something to do with whoever pushed him from the Shinja Church. That makes it fairly possible that the church has something to do with his past. Maybe his father was a preacher?”

“That actually makes sense,” Kunikida mumbled.

“It could also explain why Dazai has most of his body covered with bandages. It's no secret that Dazai has hurt himself a great deal. We've all witnessed his creative ways of trying to end himself, so it's not a greatly hidden secret that he has a lot of scars, so why cover them up?” Ranpo thought out loud.

“What do you mean?” Atsushi asked, sitting down on a nearby chair. He didn't like this kind of talk about his mentor and wasn't sure if his legs would hold if something more gruesome was revealed. “It's not like the Christian church hasn't had a history of pretty torturous violence. If his father was an extremist, which isn't unlikely considering the specific Bible verses Dazai resited in his sleep...”

Atsushi was starting to pale. “That's enough,” Kunikida said sternly. “We've... heard enough. Atsushi; I want you to call the others and ask them to meet us at the Shinja church when they have completed their tasks. They probably won't find anything, but we need to make sure. Let's get to the cars. No matter if Ranpo is right or not, we have no time to lose...”

#bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs #Dazai Osamu #dazai centric #doppo kunikida #edogawa ranpo #port mafia #mori ougai #oda sakunosuke

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