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sirenascales · 3 years

Text

-> double black [part five] 18+

-> Chuuya x 1stPOV!F!Reader x Dazai

-> Who knew getting fired from work could lead to this?

-> Content: SMUT, slight angst, violence, murder, swearing

The killer is revealed! What surprises are in store? [Chuuya x 1stPOV!F!Reader x Dazai]

2,420 words

warning: mentions of domestic violence and rape, violence and straight up murder

note: here we go... this is the second to last chapter :) hope you all enjoy reading! no smut again lol

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Final || masterlist

"This place... is creepy as hell," I mumbled under my breath, glancing curiously over at Dazai as we climbed out of the car and started walking towards the large abandoned factory. "Are you sure this is where Ranpo told us to go?"

"Yep~ He's usually never wrong, so there must be something here we can find~" Dazai sang, nonchalantly walking inside the factory. I sighed deeply and quickly followed him, shivering at the creepy aura it gave off.

"Ugh, does somebody really hide out here? It's giving me the creeps," I whined, hugging myself and rubbing my hands up and down my arms.

"What if there are ghosts here?" Dazai wondered and I shuddered deeply, fear striking my heart at the mere thought.

"Don't say that!"

"Will you two shut up?" A third voice spoke up and my eyes widened in surprise.

"Chuuya? What are you doing here? And... who's that?"

In the middle of the factory, Chuuya stood before a man tied up to a single chair, a linen bag over his head. Chuuya had a deep frown on his face, obviously extremely irritated with something.

"Wh-who is that?! Please, help me!" The man begged, howling in pain when Chuuya kicked him in the stomach.

"Shut the hell up!"

"Is that the one?" Dazai asked and Chuuya nodded. I looked at them in confusion.

"The one... what?"

"This," Chuuya started. "Is the one that's been stealing from the Port Mafia for well over a year. Along with that bastard Taichi."

My jaw fell open in shock, not expecting that at all. "Wh-what do you mean stealing?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. Taichi was in charge of moving product and bringing back the cash from the Northern area of the city. He's been getting his hands in the product, selling them little by little on the side to line his pockets." Chuuya seemed to grow angrier and angrier by the second as he explained. "We've been investigating that thief for three months and we finally pieced it together. Thanks to you." Chuuya's angry gaze is now on me and I feel my heart drop to the ground.

"What do you mean? Me?" I stuttered, looking over to the man as he began to struggle in his chair. He rocked from side to side, pleading loudly for his life.

"Please, let me go!"

There was a large bang! followed by a scream as Chuuya swiftly brought out a handgun, shooting the man right in the head. I was the one who screamed.

"I hate disloyalty," Chuuya spat, his voice cold. His equally icy glare narrowed on Dazai, who didn't even react to the man being killed, unlike myself. My now shaking hands were clamped over my mouth, in shock by what I've just witnessed.

"So tell me," Chuuya began, now turning to face me. "How is it that you knew that Taichi was meeting a drug dealer... the dead man at your feet specifically?" He didn't even give me a chance to answer before he continued. "How did you know that? Were you there?"

I rapidly shook my head, heart thudding in my chest. "No!" I exclaimed, taking a step back.

"Really? Taichi was killed in the South. That wasn't his area, and he wasn't even assigned to move the product. Hasn't been for months since the investigation started." Chuuya's voice was even, and it sent shivers down my spine. I took another step back. "Well? Explain yourself."

I gulped, absolute fear coursing through my body. I could feel the sweat slide down my temple and. "W-well, I overheard him talking about what he does for you. So! I just assumed..."

Chuuya scoffed, laughing dryly. "Plausible, yes." He dug into his coat's inner pocket and I gasped sharply when he held up my knife. I was stunned, thinking I had lost it, but Chuuya had it all along. Suddenly, that day I went to visit him in his office ran through my head, and I realized that was when I last saw my knife. Fuck.

I felt a sense of dread wash over me.

"I know you take excellent care of this knife, clean it regularly. Except for the blood in the hilt."

"And the bloody clothes I found under the sink in your bathroom," Dazai finally spoke up and I gasped sharply. "You probably should have thrown those clothes away before you had me sleep over. You know I like to snoop," He continued on as I clenched my shaking fists. Dazai circled around so he and Chuuya now stood before me, tall and intimidating. "You're the killer, aren't you? Actually, you don't have to answer that. We already know that you are."

I didn't say anything, my lips pulled in a thin line as I stared at the ground. I started to breathe a bit heavily, heart pounding and my blood boiling with the anger and rage I tried to keep at bay from the moments I wake up in the morning to the time I go to sleep at night.

"Well?" Chuuya yelled, growling. "Aren't you gonna say anything?! You killed him!"

I lifted my head up, and the two men looked genuinely surprised at the look in my face, eyes dark and narrow and full of anger. I was seething, but I couldn't help the sick, twisted smile that grew on my face. "And what if I did?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. "Hell hath no fury, right?"

Suddenly, there was an almost inhuman shriek as a figure jumped out from behind the men, knife brandished and slicing right at Dazai. Dazai luckily dodged it, the figure landing on its feet before standing tall. Dazai and Chuuya are both shocked, as they now stared at the perfect clone of myself. The clone didn't give Dazai any time to process, running towards him again and slicing almost wildly with the knife in hand.

"My, what a turn of events!" Dazai exclaimed a bit excitedly, taking in my clone's features. She looked exactly like me, except she looked more wild, her face contorted into one full of rage, anger and anguish with a seemingly endless stream of tears pouring down her face. Her movements were erratic, cries leaving her mouth as she lunged for the attack.

Meanwhile, I had engaged in a fight with Chuuya, but even I could immediately tell just how outmatched I was and that I had no hopes of beating him. Still, I threw a punch at him, able to get him right in his cheek, but he quickly retaliated with a harsh kick to my side. I cried out in pain, clutching my side.

"Are you crazy," Chuuya hissed. "Ability user or not, I'm one of the best martial artists in the Port Mafia! You're not beating me!" He dodged yet another of my punches, jumping back before he kicked me again right on my torso. I grunted in pain, falling on one knee.

"I'm afraid I don't like you," Dazai told my clone as he ducked down to dodge a wild swing. He quickly shot up, successfully headbutting the clone. She cried out in pain, covering her face with her hands as she fell back, Dazai reaching out to grab one of her wrists. As soon as he did so, she disappeared, his ability coming into effect. He let out a tired whew! dusting his hands off before turning to the fight between Chuuya and I.

Even if Chuuya did outmatch me, I tried to keep fighting him, until he suddenly grabbed me and threw me hard on the ground. I gasped, the wind knocked out of me. "Fuck!" I cursed, struggling to breathe as I tried to stand up. I am forced right back on my knees, a hand pressing on my neck. My anger disappeared, and by then, I knew that it was Dazai.

Now that all my anger, and fury was gone, all I had left was the immeasurable despair that settled in my chest, tears now freely sliding down my cheeks. I couldn't stop my sobbing, feeling the two men's wide eyes on me.

"He was beating her!" I cried out, just desperate for them to hear me out before they passed their judgements on me. "Taichi... was beating Keiko and... I never knew! She's been my best friend ever since I moved here and I never had a clue! Not one! Until that day she called me.. when I was at your place," I glanced at Dazai, lip quivering as I struggled to continue. "I went home and when she came over... I knew something was wrong I... then she took off her clothes and there wasn't an inch of her skin below her neck that wasn't covered in bruises I-"

I choked up, covering my face as I started to sob uncontrollably, the pain of once seeing my friend who was so full of life, looking like a scared, beaten animal as she stood before me. As I cried, Dazai and Chuuya looked at each other, just stunned beyond words.

"I knew..." I spoke up after a moment. "That one of these days, he would actually kill her. That's why she was so afraid to leave him. He was already beating her, and raping her, what would stop him from killing her if she defied him?! Huh?!" Even with Dazai still holding onto the back of my neck, I started to grow angry. "So, I killed him. I killed him before he could have a chance to kill her!" I then stared at Chuuya in his blue eyes. "And I'll do it again."

"After Taichi dropped Keiko off at my apartment, I snuck out through the emergency stairwell and back exit to follow him. The building is old, so I knew there were no cameras."

I carefully kept the hood of my hoodie over my head as I followed Taichi from a distance, a determined look on my face, one that said that I will not stop.

I soon followed him into the alleyway, where I hid behind a dumpster and watched him do his drug deal. He was grinning and laughing, acting smug and it was honestly fucking disgusting.

"I waited until he was completely alone before confronting him. He didn't expect to see me at all."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Taichi demanded, glaring at me. He wasn't that nice, friendly guy he played himself to be anymore. "What the fuck are you doing in Port Mafia business?"

"I honestly don't give a fuck about the Port Mafia. I do give a fuck about Keiko, and you're going to stay the fuck away from her."

He just stared at me, before he threw his head back and laughed loudly. "Okay... okay, stupid bitch. That was kind of funny. Just go back home before--"

"And before he could finish his sentence, my clone stabbed him right in his back."

I watched Taichi fall to the ground, my clone falling on top of him, shrieking as she stabbed him over and over again in a rage filled flurry. There was blood everywhere, some even spraying on my clothes as I watched.

Then, I stepped closer, pulling out my knife and landing one more final blow right in his chest, killing him.

"And he was as good as dead."

"... was Keiko in on this?"

Keiko opened the door to my apartment, letting me rush inside before closing and locking the door. She turned to look at me, eyes wide as she took in the blood on my clothes.

"Did... did you..." she stuttered softly, and I nodded.

"He's dead."

Keiko burst into tears.

"You know the answer to that already."

I was sitting on the ground now, head hung low as I stared at my hands. "I killed someone," I said softly, eyes burning with tears as I clenched my fists. "But when it comes to the people I love... I will do it again. So," I turned to Dazai. "Turn me into the police." I then turned to Chuuya. "Or just shoot me in the fucking head. I'm not strong enough against either of you... I just ask that you keep Keiko out of this. She has suffered far too much already."

I kept my head down, Chuuya and Dazai standing above me. Chuuya had a displeased look on his face, though Dazai's expression looked a bit forlorn.

"You'd do anything to protect your friends," Dazai stated and I looked up at him, looking broken, and small. Dazai gritted his teeth, frowning deeply.

"This is so fucked up," Chuuya grumbled, his mind moving at a mile a second as he rubbed his temples. Taichi was as good as dead anyways, seeing as him stealing from the Port Mafia was punishable by death. So what the hell is he supposed to do now? Chuuya growled in frustration.

"Did you guys..." I started, voice small as a thought plagued my mind. "...know all along...?" I bit my lip, keeping my gaze on the floor. "And when we-"

"It's not what you think," Dazai spoke up, knowing exactly what I was thinking. "You were just sloppy. But I don't blame you for panicking, bella."

"I knew as soon as you brought up the drug deal," Chuuya spoke up and I scoffed, laughing at my own stupidity. "I just wanted to fuck you 'cause of that dress."

Dazai snorted while I couldn't help the short laugh that escaped my mouth despite the situation. I shook my head, sighing deeply. I just decided to accept their answer, as this wasn't the right time to dwell upon my insecurities. I glanced over to the dead body of Taichi's accomplice, thinking he was probably going to die by the Port Mafia's hand anyway.

Dazai followed my gaze, tilting his head a bit as he tapped his chin. "There is no DNA evidence," Dazai recalled and Chuuya narrowed his eyes at him.

"Yeah, so?" he replied, stuffing his hands in his pocket.

"So," Dazai started, glancing over at me still on the ground. "There is no proof of her involvement. Man, just what will I tell the Boss now?!" Dazai threw his hands up dramatically, Chuuya's eye twitching in annoyance.

Still, the Executive kept his mouth shut, taking in the meaning of Dazai's words. Then, he looked over at me, blue eyes staring me down before his lips twitched upwards a bit.

"Oh yeah... I won the race."

-End

tags in replies!!

#bsd x reader #chuuya x reader #dazai x reader #chuuya smut #dazai smut #yeehaw!!!

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ethereal-blossom · 4 years

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chuuya & akutagawa

part two of this request: dazai & kunikida on a mission while their toddler gets a high fever.

chuuya word count: 723

akutagawa word count: 728

the sound of bullets were overwhelming, so overwhelming that chuuya didn’t hear his phone ringing. the port mafia executive was surrounded with a red glow and had an arrogant smirk on his face. this upcoming organisation would be dust in a few hours. yes, they were a threat big enough for the port mafia to execute them, but they could never keep up with port mafia executive nakahara chuuya and his ability: the tainted sorrow.

“good job, men” chuuya told his subordinates afterwards. he reached with one hand in his pocket. the port mafia executive did expect a few missed phone calls, yet he didn’t expect one third to be you. why did it feel like you had been desperate to reach him? suddenly, chuuya’s blood seemed to freeze and turn into ice. the numbness spread to his fingers,yet his thumb could still press on the call back button. the phone rang over once, twice, third- meanwhile your husband couldn’t help but think of the worst case scenario.

chuuya’s list of enemies only extended in his mind when he tried to call you back for the fourth time. the thought of his wife and daughter being in danger made the ice in his veins defrost and turn into boiling blood. if anyone had dared to cause his family any harm-

an explosion was caused by chuuya’s ability.

it was useless. you didn’t pick up the phone. your husband then realized you had left a few voice mails. he listened to the last one: “chuuya, damn it, i know you’re busy, but please, pick up the phone. her fever is decreasing though, but she’s asking for you.”

fever? chuuya didn’t waste any second and listened to your previous voice mails. they all explained that his daughter had a high fever.

the port mafia member had been planning to treat his subordinates with some wine after the victory. after that he would have gone to the boss and celebrated it with him.

however, plans changed. chuuya’s priority right now was his family: the beautiful woman he married and the lovely daughter they had.

chuuya felt his phone ring when he was on his way to home. he immediately picked up the phone without sparing the screen a glance. the port mafia member immediately recognized your voice. he couldn’t wait till you finished your sentence and asked: “y/n! how is she?”

you noticed the panic in your husbands voice. “chuuya, everything is okay. i called because the fever is decreasing. i’m taking care of her. where are you?”

“i’m home in five minutes. damn it! i should have checked my phone. i’m such a dumb ass.”

“funny that you think i’m married with a dumb ass. it’s not your fault, chuuya. you were working. i don’t want you to get distracted when you do that. i was just- panicking a little.”

your words didn’t make chuuya forgive himself. he stayed silent for a while, cursing at himself, and then announced he was walking to the front door. the first thing your husband did was looking for his daughter when he reached inside.

he found her in her bedroom. the eyes of his daughter were closed, but that didn’t stop chuuya from hugging his little girl. chuuya felt her forehead with his hand and stated she indeed was warmer than usual. “i’m sorry i wasn’t there, princess.”

“daddy?” her eyes flickered a little. she called his name again, only this time it was a statement.

“i’m here, my little princess. i’m here.” chuuya sat next to his daughter and put her upper body on his one. the toddler snuggled into her fathers chest and fell asleep again.

you observed the scenario that was happening in front of your eyes. although chuuya still seemed tense, the anxiety was slowly leaving his body. nevertheless the anxiety was still playing tricks with his mind. and so you walked towards him, sat beside him and stroked his hair. “such an amazing father.”

“oi, i’m not. an amazing dad would have picked up the damn phone.”

“and yet you immediately rushed home when you got the news, leaving your job waiting.” chuuya didn’t know how to respond to that. so, he turned to his daughter and took in her features- features of you and him.

two girls he cherished the most.

akutagawa went rogue during the mission, what wasn’t a surprise. the man trusted his own strength and believed that he was strong enough to accomplish this mission on his own. he didn’t need anybody. no, he only needed to prove himself. it was for this reason that akutagawa ignored the phone vibrating in his jacket. the port mafia member had no time to be scolded at for going solo.

it took akutagawa an hour to succeed and afterwards he coughed in his hand. the mission had asked more energy of him than he had expected to. akutagawa grabbed his phone out of his pocket to report to his boss, but his eyes widened when he saw that all those missed phone calls were from you. akutagawa didn’t try to show it, tried to build a wall around his feelings, yet his hand slightly started to shake. he had expected that it were other members who tried to scold him for following his own plan instead of his wife. akutagawa wanted to be prepared before he called you, so he checked the voicemails you had left behind.

his boy got high fever.

akutagawa was used to health problems, after all, he had his lungs. how big could this be? however, the stress in your voice was obvious. the port mafia member was ready to go back to work, but froze midway in his step. no, this panic of yours wasn’t how you usually reacted, not to forget his boy was only a toddler, much weaker than him.

akutagawa got a determined frown on his face and turned around, heading towards his family instead.

the port mafia member had contacted his boss along the way. he explained that the mission was fulfilled and that his family called for him. mori didn’t try to stop the man. he was all too familiar with the headstrong akutagawa.

meanwhile the anxiety clammed around akutagawa’s heart, yet he tried to keep that anxiety hidden behind a calm face. nevertheless the trained eye could see how his eyes were wider than usual and how his body was more tense.

you knew your husband was coming home and so you weren’t surprised when he stood in front of you in all of his calmness. you put your arms around akutagawa’s body. he didn’t return the hug. instead he lowered his head and let it rest on your shoulders. it were small gestures like this that made akutagawa feel comfortable into showing affection.

“where is he?” akutagawa asked. you lead him towards the bedroom. your son lied peacefully asleep in his parents bed.

“i gave him paracetamol, made sure he drank something and i’ve been checking in on him. he should be fine. i’m sorry if i made you worry.”

“it’s fine. i should be the one apologizing. i’m sorry for not picking up the phone sooner. i should have done that instead of focusing on the mission.”

you walked towards your husband and rested your head on his shoulder. “hmm, let me guess: you followed your own guts again. how could i be mad about that? that’s just one of the many reasons why i fell in love with you, silly.”

blushes appeared on your husbands cheeks and you smiled. your hand followed the port mafia members spine, making him feel recognized. “i’m going to grab the thermometer, so we can check his temperature again for when he wakes up.” you said, figuring out akutagawa wanted some alone time with his son to fully show the concern your husband must have felt.

and you were right. akutagawa stared at his son for a few seconds after you left the room. then he walked over to the bed and sat down. his hand slowly brushed his little boys face. akutagawa’s eyes widened when his son grabbed his hand and held it tight. the dads face became soft. his features finally relaxed and he lied next to his child, doing nothing except staring intensely at him.

akutagawa maybe wasn’t the best with his emotions, but he could feel love. the love he felt for his family was something he thought he could never feel. yet it was there, present in his chest.

the day that someone would hurt his family was a day feared by anyone, for akutagawa would proof how strong he was towards his enemies.

#chuuya x reader #akutagawa x reader #chuuya x you #akutagawa x you #bsd x reader #bsd #bungou stray dogs #chuuya nakahara #akutagawa ryunosuke

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soukokuwu · 4 years

Note

i live for aku angst. could you please write a scenario where he develops feelings for a fem reader during the dark era, but watches as her & dazai fall in love together? he wouldn’t be able to do anything since he’s dazai’s subordinate. but imagine them having a significant friend (ish) relationship, so when she disappears along with dazai he gets left utterly heartbroken and alone, wishing he would have said something to her when she was still with him. thank you! i love your writing

➥ genre: angst

➥ pairing: akutagawa x crush!reader, dazai x reader

➥ synopsis: akutagawa watches as you fall in love... but not with him.

➥ word count: 2k

➥ a/n: and i live for angst 😼 i really really loved this idea & i really hope you’re still here — tried a certain theme for this, hopefully you like it!! and tysm kind anony ^.^

Black and blue

You came out of the blue.

In the form of medicine for his wounds, and a cure for his aches. You were his superior, but you were unlike a certain other superior he knew. You radiated warmth and comfort — something Akutagawa didn’t know he craved. And yet you managed to instil that feeling in him within a matter of seconds.

“Dazai did this to you again?”

What was that he heard in your voice? Was it pain? Disapproval? Sadness, maybe? He was too detached from any emotion to be able to tell. Everything he knew, he learned from Dazai himself. All he wanted was the man’s approval. That was all he worked for. But you ignited a conflict in Akutagawa that he didn’t bargain for. One that he didn’t know would lead to fireworks instead of just a single spark.

“Yes,” was all he said. Was there any other way to respond? This was the first time you spoke to him, was he supposed to continue the conversation? A part of him wanted to. This was the only time a superior has shown any sort of care to him after all. So why couldn’t he get anything out?

You pressed your lips into a firm line, and he couldn’t help but notice how soft and pink they looked. You didn’t wear a lot of makeup, and his opinion was that you didn’t need it anyway. You already looked... pleasing enough to the eyes. Was that how people described someone they found... good-looking?

Endless questions darted across Akutagawa’s mind that day. But none were answered. Because how could they be, when the one questioning didn’t have the guts to say a thing in the first place?

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Akutagawa knew.

He knew you didn’t mean to. But you did it anyway. He knew why, too. Because he let you. And just like that, his walls came down. No, they didn’t crumble — he wouldn’t let them fall that easily, but still you were the only one who could take the bricks out piece by piece until the barrier was almost nonexistent.

It was like demolishing a house and rebuilding it again — just better, stronger. You painted over his grey with your red. It was your favourite color, and fitting enough; it was the color of his feelings for you.

Since that day you were always there for him. You had your own tasks, sure, but you always looked out for him when you could. And he found that days when you were especially busy were the days he felt most blue. Akutagawa found it strange though — why did you care? What did you have to gain?

And he found the answer one night, a conversation with you by the bay. You had invited him to take a walk with you, to get some proper fresh air and let off steam. But Akutagawa had read way too much into it, that he knew. Why else would he feel disappointed that there wasn’t so much as any physical contact with you? He merely stayed at a distance as he always did, and you never tried.

One fruit bore out of that night though. He learned more about you than he thought he would. You were much like him; joining the mafia because you had nowhere else, you accepted an invitation from a senior in the mafia, wanting to prove that you weren’t worthless, that you could produce something of value to someone. No wonder you looked out for him. You saw a part of yourself in him, didn’t you? You knew how lonely it felt. That night, Akutagawa felt something he never thought he would — a sense of belonging.

The longer you spoke to him that night, the larger that feeling grew. And somehow he looked at you in a way he didn’t before. It confused him, disgusted him. No, correction — he disgusted himself. Not his affection for you. Why did he feel like pursuing this; you? That night, he denied himself the chance to let you in on his feelings.

A useless kid like him doesn’t deserve you.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Akutagawa Ryuunosuke was a black sheep. But you were the golden girl.

Should he be surprised then? As he watched the way his mentor interacted with you, should he be worried? No, did he even have the right to be? But then he saw him smile at you, a smile he’d only seen formed when he was around that other guy — Oda Sakunosuke. You were... another exception? Yet again, many questions raced through his head. But one thing he knew for sure — he was turning into the green-eyed monster.

He started to notice how you reacted to Dazai. He hated how you always seemed so mesmerised whenever he walked by. He hated how your eyes twinkled whenever you talked to him — where’s that sparkle in your eye when you talked to Akutagawa? He hated how one day you just showed up with Dazai’s coat wrapped around your shoulders. He hated how much he was affected by it. It really wasn’t unexpected — next to Dazai, who would take a second look at him anyway? He wished he could be him. Then maybe you’d... He shook his head. No, maybe not even then.

What he hated the most? He couldn’t even hate the guy. He yearned for Dazai’s respect; approval, and that never changed. But then the upset dissolved into an understanding. Something in his head clicked. You belonged with Dazai. He knew next to nothing about your relationship and how it worked. But what Akutagawa did know? Dazai was a revered member of the Port Mafia, one likely to take Mori’s place as the big boss in the future. He couldn’t even lay a hit on him with Rashomon. Dazai wasn’t a formidable fighter like Chuuya either, and still he managed to beat Akutagawa into the ground. That man... was exceptional. You deserved that. You deserved the best.

That’s what Dazai was. He was the black that would take no other hue, and fittingly so he was the Port Mafia’s great white hope.

“Devour space? That sounds cool,” you had commented one day while bandaging up the cut on his wrist, one inflicted on by Dazai himself. He noticed how you didn’t comment on his barbarism as you usually would, and the usual concern in your tone never appeared. As it never did ever since the first day he saw you talk to Dazai.

“I still can’t do it.”

“If you try to imagine you’re protecting me, could you?”

You see, Akutagawa knew it was just a joke to you. And yet? His heart started pounding so fast, so loud in his chest the moment he heard it. It was a tiring dance — feeling so happy about a tiny comment and then feeling a heartache after realising your smiles, even then, were never as sweet as the ones you flashed at Dazai.

Did Dazai even love you? Or was he playing some sort of game as he usually does with women? He hated how he was praying for the latter. Hated how he wished that things would crumble for the two of you so that he could be the one to help you pick up the pieces — to be the one. Akutagawa sighed, knowing he could never get inside his head. Anyone who tried would fall into a cognitive prison. But even these selfish thoughts couldn’t last long, because Akutagawa got his answer later that day when he overheard his mentor talking to his friend.

“Odasaku, how vulnerable can humans get?”

Akutagawa is shocked at the depth of the conversation. He didn’t know Dazai was capable of talking about... emotions. He didn’t think he had any. The other man mentioned something about it being to a big extent, Akutagawa let it slip past his ears. He was more interested in what Dazai had to say.

“It’s weird. It’s like finally being seen after having lived in perpetual darkness. The light she holds, it’s small... but is it wrong of me to hope that it will grow with time?”

Was that... hope he heard in his mentor’s voice? ‘With time’? That meant the future... for all his suicidal thoughts, because of you, was Dazai really considering living? Akutagawa sighed in exasperation as he quietly walked away from the spot he eavesdropped from. He would never understand Dazai.

He never did. Especially not when the same Dazai who spoke so fondly of you was the same Dazai who shot three bullets at Akutagawa for killing the enemy. You were a saviour in more than one way. Your words echoed in his mind, and his shield came out of his will to protect you, an imaginary you. That’s why Dazai didn’t manage to shoot him dead this time. Because of you.

“Oh? See? You can do it. How many times have I told you? Cutting open unfortunate hostages isn’t the only thing you’re good for. You should be able to use your powers for defense too.”

“I’ve never been able to successfully do that before this.”

“But you just did. Isn’t that great?”

Akutagawa wanted so badly to argue back in an act of rebellion, to yell out that it was only because of you that he was able to do it. But the words got stuck in his throat. And Dazai’s threat embedded themselves in his brain. He always wondered if Dazai knew his subordinate harboured feelings for his partner. But Akutagawa already knew the answer. Nothing escapes that man. But he’s sure that he doesn’t view him as a threat, not even as competition, no.

To Dazai, it was probably just another reason to hate him; another reason to justify why he was in Dazai’s black books.

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It was a complete bolt from the blue.

Akutagawa remembered the day he realised he had lost two important people in his life. He thought that watching as you fell in love with Dazai was the most horrible emotion he could feel. He was wrong. Losing the two of you, not even being able to see either of you, not knowing where either of you vanished to — nothing could top that agony.

The day Oda died, the two of you disappeared along with him.

You took down his walls, painted the insides red, furnished it and made it vibrant again and then suddenly you were gone. You left him in the dark. You invaded his solitary space — slowly, ironically without any violence, and yet the moment you left, it was anything but peaceful for Akutagawa. No, you and Dazai left him even lonelier than before. You graced him with your presence and healed him, only to break him down even more than he already was before he met you.

Everything he heard about love after you left just seemed like everyone viewed the world through rose-coloured glasses. Nothing he found could describe the anguish he felt over losing you; or the regret he held for not telling you how he felt — the remorse that he knew wouldn’t change a thing, and yet wished he did anyway.

Because who knew when he would ever see you again, if he would? What if he never did? Yet ironically, your memory is always there — you’re sitting at the edge of his periphery, taunting him with your smile, tempting him to go and find you. And Akutagawa thinks of it everyday; what it would be like to find you, to hold you, to tell you everything he should have when you were still there.

However, a part of him nags at him not to. After all, the grass is always greener on the other side — maybe because Akutagawa isn’t there. And as an image of you flashed in his mind yet again, he scoffed at himself.

Beautiful. That’s the word he was looking for that first day you touched his soul.

You’re beautiful.

tags: @yokelish @gogolparadise @fyowyn-writes

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crow-writes-stuff · 4 years

Text

Trapped Thoughts

Fandom: 文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Dazai Osamu & Nakahara Chuuya (Bungou Stray Dogs) Characters: Dazai Osamu (Bungou Stray Dogs), Nakahara Chuuya (Bungou Stray Dogs) Additional Tags: Whumptober 2020, running out of time, collapsed building, Dazai-Typical Suicide References (Bungou Stray Dogs), Dazai doesn't care if he dies, Dazai doesn't die, introspective Dazai, Mild Hurt/Comfort Series: Part 2 of Soukoku Whumptober 2020 Summary:

Dazai gets trapped under a collapsed building. He takes the time to think about his relationship with his former partner.

Ao3

Dazai stares into the darkness surrounding him. He can't really believe his luck if he's honest. The fact that he's still alive comes close to being a miracle. Mostly because this time he hadn't intentionally tried to get himself killed. No, no. This time he was just doing his job. Which on multiple occasion had almost killed him, but that's not the point. The point is that he's currently stuck under a pile of rubble that just moments ago used to be an office building. And he's pretty sure his right arm is broken. Once again. He sighs. The good doctor Yosano is going to chew him out for that. If he gets out of here alive, that is.

He's pretty sure by now that the information about the bomb had intentionally been incorrect. It had to have been a trap for the Yokohama Police. Too bad the Agency had been asked to help out in a pinch. In the beginning, they had thought it would be easy to either get the bomb disarmed in time or at least get it out. Dazai had realised only moments before the explosion that this was not the case. He really hopes Atsushi and Kunikida made it out in time. As far as he knows, he was the last person in the direct vicinity of the bomb. And the building had mostly been evacuated when they arrived. So chances are, he's the only one stuck.

And if anyone asks, he's doing a pretty good job not dying thus far. The moment he woke up, he slowed down his breathing. He's in a little cave that appears to be held up by a solid steel beam above his head. At least that what it feels like. It's too dark to see, so Dazai has to do with his sense of touch. The fact that the beam stopped not only before squishing him like a fly but is also preventing everything else from crushing him is the aforementioned miracle.

By now, Dazai has managed to somewhat sit up, his back leaning against a particularly large stone piece. He's not sure how much air he has left. The dust makes even his slow breaths hurt, and he has to fight the urge to cough. That would just be a waste of oxygen, really.

Dazai closes his eyes and leans his head back against the debris. No point in keeping them open anyway. At least this way, he can imagine the darkness being his own choice.

Maybe he'll actually die here. A small smile steals its way onto his face. It's not the way he had hoped for, though. The smile fades away. His arm is throbbing, and he doesn't dare move or touch it. He's been doing a great job of ignoring the pain thus far. He can keep doing that as long as his mind is otherwise occupied.

So Dazai thinks. He thinks about Atsushi, who is probably panicking with worry. He thinks of Kunikida, who is likely doing the same thing, only masking it by yelling. Kunikida might already be trying to get a search party for Dazai. They'll have a hard time moving the debris without accidentally killing him in the process. Dazai can think of one person that could get him out. He doubt's the Agency is going to ask for his help, however. They probably won't even think of him.

Dazai smiles and lets his thoughts wander freely into the direction of Nakahara Chuuya. He'd probably help if he knew that Dazai was stuck down here. Chuuya has always been a bit soft-hearted and ridiculously loyal. He'd complain about it, but he wouldn't waste any time in helping out.

Dazai is always filled with a certain amount of regret when he sees the tiny redhead. A lot of regret, actually. In fact, Nakahara Chuuya occupies two spots on his list of biggest regrets. They come right after Odasaku. The first is making him join the Port Mafia. The second is not asking him to leave the Port Mafia together with Dazai.

Because Chuuya is the kind of person that helps little old ladies carry their groceries. He's the type that mourns the death of every single one of his subordinates. He's the kind that can literally get stabbed and poisoned by someone he trusts, and still give up his freedom to ensure their safety. Chuuya is not the kind of person that should be in the Port Mafia. And yet, it's Dazai's fault that he is.

On his better days, Dazai is able to rationalise his guilt away. Somewhat, at least. It was Mori that got Chuuya to join. Dazai only helped achieve it. It was only logical to keep Chuuya in the Port Mafia when Dazai left. Dazai was the bigger target, and Chuuya had found his place. It is for the best that he has one person left there, that he can always count on.

At times like this, Dazai just thinks about the kind of person Chuuya might be now. If he had never been forced to join the Port Mafia. If Dazai had never entered his life. The Sheep would probably still have kicked him out at some point. They were already terrified before Dazai ever entered the picture. It probably would have been less violent though. But at least Chuuya would have been free. Free from people that keep him around because of his ability not because of who he is. And Dazai is undoubtedly the person that knows Chuuya best. In turn, Chuuya knows Dazai better than everyone else. They weren't partners for nothing.

The one thing Dazai doesn't regret is that Mori can't force Chuuya to use Corruption anymore. Unless he wants to lose one of his best fighters, of course. And probably a huge chunk of Yokohama. Dazai never liked seeing Chuuya after Corruption. The damage seems to increase with every usage, and his partner takes longer and longer to fully recover. One day, Dazai might not be quick enough to stop him in time.

Dazai shakes his head, coming out of his thoughts. He doesn't want to think of a world where he survives longer than Chuuya. It's not meant to be like that. Regardless of how much Chuuya might hate him now, Dazai knows that they'll still have each other's backs no matter what. Dazai chuckles to himself when he remembers how worried Chuuya was when he thought Lovecraft ripped his arm off. He still cares. It's a bit of a sad thought. Dazai knows that he hurt Chuuya a great deal in the past. And still, the other doesn't even hide his worry when Dazai gets injured.

He's getting light-headed, Dazai notes. The air has grown thinner since he first woke up. The thought of staying alive longer than Chuuya seems even more ridiculous now. He's probably going to die here. Oh well.

The Agency members are going to mourn him. They might not know him as well as they think, but they're all good people. They care. Mori is going to be disappointed, and it brings Dazai joy to imagine his face when he hears the news. The man had always hoped Dazai would one day change his mind. However, they both know that it would have never happened anyway. And Chuuya... Chuuya is going to be so angry. He told Dazai once, after yet another suicide attempt, that he would be the one to end his life. Dazai hadn't believed him back then. And now, he got beaten by a building of all things. Yeah, Chuuya is probably going to curse him to hell and back.

Dazai relaxes his body against the stone. He's not going to be conscious for much the longer. The pressure on his lungs to get more oxygen is increasing by the second. He has to force himself not to hyperventilate. That would just make him pass out faster. Not that it matters much anymore. He presses out one last sigh. He had always hoped that he could at least apologise before his death.

Dazai welcomes unconsciousness with a smile. At least he won't be awake for this.

A red glow makes him wonder if there actually is a hell. He's never really believed in an afterlife, but he doesn't discount the possibility now.

A rush of air hits him, and he finally forces his eyes open. He can breathe. His vision is blurry as he looks around. He definitely is still enclosed by debris. It has started glowing faintly red however and Dazai can't help but smile. So he's not dead yet. Above him, the steel beam lifts up into the air, revealing a light grey sky. The figure holding the pillar aside with one hand is all too familiar.

"Found him," Chuuya calls, and only moments later Atsushi appears next to him. He jumps down, careful to avoid Dazai when landing. "You're alive! Dazai-san, we were so worried." Judging by his voice, Atsushi's close to crying if he hasn't done so already. He picks Dazai up as if he weighs nothing and gets them both out of there. Behind them, the red glow recedes, and the rubble settles back to the ground.

Atsushi only sets Dazai down when they have left the radius of the collapsed building behind. He gets to sit on a nearby bench where Yosano is already waiting for them. Dazai barely reacts when she checks him over, rolling her eyes at his definitely broken arm. She doesn't seem particularly angry with him, however. She was probably worried as well. Kunikida soon stalks over, scolding Dazai for not getting out faster and endangering himself. Dazai grants him a lazy smile, which only leads to an increase in volume. Kunikida definitely was worried. Atsushi is already crying with relief again.

Dazai's focus lies mainly on a certain redhead, however. Chuuya has followed them but is keeping his distance. Not that Dazai is surprised by that. He smiles at Chuuya and earns a sharp look in return. Well, he certainly deserves that.

Yosano sighs and straightens. "You'll be fine. By the looks of it, I'll have to set your arm, but that can wait until we're back at the Agency." "I'll get the car," Kunikida immediately says, as Dazai thanks the doctor. He's not looking forward to his bone being forced back into its proper position, but he at least trusts Yosano to do her job well.

Yosano looks over her shoulder and then takes Atsushi by the arm, claiming that they need to check something. Dazai's not listening to her excuse, but he shoots her a thankful smile anyway.

Only when they're out of sight, does Chuuya approach. He quickly looks Dazai over before sitting down next to him on the bench. A moment of silence stretches between them before Chuuya asks: "You're okay?" Dazai grins at him. "Of course." Chuuya rolls his eyes, but Dazai catches the small smile.

The police have by now closed off the area. "This had nothing to do with us, if you're wondering," Chuuya says after another stretch of silence. Dazai laughs him off. "I wasn't. This is really not the Port Mafia's style." Chuuya hums in acknowledgement and Dazai finally asks what's actually on his mind: "How come you're here anyway?" Chuuya shrugs. "I was close enough to notice the explosion and the collapse. When I went to check it out, the tiger boy saw me and said that you were still inside," he sighs, "The kid was almost hysterical. I couldn't just walk away." Dazai nudges their shoulders together, ignoring the pain he causes himself. "Aw, so you didn't stay because you were worried about me?" "Fuck no," Chuuya snaps but doesn't move away.

They stay like this, shoulder to shoulder, watching the people around them. Finally, a car approaches and Chuuya stands up. "Hey," Dazai says before he can leave. Chuuya stops and looks back at him. "Thanks." Chuuya avoids his eyes as he answers: "Sure. Try not to get into any more trouble today." "You know me." "Exactly." Dazai laughs as Chuuya takes off. They really will always have each other's backs, no matter what.

#whumptober2020 #no.4 #running out of time #collapsed building #bungou stray dogs #fic #soukoku #bsd #nakahara chuuya #dazai osamu

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yellowcanna · 5 years

Text

Two Sides, Same Coin

Summary: Since the beginning of Quirks, Yokohama has announced independence from Japan and closed itself from the rest of the world.

To this day and age, no one knows what lies within the city of Yokohama—or that was what the public was made to believe. In reality, Yokohama has long fallen into the control of the world’s largest criminal organization known as the Port Mafia.

Follow Class 1-A as their principal organized a field trip to Yokohama! In their short trip there, they must change their perspectives and learn exactly what it means to be justice and what it means to be villains.

Rating: T

Genre: Crossover, hint of shounen-ai (boy love)

Pairing: Contains mild Soukoku (Dazai x Chuuya) and Shin Soukoku (Akutagawa x Atsushi) if you squint

Author: Canna / Yellow Canna

Available on AO3!!

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◅ PREV MAIN NEXT ▻

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CHAPTER 9

YOKOHAMA MURDER MYSTERY (DAY 2: MONDAY)

“Good morning, everyone!”

“…mornin’…All Might…” The drained echoes of mornings were anything but good.

The kids gathered at the open field early in the morning as they were instructed. Their eyes were bloodshot with dark bags below their sunken eyeballs…it looked like a perfect imitation of both Toshinori and Aizawa.

Toshinori coughed into his hand. No matter how pitiful they looked, he can’t back down. He must play the strict teacher role to let them know what they’ve done wrong.

It hadn’t taken much for the grownups to learn what happened after Tanizaki lost sight of the kids. The students told them about venturing into the forest of red maples and spider lilies…as long as the lone man they’ve met there.

They asked about that man’s description, but there weren’t much the kids could give other than the fact that this man had dark brown hair, black suits, and presumably bandages all over his body.

When Toshinori heard of this description, the first thing that came to his mind was this wasn’t normal. There was always more to go with than just these three simple descriptions.

Every person’s perspectives were different. Depending on their gender and interests, they would notice different things. For all twenty kids with various personalities and interests to notice the same three things and only those three things weren't normal at all. And to make it even weirder, it wasn't as if the man didn't leave any impressions on them. If anything, the man left a lot of impressions on them…yet for some odd reason none of them could think of any other ways to describe the man they've met.

Toshinori wasn’t the only one that found this unusual, Aizawa thought of the same thing.

Kunikida was the only one who reacted differently. The moment he heard that the man had bandages all over, blood drained from his face. It was a small detail that only Toshinori and Aizawa noticed, as the kids had their heads hung low from being yelled at. He acted like nothing was wrong and shouted at the students for using their Quirks and trespassing into private property.

It was only after he finished yelling at the students that he pulled the U.A teachers aside and revealed to them just who the man their students met was.

The person their students had described was without a doubt the Port Mafia boss.

When the two teachers learned of this, their hearts had nearly stopped beating. Having dealt with criminals all their lives, they have also handled a fair share of organized crime. Even if organized crime was very rare in their world, it still exists. In every single one of those crimes, the boss was always protected. There was never a moment where the boss would be by himself.

On top of that, the boss of the Port Mafia purposely met up with their students…why?

None of them had an answer.

Kunikida just kept silent after informing them of the man’s identity, leaving the rest for the two teachers to short out.

After some discussion, Toshinori and Aizawa decided to hide this fact from the kids. Until they can figure out just what the Port Mafia was up to, it was for the best not to alert the kids. It wasn’t that the two teachers didn’t trust their students, but this was the only way to keep them safe.

Toshinori felt a chill crawling down his spin just imagining what could have happened if the kids were to know what the Port Mafia boss looked like. If they refrained from using their Quirks, their safety would be guaranteed, but what if they didn’t?

What if seeing the Port Mafia boss made them become alert and showed aggression towards him?

What if their survival instincts kicked in and used their Quirks without thinking?

What if they accidentally made the Port Mafia boss lost a strand of his hair without meaning to?

All those what-ifs could only lead to one result, and it was one they must avoid at all cause.

Being oblivious has less chance of putting themselves in danger than becoming self-conscious. After Kunikida’s long talk, Toshinori doubted the kids will make such a mistake again, but there was still one thing bothering him. He couldn't help but think over the kids' description of the Port Mafia boss.

When he met the Port Mafia boss fourteen years ago, he didn’t see any bandages on the man. From how Kunikida only reacted after hearing the word bandages, that must be the Port Mafia boss’s most iconic description.

Did the Port Mafia boss become gravely wounded?

“Ahem!” Toshinori cleared his throat to gain the attention of the zombies that were his students. “I hope you’ve all used the night to reflect on your actions.”

The moment those words left his mouth, Toshinori knew he had said the wrong thing. After they left the Armed Detective Agency and returned to the dorms, Aizawa had called all the kids to their rooms for additional talk. Due to Toshinori’s health, he had to stop midway and rest up for the night, leaving the kids alone with Aizawa.

Knowing his co-worker, he wouldn’t be surprised if these kids didn’t get a wink of sleep.

Groooowl~

Or eat.

Toshinori stared at the rumbles and growls coming from those flattened stomachs. He couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.

“Anyways!” He shouted over the noise. “Today is your first day observing the Armed Detective Agency in their work! I expect all of you to put your all into it!” He pumped his fist into the air. “Everyone! PLUS ULTRA!!”

“Plus…ultraaaa…!”

Weak fists slowly followed his lead.

“Now let’s go and get some food!” Toshinori spun on his heel as he headed towards the street.

“Food?!”

At the mention of food, the kids finally snapped out of their dreamy state. They rushed after Toshinori as they walked towards the Armed Detective Agency. It was currently 7:30 am and the actual meeting time was at 9:00 am. They got plenty of time to eat before meeting at the Agency for the student’s official first day.

Due to the lack of sleep, Aizawa was skipping today's activity—not that they as teachers got much to do anyway. Since the observation was for the students, they would just get in the way by tagging along. The underground Hero was currently in the teachers’ dorm, zipped up in his yellow sleeping bag and fast asleep inside the closet.

As they strolled down the street, Toshinori couldn’t help but stare at the black towers in the distance. He could still remember when he first saw those buildings. In fact, they don’t look any different than fourteen years ago…

Everything still felt surreal to him…as if he still couldn’t believe he was back in here after all these years.

The Port Mafia…

What exactly are they planning?

“…!” Toshinori gasped as he felt his shoulder colliding against someone else’s. He staggered, his left foot tripping over his right as his balance tipped. Just when he thought he was going to hit the ground, Midoriya quickly ran up and supported him by the arm.

“Thank you, young Midoriya.” Toshinori thanked, coughing a bit into his hand as he heard sounds of something—a lot of something—hitting the ground.

“AAAAAAH!” The loud scream had everyone turning in surprise as they all stared at a man with chestnut brown hair kneeling in the center of a dozen scattered lemons. His white lab-coat was fanned over the ground, palms flat on the rough pavement and head dipped low as he mourned over his fallen fruits.

“My precious specimens!” He cried.

At that, the students quickly got down, each of them picking up a lemon with Toshinori doing the same.

“I’m sorry, I should have watched where I was going.” Toshinori apologized as he held out the lemon in his hand. “Are you alright?”

“Do I look alright?!” The man whirled around to face Toshinori angrily, revealing his face that was half-covered by orange goggles.

“Oya?” The sadness and anger in the man’s voice disappeared, replaced by amusement as he was instantly on his feet and leaning so close to Toshinori that he had to take a step back.

“Can I help you?” Toshinori blinked in confusion.

“Have we met somewhere before?” The man asked.

Toshinori opened his mouth to deny, but his voice was caught in his throat. He stared at the man who was looking all over him with a hand stroking his chin and humming sounds coming from his throat.

Feeling the weight of the object in his hand, Toshinori looked down at the lemon. Suddenly, the memories of that night when he fought the Port Mafia burst into his mind. He remembered that maniacal laughter as the young boy few from the sky—surrounded by lemon-like bombs.

“You’re…!” Toshinori gasped, eyes widening in disbelief as he stared at the fully grown man before him.

“Aha!” The man shouted, pulling back with a snap of his fingers. “You’re from that time!”

"It's…you," Toshinori whispered, unable to help but look over the man. He has really grown. “The boy with lemons.”

“Ah yes~ I was young and naïve at that time. Such an embarrassment to think that I couldn’t mix the gas well enough with the explosives.” The man sighed loudly. “However, I have improved much from then on! If you ever want to become a subject for my ingenious researches, feel free to find me any time!”

With that, the man spun around, lab coat fluttering around him as he walked through the students—hands in his pockets and humming a cheerful tune as he leaves.

“Sir, your lemons!” Yaoyorozu called after him when she remembered the lemons they were all holding.

“Keep it!” The man called, not even looking back as he waved his hand. “Think of it as a reunion gift!”

The kids all stared dumbly at the weird man before looking over to Toshinori.

“All Might, do you know him?” Kirishima asked

“…Something like that.” Toshinori said vaguely. After all, he and Aizawa had just agreed to keep the Port Mafia a secret to the kids. It was best not to let them know too much.

“Give me those lemons.” He instructed the kids, pulling out a plastic bag from his pocket.

“All Might you’re prepared!” Sero gapped.

“You never know when you need to find a garbage can but can’t find one!” Toshinori replied with a dry laugh.

As he collected the lemons from the kids, he made sure to look them over—feeling the weight and texture in his hand—making sure they are actual lemons before putting them into the bag. He gained a lot of weird looks from the students in doing so, but none of the kids questioned his odd behavior.

The rest of the way to the Armed Detective Agency was, fortunately, incident-free. While the kids chattered along the way, Toshinori was deep in his own world.

He wasn’t going to believe that encounter just now was a coincident.

Was that young man with lemon the one watching over them?

No, if he was he wouldn’t come into contact with them. On top of that, his personality didn’t seem suited for that kind of job.

“All Might, are you alright?” Midoriya suddenly asked, jolting Toshinori out of his thought. He blinked and stared at the red building before them.

He didn’t even realize when they’ve arrived.

Toshinori looked around before spotting a red sign that says Uzumaki. That must be the café.

“You kids go eat first.” Toshinori ushered them towards the red door next to the sign. “I have to take care of something so I will head up there first.”

Without waiting for the kids’ response, Toshinori hurried into the building and took the elevator to the floor where the Armed Detective Agency office was located. He needed to speak with them with regards to his encounter with the Port Mafia—as well as inspecting the bag of lemons.

Contrary to Toshinori’s conflicted thoughts, the students’ were much more simplistic.

They were starving.

It was only normal, as the only thing they ate yesterday were the snacks at Lucy’s store.

Iida pushed open the door as the bell above his head rang.

“Welcome!” A petite lady in waitress uniform came up to greet them. “Ah, could you be the students from the Agency?”

“Yes, we are," Iida replied.

“Please come in!” The waitress stepped to the side. “Take any seat you want.”

“Thank you so much.” The class president thanked, followed by the rest of the class as they walked into the café.

This café was very different than the one Lucy worked at where everything was pink with laces. This café has a more stoic design with booths and a bar counter where a lone brown-haired man sat with a cup of steaming coffee in his—wait.

“Oh?” The man looked up, revealing a very familiar face the kids had just seen yesterday. The corner of his lips curled up in a smile as he gazed mischievously at the students. "What a coincidence."

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“The person you met is Kajii Motojirou," Tanizaki said, turning his monitor screen around for Toshinori to see the images of the man he just met on the street. “He’s famous even amongst the Port Mafia. Joined the Port Mafia at age fourteen and since then has been active as a notorious bomber.”

“A bomber?” Toshinori can’t say he’s surprised. “Is it alright to tell me this much?”

“That’s not a problem.” Kunikida said from across the room, where he was examining the bag of lemons. “Kajii Motojirou is widely known within the underground, his information isn’t any secret, unlike their other higher-ups.” The man huffed as he said this. It was obvious from the looks of disdain that Kunikida opinion of Kajii was low.

“In any case, these are just ordinary lemons.” Kunikida tied the bag of lemon up before throwing it into a bigger garbage bag and tied another knot over it. After that was done, he peeled off his plastic gloves and threw them into the trashcan. “Though to be safe, it’s best we get rid of them.”

“Thank you.” Toshinori sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair, trying to find an answer to all of this.

Was this some sort of message? A warning? What exactly does this mean?

“Don’t bother thinking," Kunikida said when he saw the look on Toshinori’s face. “Those types of genius’ minds work on another level. Trying to figure how their brain works are equivalent to trying to understand a fish's thought process."

“Is the Port Mafia boss that smart?” Toshinori couldn’t help but ask. Sure it takes a lot for someone to manage an entire criminal organization and control an entire city, but Toshinori got the sinking feeling that his and Kunikida’s definition of smart might be different.

Toshinori couldn't help but remember that green-eyed boy he met so long ago. The intelligence he demonstrated was beyond genius and smart, yet that was purely due to his Ability…

No, there was another one!

Toshinori’s eyes widened as he felt Goosebumps crawling over his skin at the memory of that other child in bandages. The one that had orchestrated the entire battle that night—or at least, that’s what the Port Mafia boss claimed.

Bandages?

Toshinori felt his heart hammering within his chest as he recalled the hair colour of that boy. It was black…or perhaps dark brown? He can’t remember exactly what that boy’s hair colour was, as there were other things he had to focus at the time.

Could it be…?

No, it couldn’t be…

“You’ll understand if you meet him—though for your sake you better hope you never do.” Kunikida spoke through gritted teeth with a vein throbbing on his forehead. He seemed to hate the Port Mafia boss a lot. Then, seeming to remember something, the irritation on his face vanished. “Though if you meet Ranpo-san, you’ll get a grasp of what I’m talking about.”

“Ranpo?” Toshinori furrowed his brows at the familiar name. After some thinking, he finally remembered where he heard it from. That freckled boy—Kenji, he mentioned this name yesterday. Kunikida had also mentioned this name as well…something about snacks.

“Ranpo-san is the detective of our Agency.” Kunikida explained as he pulled out his notebook. “Our agency’s main income relies on him. He is also the one your students will be observing today. We’ve received a call from the police an hour ago about a murder case they need him to assist them in.”

“The children are going to witness a murder scene?” Toshinori gasped.

“Yes, is there a problem?” Kunikida arched a brow.

“Ah…no, it’s nothing.” Toshinori reprimanded himself for that split second of reluctance for allowing the kids to go. If this was back at the outside world, something like that would never be allowed. Not only were they not police officials, but they were also all underage. There are similar training in U.A, but those were all simulations. They would never allow the kids to join in on a real police investigation let alone getting near real bodies.

Even if the higher-ups agreed to allow children at a crime scene, they will still need permission from the parents—and those permissions aren’t something they will easily get. After all, no parents would want their own children to witness blood and dead bodies. Even if their children had chosen the path to a Hero where they would undoubtedly witness deaths—the parents will never see it that way.

“I see…” Toshinori mumbled to himself as the words of Kunikida and the Port Mafia boss resurfaced.

“This is Yokohama. Do not presume our world is the same as yours. Naturally, that goes for those you see as children.”

“In Yokohama’s underground, there are no children—especially Ability users.”

He gazed out the window and towards the black buildings in the distance. Although he has been made aware of this over and over again…their worlds were truly different. For better or for worse, he couldn’t say.

“When will they begin?” Toshinori asked.

“Well…Ranpo-san was supposed to be here already, but it seems he’s running a bit late.” Tanizaki scratched the back of his head as he looked down at his smartphone, then to his co-worker. “Should I go get him, Kunikida-san?”

Kunikida looked down at his wristwatch. “No, it’ll be much quicker to have the kids go to him and then head to the crime scene together.”

“Do you want me to get the students here?” Toshinori offered.

“No, there’s no time.” Kunikida replied as he grabbed the bag of lemons. “I’ll have them depart immediately after they finished their meals—and dispose of this while I’m at it.”

With that, Kunikida headed out the door, leaving Toshinori standing there alone with Tanizaki.

Tanizaki looked around for a bit, seeming to be just as awkward with the silence as Toshinori.

“Um…would you like some tea?”

“…Yes, thank you.”

◤◢◣◥◤◢◣◥◤◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

"That's the intersection," Iida said as Class 1-A arrived at the crossway. The class president glanced down at the hand-drawn map in his hand, then back up, seeming to be trying to find the right direction.

“I can’t believe! A real-life murder mystery!” Kaminari gushed.

“I’m kind of nervous…” Yaoyorozu spoke softly, yet there was still some excitement in her eyes.

“I wonder what sort of crime scene is it.” Asui hummed, a finger tapping her lower lip as she thought over the possibility.

“It would be cool if it's a locked-room mystery!” Sero chimed in.

“A locked-room mystery?” Todoroki perked up, seeming interested.

“Oh! That would be awesome, wouldn’t it, Bakugou?” Kirishima said, nudging Bakugou. For once, Bakugou just snorted instead of making any nasty remarks, showing that he was interested as well.

“I wonder what Ranpo-san is like!” Uraraka said. “We didn’t meet him in the office before.”

“Would have been nice if it’s a busty woman~” Mineta sighed in disappointment.

Midoriya smiled at his hyped classmates.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t excited as well. After all, they were going to witness a real-life detective solving a case! It was unfortunate that they weren’t told much before being thrown into the street by Kunikida with only a hand-drawn map as their lead.

They didn’t even know what the person looked like, but Kunikida only waved them off, saying that they’ll know the moment they see him.

This made all of them curious…but more than that, Midoriya couldn’t help but remember that strange man…

"Oh? What a coincidence."

“You’re…the one from yesterday!” Ashido gasped, pointing at the lanky man sitting on the bar stool with his legs crossed.

“And you are the kids from yesterday.” The man hummed as he tapped his finger against the edge of his ceramic cup. “Judging from the bags under your eyes, I assume your guardians were quite worried about you.”

At the memory of the hell they went through last night, everyone fell quiet as if their newly acquired energy was drained from their bodies.

“Oh, do you know each other?” The waitress asked, glancing between the two sides.

“Just a fateful encounter.” The man chuckled, taking the last sip of his coffee before setting the cup onto the counter. “Thank you, belladonna, this coffee is amazing. Please pass my words onto the owner for me when he gets back.”

“Of course! I’m glad you like it! Do come back anytime!” The waitress smiled brightly as she took the empty cup and headed into the back of the café.

The man got up, taking his black jacket from the seat next to him as he headed for the door. The kids immediately parted way to let him through, but just when he was almost out the doorway, he stopped and looked back at them.

“That’s right, while you’re in Yokohama, you should enjoy some privileges you won’t be able to enjoy outside!”

“What do you mean?” Shouji who was standing right next to him asked.

“Do you kids know that in Yokohama, fifteen is the legal age for drinking and driving?” The man said with a wink before he disappeared through the doorway.

“Hey, what’s wrong Midoriya? You’ve been quiet for a while now!” Kirishima called out to him. “Are you ok?”

“Eh? Oh, I’m fine!” Midoriya quickly waved his hands when he noticed that everyone was staring at him. “I was just thinking back to that man at the café…”

“Oh, that guy?” Kirishima furrowed his brows. “Was there something wrong about him?”

“Are you stupid?!” Bakugou snapped. “No matter how you look at it, there’s something wrong with that bastard.”

“Eh? What do you mean?” Kirishima blinked dumbly, causing the veins on Bakugou’s forehead to throb.

“Did you notice something, Midoriya?” Todoroki asked, coming over to join their little circle.

“No…not really.” Midoriya frowned.

After that man left, Midoriya had asked the waitress about him and learned that the only reason the man showed up at the café was to return the café owner’s wallet. According to her, the café owner lost his wallet two days ago. That man had found the wallet, so he came to return it. As thanks, the Café owner treated him to a free meal.

This made Midoriya felt ridiculous for being paranoid. However, now that Midoriya looked at Bakugou and Todoroki, he realized that he wasn’t the only one feeling that something was off.

“There is indeed something wrong with that guy, but I can’t tell for certain.” A new voice spoke up. Midoriya turned to see that it was Tokoyami.

Suddenly, the squealing sound of girls broke through the tense atmosphere.

“What’s wrong?” Kirishima asked, looking over with Midoriya, Bakugou, Todoroki, and Tokoyami.

“Check that out!” Kaminari beamed. Next to the blond, there was one drooling Mineta.

Midoriya glanced across the street and saw a beautiful woman with scarlet hair rolled up in a bun and held by up a pair of golden hair sticks. She walked in small, graceful steps as her kimono swayed elegantly to her movement. In her right arm, she carried a large bouquet of beautifully bloomed crimson spider lilies. In her left hand, she held a red oil-paper umbrella, shielding her from the beaming sunlight.

“So pretty…” Midoriya couldn’t help but admire the woman with the rest of his classmates. There was just something about her and the way she moved that just attracted everyone’s eyes, making them unable to look away.

“She’s really beautiful…do you think she’s a model?!” Ashido squealed.

“It’s possible, given her height.” Yaoyorozu nodded excitedly with stars in her eyes.

“Hey! Maybe we can get kimono as souvenirs!” Hagakure suggested.

“Eeeh? But it’s probably really expensive.” Uraraka sighed dejectedly as she watched that woman walked around a building corner and out of their sights.

"Hey, four-eyes! Are we going or what?" Bakugou shouted impatiently at Iida who quickly looked back down at the map, not even noticing the rude way Bakugou had addressed him.

“It should be around here somewhere.” Iida looked around the intersection with squinted eyes. Then with a gasp, he pointed towards a certain direction. “Over there!”

Everyone looked to where Iida was pointing at. Across the intersection from them, there was a small store squashed between two gigantic buildings with a sign that said Ariake Harbour.

It was the same Ariake Harbour Kunikida had written on the map. They crossed the intersection. When they walked into the small store, they were greeted by a friendly staff.

“Welcome to Ariake Harbour!”

“Hello!” Iida bowed to the man, feeling extremely awkward as none of them were here to buy things. “Sorry, we're not here to…buy anything."

“Oh, then you must be looking for him?” The staff said brightly. There wasn’t the slightest bit of annoyance, much to all of their relief.

“Him?” Iida looked across the shop and sitting at the far back corner was a raven-haired man, wearing clothing that practically screamed—I’m a detective! “Yes! We’re looking for him!”

“Wow, we really do recognize him the moment we see him.” Jirou gapped in disbelieve.

“Are you…Ranpo-san?” Midoriya asked as the man looked up at them. His eyes were narrow and curved upward that reminded the green-haired teen of a fox.

“Ah, you’re here.” The man smiled, stabbing his fork into the last piece of mini-cake on his plate and shoved it into his mouth. “Well then, time to go! I’m sure Minoura-san is getting impatient. Pay for my bill, will ya? I forgot to bring my wallet!”

“E-eh?!” Iida gapped as the raven-haired man strolled past him, patting him on the shoulder as he did do. “Wait-I—eh?!”

The rest of the kids stared, just as dumbfounded as their class president. The man just walked through the petrified statues of the kids, hands tucked in his pockets as he walked out of the store.

In the end, all of them pulled out their money, quickly paying off whatever bill the man had eaten before they rushed out of the store to see the man standing there, seeming to be waiting for them. When he saw them, he smiled and began to walk off.

“Um, Ranpo-san? Where are we going?” Yaoyorozu asked as they caught up to the man.

“To the crime scene, of course!” Ranpo replied as if it was the most obvious thing. “Didn’t Kunikida tell you guys about the murder case?”

“He did—” The vice-president paused when Ranpo suddenly made a sharp turn. They stared as Ranpo walked right through the automatic doors of the large building right next to Ariake Harbour.

“Eh?”

“Come on now, let’s not keep the police waiting!” Ranpo called, poking his head out from between the automatic doors before ducking back in.

“Wait, so…what?” Kirishima said dumbly as they walked through the doors and came into this glamorous lobby with a fountain right in the middle.

“What is this place?” Uraraka gapped as she looked around. Everything in here was practically sparkling.

“Looks like a hotel," Asui answered as she took in her surroundings.

Midoriya stared at the ladies working behind the counters, then to the man pulling along a cart of luggage dressed in hotel uniforms. It was a hotel.

“My apologies,” A woman in black suits suddenly stopped them, “I will need to see your IDs?”

At that, all the Class 1-A students froze up. They turned to each other, not sure what they were supposed to do as they don’t have any of that. Their reactions only made the woman narrow her eyes at the students that had their faces hidden behind scarfs and masks. Her eyes then darted to the securities standing not far away. As if receiving some sort of signal, they began to move forward when a young man in police uniform came stumbling over.

“Ranpo-san!” He gasped. “You’re finally here! We’ve been waiting for an hour and half now! The chief is waiting for you!”

“Ah~ Kobayashi-kun!” Ranpo greeted the policeman cheerfully, not feeling the slightest bit of urgency, unlike the policeman.

“This gentleman is here to help with our investigation.” The police quickly explained to the woman.

“…Are you here for the investigation as well?" The lady questioned, eyeing the students over again.

"Yes, they are." Ranpo cut in before the policeman could even register what the woman was talking about.

With a curt nod and a bow, the woman walked away, leaving the police with Ranpo and twenty kids.

“Erm…Ranpo-san, who are they?” Kobayashi asked, looking at the kids with just as much wariness as the lady had.

“Does it matter? As long as I, the great detective, is at the scene, the case will be solved in a snap of my finger!” Ranpo boasted. “Now lead the way, Kobayashi-kun!”

The young policeman looked like he had a lot of things to say, but it swallowed his words and decided to go with it. He led them into the elevator where he pressed for the top floor. Since there were twenty additional kids, one elevator wouldn’t fit them all so they had to split apart and take the other elevator.

None of them knew what to expect when they arrived at their designated floor. Whatever they’ve expected, it certainly wasn’t a huge rooftop pool—or had they expected to come out to someone shouting.

“How long are you going to keep us here?!” A petite woman in a red dress screamed at a police officer not far from the elevators.

“That’s right.” A man beside the woman joined in. He wore a simple white dress shirt with dark gray pants and glasses. “We’ve been waiting for more than an hour now!”

“I need to get back to my shift!” A man in the hotel staff uniform said nervously.

Kobayashi heaved out a deep sigh at the sight before directing them away from the group bickering in the distance. Ranpo didn’t question anything and neither did the kids. Under the heavy gazes of the police around them, the students followed Ranpo and Kobayashi into the…woman’s change room?!

“Girl’s change room!”

“Stop Mineta-kun!” Iida hissed, immediately popping up by Mineta’s side. The class president was ready to restrain the class pervert at any given notice. With all these police around, they can’t let Mineta run wild!

Any thoughts going through their heads became turned blank when they finally came across the scene.

There, in the shower stall still dripping with water vapor was the body of a dead woman. Her mouth was agape as she laid there on the cold, wet floor. Her wavy ink-black hair fanned around her body with half of her hair inside the drain next to her head—meaning that when she was discovered, the water was still running.

There was a very prominent bloodstain on the faucet with the white tiles around the body covered in light pink hue. The closer to the woman's body, the deeper the pink become, turning into a bloody red right under her head. Her limps were sprawled out, her body so pale that her skin looked grayish under the LED light. The woman was completely naked except for a blue plastic sheet covering her torso and pelvis, giving her one last bit of modesty.

Gasps erupted from the students as they took in this horrifying sight. Blood drained from their faces as all excitements they previously had was thrown out of their heads—replaced by the cruel realization of what they were really here to observe.

This wasn’t about a detective solving mystery cases.

It was about finding the answer behind the death of a person.

This was a murder scene.

“You guys.” Ranpo’s voice snapped the kids out as they turned to the raven-haired man who had taken his hat off and placed it over his chest. His back was to them as he faced the lady, but even without seeing his face, they could all feel pressure rolling off his body. “You’re being rude to the lady.”

None of them knew what face they had, but they quickly found out when they saw the faces of their classmates mirroring their own.

It was fear.

It was their first time seeing a real dead body and they were scared.

SLAP

Hearing the sharp slapping sound of flesh, everyone turned to Uraraka who had smacked her own cheeks so hard it left bright red handprints on her face. When she opened her eyes, the fear was gone, replaced by determination.

She wasn’t the only one.

The students in different methods picked themselves back up as their eyes that were just filled with shock and fright vanished out of existence.

Midoriya’s hands rolled into fists at his side as he stared at the bathroom stall, then to the woman's body, trying to gather as much information as he can.

“What the hell is this?!”

“Ah~! Minoura-san!” Ranpo greeted cheerfully as a grumpy looking man stomped over to them, looking extremely displeased.

“Since when were kids allowed at a crime scene?” The man snapped, turning to Kobayashi who shrank under his superior’s heated glare.

“Now, now, Minoura-san.” Ranpo chided as if he was talking to a child. “It’s these children’s dreams to become law enforcers when they grow up! As a policeman, shouldn’t it be your responsibility to be a good role model for them?”

“You brought unrelated personnel into a crime scene!”

“Alright, everyone gather around!”

“HEY!”

“What’s the situation?” Ranpo fixed his hat back over his head.

“Wouldn’t you know if you use your Ability?” The police chief replied. There was no bite in his words—just stating a simple fact.

That caught all the kids' attention as they stared at Ranpo.

“It would be meaningless if I just solve the mystery without letting them learn anything," Ranpo said, gesturing at the kids.

Midoriya swore the police chief was going to pop a vein, but he pinched the bridge of his nose to stop himself from exploding. It was a very familiar gesture that Midoriya remembered Kunikida doing. From their interactions, Midoriya guessed that this was a usual thing between the two adults.

“Kobayashi! Fill them in!”

“Y-yes!” Kobayashi stuttered as he quickly pulled out his notebook.

“The victim is Suzuki Yui, twenty-six years old—”

“Suzuki Yui?!” Ashido burst out in shock, causing everyone to look at her—everyone but Ranpo.

“…Sorry.” She covered her mouth when she realized she went out of line just now. She looked to the police chief, Minoura, nervously.

“You know her, kid?” Minoura questioned, eyeing the girl who was completely covered in clothing from head to toe.

“She’s the Heroine of The Last Hero," Jirou replied for her classmate, taking the police’s attention off Ashido and to her.

They were too shocked by the sight of the dead body to notice before…but the woman's face was definitely the face of the actress they knew of. She was pretty famous throughout Japan, which brought another question to all of their minds.

A question none of them dared to ask out loud.

Why was an actress of Japan in Yokohama?

Was she also granted special permission by the Port Mafia?

However, they got their answers very soon when Kobayashi continued on as he read off his notes.

“Suzuki Yui works as an actress in the outer world and has gained a lot of fames in the past three years. Her identity created for her in the outside world is a Quirkless immigrant from Germany.”

What?

None of them could believe what they were hearing.

The actress Suzuki Yui was a citizen of Yokohama?!

“She returned to Yokohama and booked into this hotel three days ago for her one week vacation. This morning at 7:34 am, she was found dead in the shower room by the cleaning lady.”

“Bring the suspects over here.” Minoru waved, and three people were soon brought in.

They were the people they had seen shouting at the police when they first stepped out of the elevator.

“Saito Miyako-san, twenty-six years old.” Kobayashi started with the only woman within the three. “She and Suzuki-san were old classmates. She works as an accountant and came with Suzuki-san to for her vacation.”

“I keep telling you, I didn’t kill her! Why would I kill my own friend?!” The lady—Saito shouted at Kobayashi, seeming hysterical and shaken.

“The next is Hayashi Eiichi-san, twenty-nine years old. He is a staff working the night shift last night and has entered the rooftop.”

"I wasn't even supposed to be on this shift!" Hayashi quickly defended himself. "My co-worker called in sick and the boss told me to take over for her! All I did was clean the floors, check to see if anyone was still around before I lock the doors!”

“Omura Daiki-san, thirty-one years old.” Kobayashi looked over to the last person. "He is a plastic surgeon that has performed plastic surgery for Suzuki-san in the past. They've become good friends since then and like Saito-san, he came to join Suzuki-san in her vacation.”

“I’m telling you guys, I don’t know anything! I didn’t even see her last night!” The plastic surgeon snapped angrily.

“Only these three have been seen on the surveillance camera accessing the swimming pool over the night. The first is Saito-san, who came to the rooftop pool with Suzuki-san at 10:34 pm and left alone at 11:43 pm”

“We were going for a midnight swim.” Saito frowned. “Yui didn’t like having people playing around when she swims. She’s a competitive swimmer and the two of us often race together. I got tired so I went back to my room first to sleep.”

“After that, Omura-san entered at 12:00 am, leaving at 12:30 am.”

"I went to look for Suzuki-san," Omura grumbled. “She wanted to get her nose done and we’ve been discussing over what procedure she wants to take. I went to look for her, but there was no one around. I thought she might be in the change room, so I waited a bit but when I didn’t see her I left!”

“At 1:30 am, Hayashi-san came to the rooftop with a cart of equipment, leaving at 3:25 am.”

“Those were just brooms and mops! I’ve never even stepped into the changing rooms since those were done by the cleaning people in the mornings!” Hayashi frantically explained.

“From the security footage of the cart he was pushing, it possible for him to have hidden weapons within the cart.”

“I’m telling you there’s nothing!” Hayashi looked like he was going to tear up upon hearing how he was the most suspicious.”

“And according to the testimonies all three of them gave today, Saito-san was the last to see Suzuki-san.”

“Wait a minute!” Saito instantly cut in. “Sure I was the last to see her, but I didn’t do it! I’m five foot one and Yui is five foot five! How do you suppose I kill her?!”

“A-and no matter how you look at it, isn’t it an accident?” Hayashi piped in, looking over to the body on the floor before he hastily looked away, looking as if he was going to throw up at any moment.

“That’s right, I don’t get why you’re saying this is murder!” Omura shouted angrily. “What are you police doing?! I can’t believe we’re paying taxes for incompetent people like you!”

“We don’t need you to tell us how we should operate," Minoura said sternly. “Suzuki Yui’s death is no accident. We have more than enough proof to believe that she has been killed by someone.”

"Well, I'm telling you it’s not me!” Saito shouted before glaring to the two other guys. “If you want to suspect, then suspect these two! They’re both dating Yui, after all!”

“Eh?!” Kobayashi gapped. It was obvious the police hadn't gotten that information before.

However, the ones that were most surprised people were Class 1-A. At the very least, those that knew of Suzuki Yui.

“Wasn’t Suzuki dating Harada?” Kirishima gapped as he recalled the magazines he saw.

"There was even talk about marriage, wasn’t there?” Hagakure added.

“Harada? Who’s that?” Minoura felt a headache coming as more new information was given. Information which no one bothered on sharing before.

“Harada Azuma.” A policeman reported, walking up to his chief with a holographic screen floating out of the watch on his wrist. He showed Minoura the picture of a brown-haired man with golden eyes and snake scales covering half of his neck. He was an extremely handsome man—taking away the snake qualities. “He’s an actor of the outside world with mutant Quirk. He acted as the male lead within the movie The Last Hero where Suzuki Yui acted in there as the female lead. They presumably began dating after that. There is rumour in the outside world that they are planning on getting married.”

“Marry?!” Minoura furrowed his brows in disbelieve. “Was she out of her mind?”

Midoriya blinked as he took in the shock on Minoura’s face. Was there something wrong with marriage?

“I’m not dating Suzuki-san!” Hayashi shouted. “We just know each other because she comes to this hotel annually for vacation! We’re just friends!”

“Then why did you withhold such important information from us?” Minoura narrowed his eyes at the worker. “You acted as if you didn’t know her when we questioned you.”

“I-I was just scared!” Hayashi cried. “I didn’t want you guys to think I killed her!”

"Nothing is going on between me and Suzuki-san!" Omura joined in. “My relationship with her is strictly work and friend!”

At that, Saito snorted, gaining everyone’s attention.

“Oh please.” She rolled her eyes. “Anyone with brains can tell you’re smitten with her. I know you went to her hotel room the other night and didn’t come out until morning. Wonder what’s so important that you need to discuss with her all night.”

“You say that but aren’t you the most suspicious?” Omura countered. “I heard your company in the outside world went bankrupted and you racked up quite a lot of debts and has been asking Suzuki-san to help you out but got rejected!”

“You think I would kill her over something so petty?!” Saito shrieked.

“You seem petty enough to believe other people would kill for such petty reason!”

“How dare you! I would never kill Yui over something like that!”

“I wouldn’t either!” Omura roared back.

“Please everyone calm down!” Kobayashi jumped between the two, only to be on the receiving end of their rage.

The kids just stared at the scene, dumbfounded.

“Well?” Minoura turned towards Ranpo. “Can you solve this mystery for us already?”

“Hmm…” Ranpo hummed before a sly smile lifted his lips.

Then, he suddenly turned around, his left hand on his hip and his right hand pointing right at the U.A students. His eyes opened up, revealing a pair of emerald green eyes that seemed to suck out the souls of anyone that dared to stare into them.

“You guys, solve this mystery in thirty minutes!”

“…Eh?”

The police and kids—as well as the suspects—all stared at Ranpo in disbelieve.

For a whole minute, the change room was drowned in utter silence.

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auroreswritings · 5 years

Text

Day 3 for Freefall! Part 2 of Welcome to Paprika ^^ it’s longer than part 1, so the story ends up with a total of 8,122 words, it’s crazy!

A lot more ChuuAtsu moments in there, some softness at the end, hope you guys like it! Dazai and Akutagawa appear as well, their relationship is tensed (see me ignoring cannon and choosing the better life for the dark boy!), tiny appearance of Kunikida and Yosano too.

This part is less dark than the first one, there’s a little bit of inverstigating going on, some weird dream stuff as well, hopefully you’ll enjoy the ending!

It’s on AO3!

Welcome to Paprika - Part 2: The Only Way Out

“-And why would I team up with him, exactly?

-Come on, Dazai, you used to work together back then! If not to help them, you could at least do it for Atsushi…” Kunikida turned to Atsushi’s sleeping figure lying on the bed: his face was crossed by a deep frown, whimpers escaping his mouth from time to time.

“-I know, I know… I just don’t wanna investigate with that feral dog-

-DAZAI! You do not have a choice! Now stop complaining and go before I kick you out!” Kunikida yelled at his fellow detective, raising his leg up menacingly.

Dazai eventually complied and left the agency’s infirmary with a grumpy look on his face. He knew he had to be amiable and work with the Port Mafia for his junior’s sake, but that didn’t mean he had to be happy about it, above all when he had to team up with his former junior, Akutagawa. He stumped out of the building, grumbling unintelligibly.

“- This doesn’t make me happy either, Dazai.” A dark figure was leaning against the wall, head hanging low, hands in pockets, dark eyes almost burning holes thought the taller man’s back.

“-Already here, I see. Let’s get going then.” Dazai started walking ahead, not once turning back to look at the younger man walking behind him. They went on for some time, nothing breaking the awkward silence except for Akutagawa’s occasional shallow coughs.

Atsushi and Chuuya had been found three days ago, passed out a couple streets away from each other. No traces of fighting had been found around; it didn’t seem like they had met or had struggled against an opponent. They both had been taken to the detective agency to be taken care of by Yosano. Medical checkups had come back normal; the two just seemed to have fallen asleep there, outside in the middle of the day. The only logical reason for their state would be that they were both attacked by an ability user without their knowledge. Dazai had tried to use his own ability on them, without success. Atsushi seemed to have reacted to it somehow as he had stirred in his sleep when Dazai had touched him and tried to talk to him, but he had no way to know if the young man had really heard him or not. It had thus been decided that the Detective Agency and the Port Mafia would be working together on the case. Dazai had been chosen for obvious reasons: he was Atsushi’s mentor and knew enough of the mafia members to be able to work with them without too much hassle. Akutagawa had volunteered to be the mafia’s investigator, wanting to help saving his friend and new mentor Chuuya.

Long gone were the days when Akutagawa revered Dazai like a god. After the man had left the mafia, Akutagawa had felt more betrayed than could be explained, having lost the person who was holding his life together. Things had deteriorated quickly, madness almost taking over him. Luckily, Chuuya had been there for him in those difficult times, helping him regain his confidence and understand the toxicity of his and Dazai’s previous relationship. The young man owed so much to the mafia executive; he now had found a chance to repay him for all the support he had given him. And so here they were, ex-mentor and ex-junior, trying to work together again despite all that had happened, to help the people they held dear now.

“-So… You’re Chuuya, right?” Atsushi was still standing a few centimeters away from the smaller man, his eyes to the ground, fingers awkwardly fidgeting in front of him.

“-Yeah… Atsushi?” The tiger lifted his head, locking his eyes into the Mafioso’s azure gaze. He nodded slowly, confirming his name to the man. The way it sounded in his voice was soothing somehow. “You’re the tiger Akutagawa was after, right?”

“-Oh, hum… yes…” he rubbed his neck nervously. This man knew who he was, yet he didn’t know anything about him, except for the fact that Dazai didn’t seem to like him much, judging by the tone of his voice when he had called him a midget earlier. “And who… I’m sorry for asking, but who are you?

“-I guess that dimwit Dazai doesn’t talk much about his past in the mafia, huh?” Atsushi shook his head. “We were partners back in the days, but that’s all in the past.” He let out a sigh, relief and annoyance mixing in his exhale.

Chuuya turned around, trying to assess the space behind him to find a better position. As he did so, his hands brushed against Atsushi’s, still awkwardly folded in front of him. The slight caress felt warm against his skin, the first time he had been able to feel touch since he’d woken up in this nightmare. His head turned around quickly, meeting the tiger’s stunning eyes. The young man looked flustered, his cheeks colored with a hint of pink.

“-Did you… did you feel that?” Chuuya’s voice left his lips in a whisper. Atsushi nodded again, not sure of how to react. He hadn’t felt a single thing for so long, this mere contact had sent electricity fly up his arm through his entire body. Without thinking, he grabbed the red-head’s hand, squeezing it between his fingers. The warmth was so calming, so tangible, both of them forgot for an instant the dire situation they were stuck in.

Finally realizing what was happening, Chuuya cleared his throat, bringing the two of them back to reality. They let go of each other’s hands hastily and the Mafioso turned his back to Atsushi again, this time hiding the blush that was creeping up his own face. What was he doing, seriously? They stood there, awkward silence filling up the entire cave they were hiding in. After a long time, Atsushi was the one to break the silence:

“-So… You know how this man said we were stuck in dreams? Do you think we could change what’s happening?” Chuuya looked back at him again, an eyebrow raised at the young man’s questions.

“-What do you mean?

-Well, you know, sometimes when you’re asleep you can tell that you are dreaming, and then you can manipulate the dream, like make things appear or disappear… you know?” Atsushi tilted his head to the side, hoping Chuuya would understand what he meant.

The Mafioso felt his heart skipping a beat at the cute gesture and turned away from him once more. He stayed deep in thoughts for a moment, processing what the detective had just said. He could understand the logic behind it, but Tsutsui had told them they were stuck in other people’s dreams, so the chances of his theory actually working seemed pretty slim. He could still try something out; they had nothing to lose anyway. He placed his hands on the cave’s wall in front of him and pushed hard, but nothing moved. He tried again on the other sides, without success.

“-I don’t think it’s worki-

-Let’s try together!” Atsushi placed himself next to Chuuya, their shoulders touching. He took a look at him and started counting down from three. At zero, they both pushed with all their might. At first, nothing happened, but as they put more thoughts and power into what they were doing, the walls started moving back slowly. They exchanged triumphant smiles and kept on pushing. This was just a small victory but it still meant a lot; if they kept on working together, they could find a way out of this nightmarish place.

Dazai and Akutagawa were back in the area their friends had been found, looking around for clues that could help them understand what had happened. Nothing had been spotted when the two were discovered, and three days had passed since then, but they didn’t have a lead and had to start their investigation somewhere. They scrutinized the floor for some time without success again. Akutagawa was running impatient; he didn’t want this case to drag on, he had a man to save and another to get rid of. He looked up to the sky; night was about to fall, orange and purple blending together in between skyscrapers. As his gaze fell on the tall buildings surrounding them, an idea developed in his mind. He looked around for a ladder or external stairs, but having found none, he decided to go up one of the buildings using his ability. He summoned Rashoumon and climbed up a wall, the ability’s teeth digging holes between the bricks. Dazai looked at him and understood without a word, looking around for a way to have a bird's-eye view of the area. He eventually caught up to the broody man five minutes later; the sun was completely out of view, the sky turning a deep shade of blue, moon shining softly behind clouds. Akutagawa pointed at the floor under them: they finally had their clue. Where Chuuya’s and Atsushi’s sleeping body had been found was shining a silvery powder, glittering in the moonlight. It was mimicking the shape of the two men and a small trail of it was going from one silhouette to the other.

The two men looked at each other and went back to the ground. They could still make out the presence of the strange powder on the floor, its shimmer in the moonlight visible only from certain angles. They took out some samples of it, not daring to touch the substance with their bare hands. It seemed to have the consistency of beach sand, but the color had something magical to it, almost dream-like. They decided to stop here for the day: they though it preferable to analyze the substance first before doing anything reckless. They went back to their respective headquarters, each with a sample of the powder to analyze, and with the agreement of meeting again the next day to compare their findings.

Not a lot of words had been exchanged during their outing today, but thanks to this discovery the tension seemed to have decreased a little. Akutagawa would still tense at the sound of his ex-mentor’s voice, but he had managed to stay calm despite the proximity of the man. He didn’t necessarily look forward to the next day, but if the case kept on progressing like this it would be over soon and he wouldn’t have to see Dazai again.

They were both on the floor, facing each other. They had managed to free up enough space to sit down comfortably. The storm was still raging outside, the beast was still waiting for them to go out; it was not as insistent as it was at first, not trying to force its way inside anymore, but it was pacing in front of the cave, wings flapping menacingly from time to time. Atsushi was looking at the ground, trying to avoid looking at the cave’s entrance; Chuuya had his gaze directed towards the tiger, his eyes unfocused, his mind deep in thoughts. They had managed to manipulate this world a little; they had struggled a bit but the results were apparent. Now all they needed to do was to find ideas to break out of here, to find their way out.

“-Hey, Atsushi? You said we could make thing appear in dreams, right? How about we try to summon an object here?

-What kind of objet are you thinking about?

-Hm… maybe some shovels? I don’t think we could manage anything bigger; it was hard enough to push the walls for a couple meters…” Atsushi stood up and walked to Chuuya, grabbing his hands to help him up. “Or any other object that could help us find a way out of here.”

“-I have an idea… instead of making shovels appear and dig a hole, we could like… try to jump and think about the floor breaking and opening on a room close to the exit… what do you think?” Atsushi tilted his head to the side again. Chuuya’s face heated up; this man was too cute for words and his way of thinking was so imaginative, he didn’t know what to do with himself anymore. He shook his head violently; now was not the moment to get distracted by this kind of things. His hand was still in Atsushi’s; he tugged at it a little but the tiger didn’t let go. Chuuya looked up at him, dazzling eyes fixing him questioningly. The Mafioso let out a sigh, annoyed look on his face: he didn’t like what Atsushi was doing to him.

“-Fine, let’s try that. How do you wanna do it?

-Well… We just have to think about the next dream, jump together and it should appear, right? So… Let’s just imagine it’s a nice dream that doesn’t want to eat us or anything, and then jump…” Chuuya nodded and looked back at Atsushi who grabbed his other hand tight. “Ready? Three, two, ooone… JUMP!” The two of them rose in the air and Chuuya couldn’t help but close his eyes.

After some time without feeling anything, he opened them again only to realize they were floating. A look of complete fascination was plastered on Atsushi’s face. The red-head looked around and immediately understood why: clouds of all colors and shapes were puffing around them, looking just like cotton candy, tiny birds and butterflies were flying next to them, feathers and wings sometimes caressing their cheeks. When they reached the ground, the world was even more marvelous: baby pink and tender green hills were rising here and there, a clear stream of water gliding in between, mythical creatures were jumping around, griffins looking at the two men peacefully, unicorns grazing by their sides. Happy laughter could be heard coming from far off.

Atsushi’s eyes were wide open, taking in the landscape, liking it calmness compared to what they had seen before. A gentle smile was gracing his lips.

“-This looks like-

-A kid’s dream.” Chuuya’s harsh voice interrupted him. “That bastard.” The red-head fists clenched strongly, his face was contorted by anger.

“-Wait, do you mean that…

-Yeah, some poor kid fell victim to that sicko’s ability.” Atsushi’s eyes fell to the ground, all traces of happiness gone from his face. He could feel the sting of tears in his eyes. He had been so happy to see such a cute place, it had given him a bit of hope, but the potential explanations behind the presence of this dream world were horrific, he was almost feeling nauseous.

“-We need to find a way out of here, fast!” Chuuya only groaned as an answer; his whole body was shaking with anger.

The two of them used the jumping method again and again, crossing a lot of different places, some more normal than others, some more childish than others. They kept on going without having any idea of how long it was taking them, seemingly never finding the end of this nightmarish world.

Akutagawa was sitting on the sofa in the agency’s reception area, waiting for Dazai to arrive; the man was, as was his habit, late. All the other detectives were carefully avoid the Mafioso, the somber look on his face not enticing them to start a conversation. Dazai eventually appeared, hands in his pocket, humming a song with a radiant smile on his face. The smile turned into a frown as he spotted Akutagawa in the office.

“-Akutagawa, you’re here early.

-I only want this investigation to be over as quickly as possible.” His hands pushed deeper in his pockets, his whole body tensing. “Have you seen the results?

-Yes, it was some sort of sleeping powder, right? Looks like we’re fighting against the Sandman.” Akutagawa raised an eyebrow at the name. He couldn’t believe Dazai was making jokes in such a situation.

“-Some of my subordinates are looking for information on any ability user who can manipulate sand.

-Good, good… but you can tell them there’s no need to look further into that.” A smirk tugged at Dazai’s lips. “Someone in the government owed me a favor, so they snooped around a little for me.” In reality, he’d had to beg Ango for a favor, but he would never admit that to anyone. The government agent, understanding the urgency of the situation, had agreed to help him, with the condition that Dazai now owed him a huge favor. The man hated finding himself in these kinds of situations, but he hadn’t found a faster way to help Atsushi.

The detective plunged a hand in his coat, took out a file and threw it on the table in front of Akutagawa. He kept on talking while the Mafioso was reading through the record.

“-Tsutsui Yasutaka, 32, born in Osaka. His ability is called Paprika; it creates a parallel world that feeds on people’s dreams and nightmares, those stuck in this world are slowly consumed by it. He awoke his ability at the age of 5, when he trapped three of his school friends in his world. He’s been monitored by the Special Ability Department since then and has been in and out of their cells for years. It seems he had recently escaped the high security facility he was held at by trapping the guard in his other world and stealing their keys. Nothing else of interest in the file.”

Akutagawa looked up at Dazai, puzzled look on his face.

“-What do you mean, ‘nothing else of interest’? Doesn’t it say how to get Chuuya and the weretiger to wake up?” Dazai’s eyes darkened at the question.

“-There are no known survivors. All those taken by Tsutsui have remained in Paprika, never to be seen again.”

The atmosphere around the men seemed to freeze, the air filling with dread, chilling them to the bones. How would they save the two men sleeping in the infirmary when their odds of survival were so low? For all they knew, that Tsutsui was also in this parallel world, untouchable. The silence in the office was heavy, all the people present dwelling on grim thoughts. Everybody was tensed; even Dazai had abandoned his usual carefree and cheerful attitude. A sudden set of screams broke them out of their hopelessness.

“-That’s it, I have enough!” Chuuya let himself fall to the floor. They had jumped through dozens of different dreams, and nothing seemed to change: they were still stuck in this terrible place.

“-We should think of another way…

-Well my brain’s run out of ideas, but feel free to do whatever you want!” Chuuya snapped at Atsushi, but regretted it right away. It wasn’t the young man’s fault; he was only trying to help. He took off his hat and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “Sorry about that, I’m just… I can’t stand this place anymore.

-I know, it’s the same for me. I’m sure we’ll come up with something.” Atsushi’s voice was soothing and the red-head closed his eyes and rubbed his face with his hands. He felt the warmth of the weretiger appearing next to him and a gentle hand coming to rest on his shoulder. He leaned into the touch, his body pressing against the other’s. They stayed like this for some time, taking comfort into the each other, appreciating the warm tingles taking over their bodies.

Chuuya eventually registered the repetitive, clicking sound around them. He opened his eyes, only to see feminine legs, all clad in tights, their feet wrapped in fancy-looking heels, walking everywhere. There were hundreds, thousands of them, these legs without owners, just walking, the click clack of their heels ceaseless. The sound was barely there, but now that he had heard it he couldn’t ignore it anymore, just like the hand of a clock ticking the seconds away. He bent his knees up towards his chest and put his arms over them, hiding his face and ears to protect himself from the annoying sound, but without success: the click clack were omnipresent, unavoidable.

“-Atsushi, if you have an idea, you should let me know now, I think I’m gonna get crazy if I have to listen to those heels for another minute.

-I’m trying, Chuuya, I’m trying…” The tiger couldn’t help the little hint of panic slipping in his voice: his own ears were being assaulted by the sound too, and his mind didn’t seem to find a single viable plan. He jumped up on his feet, ready to start pacing to help his mind a little, but as he stood up completely, his whole body froze. Maybe he had found the solution after all.

“-Chuuya!” The other man looked up at him, confused by the sudden burst of the silver-haired man in front of him. “Do you ever have these moments when you’re asleep, and you feel like you’re falling and then BANG! you’re awake? I think that’s what we have to do!”

The Mafioso couldn’t help but smile at Atsushi’s behavior. He stood up as well facing the weretiger, trying to ignore the legs as much as he could.

“-What do you suggest then? We’ve been doing some falling befo-

-No, we were jumping. Now I’m talking about letting ourselves fall, without controlling what we’re doing.” The fire in his eyes was raging with determination, he knew he had found their way out, it had to be or he would just give up entirely.

“-Okay, I get it, I’ll try. Your idea has to work, otherwise…” He didn’t need to finish his sentence for Atsushi to understand what he meant: the Mafioso was at his limit too, this would be their last attempt before surrendering completely.

They both stood next to each other, shoulder to shoulder, Chuuya’s left hand tightly wrapped around Atsushi’s right one. They had their eyes closed, trying to ready themselves for what was coming. Atsushi’s voice rose, trembling a little:

“-Remember, you have to imagine yourself falling, as if you had jumped from the roof of a high building.” He let out a shaky sigh, his fingers tightening around Chuuya’s. “Okay… three… two… one… now.” The last words left his lips in a whisper.

They both went backward and felt the strange pull of gravity taking a hold of them; they hadn’t felt this sensation since they had first opened their eyes in this place. The wind was ruffling their hair, whistling in their ears. They opened their eyes again to see the city stretching under them; they were high in the sky, flying between the clouds. They locked eyes again, finding reassurance in the other’s gaze. This was it; there was nothing to stop their freefall now.

They fell for a couple minutes, gravity pulling them with all its mighty force. As the ground was approaching, Atsushi realized they were above the detective agency, quite far from the place he thought he had been before being taken away from the real world. The ground was approaching faster and faster, and panic was taking over them. They were about to crash on the building without being able to do anything, their abilities still refusing to activate. They grabbed each other’s arms firmly, trying to find a tiny thread of reassurance in the gesture. As the roof of the agency’s building came in their field of view, they screamed each other’s name, letting out all their fear before blacking out.

“-YAAAAAAAA!

-SHIIIIIIIIIII!”

Chuuya and Atsushi both woke up with a start, sitting on their beds in a panic. They breathed heavily, the air sweetly burning their lungs; they felt like they were reborn. A door opened and Dazai and Akutagawa came in, alerted by the screams they had just heard. Chuuya jumped out of his bed, ignoring the two men, and rushed to Atsushi, who only had time to sit on his bed before the red-head tackled him in a bone-breaking hug.

“-We’re alive, we’re ALIVE!” Hot tears of relief were running down his cheeks, falling down Atsushi’s neck. He could feel the tiger’s tears on his skin as well. Atsushi’s chest convulsed a few times before a laugh of pure happiness escaped his lips, his arms embracing the small Mafioso. They had made it out alive, they were back in the real world.

All their senses seemed enhanced, everything was overwhelming; the touch of the other’s body, their smell, the warmth of their skin, the softness of their hair; they could feel everything at the same time as if they had never felt anything before. They couldn’t let go of each other; they needed to feel these sensations now just as they needed to breathe air to live. However, the sound of someone clearing their throat brought them back to reality.

“-I’m sorry to interrupt this heartwarming reunion, but it seems like we have a visitor.” Dazai was standing at Atsushi’s bed, wicked smile on his face, his left hand holding a weirdly dressed man by the collar: Tsutsui. The man looked confused and lost, he was muttering under his breath:

“-I-I don’t understand, this was never supposed to happen. No one’s ever escaped before. How… how… How did that happen?” A never ending stream of questions was falling from the man’s mouth; he didn’t seem to register the world around him anymore.

Dazai and Akutagawa tried to interrogate him but the man wouldn’t say a thing, too busy trying to understand what had happened: he looked like he had lost his mind. Chuuya and Atsushi couldn’t leave each other’s side, still shaken up by what they’ve been through and by the return of their senses. The other detectives decided to give them some time alone to process the events they had just gone through, which the pair was thankful for. Eventually, government envoys came to retrieve Tsutsui. He was still in a dazed as military men forced him in an armored car, not taking in what was happening to him. The car slowly drove away; it was now time for the Detective Agency and Mafia’s joint investigation to end.

Chuuya and Atsushi were lying in one bed, in each other’s arms. They didn’t know how they ended up in this position but they didn’t really care: the warmth between them was calming, it seemed like it could melt all their bad memories away. A soft knock on the door shook them out of their sweet lethargy. Yosano entered and quickly closed the door behind her, apparently trying to prevent other people from coming in.

“-Hi, you two. I’m glad you made it back alive. Now… I’m sorry to tell you this, but you have to go back at being enemies. Red-head! Your grumpy friend’s waiting for you. Hurry up, I hate having him around!” Yosano’s authoritative tone made Chuuya jump up and off the bed. He walked passed her to the door and grabbed the handle. He took a last glance at Atsushi, their eyes meeting one last time. He would miss this magically colored gaze. He let out a sigh and opened the door, leaving with his head high. Akutagawa ran to him and took him out of the agency, back to the Port Mafia’s headquarters.

Atsushi stayed in bed for some time. He didn’t feel like doing anything, loneliness taking over him since Chuuya had left. He would sigh a lot, eyes fixed at the door. Eventually, Yosano passed her head from behind the wooden screen next to Atsushi’s bed.

“-Atsushi, would you stop sighing so much? You sound like a young girl whose fiancé has just left for the war. I’m sure you’ll see your red-head again!” At these words, Atsushi’s entire face turned red. He stuttered a little, hand waving in front of him.

“-I-I-I have n-no idea what you’re t-talking about!” He hid his face in the covers, hearing Yosano walking away with a chuckle. Deep down, he hoped she was right.

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