Summary: When Dazai isn't acting like his normal self, Atsushi longs to reach out to him, but he wonders if he can bring himself to do so without breaking the relationship they have now.
Or, this is how Dazai allows Atsushi to see a bit more of himself, and this somehow leads to their first date.
Rating: T
Pairing: Dazatsu
word count: 5.9k
Written for @dazatsu for @dazaimultishipexchange, hope you enjoy!Â
Yusaku and Naokiâs budding friendship gives me life
Like thatâs read like heâs making fun of a superstition but that shot indicates that heâs nonchalantly kind of worried. Whether itâs just to protect another life or heâs grown used to Naokiâs presence itâs mildly significant that Yusaku said this.
And Yusaku having a sense of humor honestly (that Naoki doesnât really catch onto but itâs okay heâs still gonna bother the quiet lonely kid in class anyway)
Ok, hear me out: Two authors. Ten chapters. One fic.
Two genres.
Each author gets five chapters, interwoven. (choose who starts, the other gets to end)
Each author also gets a seperate, completely opposing genre or trope.
They must respect the fiction of all previously written chapters. However, during their chapter, they must, to the best of their writing ability, wrench the story out of its previous genre or trope and back into theirs.
I just want to read a story that canât decide if itâs a college AU or a Pacific Rim monster slayer. Half romance, half murder thriller. Half law procedural, half sitcom. Half Harry Potter au, half medical drama.
Grace was humming and wandering around in the deserted city when she heard a commotion in the distance. There wasnât really anything else to do, and she was curious, so she used her magic to form feathery wings to fly there quickly. She couldnât remember the last time that there was anything worth checking out.
ao3
Before long, she arrived. What was being surrounded by the other demons? Oh, a human! Quite a scared and confused human. In fact, they looked like they had just woken up from a nightmare and didnât realize yet that, yes, their nightmare was still going to continue for a while. (Grace couldnât tell from her location what their gender was. Grace flew closer. She looked at their facial features and body type and still couldnât tell. Hmm, it would be nice to know their gender. Grace peered into and examined their mind.) He noticed Grace and stared back at her with even more confusion.
âAre you flying?!â
Oh. Right. Humans canât fly naturally.
âWhyâs he payinâ attention to you, Grace?â
One of the demons from below glared at Grace.
âIâm the demon who deserves the most attention, you know!â Grace giggled. âIâm the prettiest of you all.â
As annoyance grew on some demonsâ faces, the young manâs face grew paler.
âWait, demons?!â
He took a step back, and then another. Grace noticed, and giggled. Wouldnât he make very nice prey? It had been a while since she had last hunted for a fresh soul. Wait, heâs actually trying to run away. Grace giggled again. She flew down, and before he even had time to turn his head around when he heard her approaching, she grabbed him underneath his arms and pulled him upwards into the air. She ignored both the demonâs indignant cries and the cries of the poor man she was carrying.
After a while, he quieted down. Grace hummed again, and not from boredom. Eventually, they arrived at the Tyler mansion. When they reached the front door, Gloria, Graceâs sister, called out from a window.
âGrace, did you actually bring something useful this time?â
âGloria, I brought a human!â
âWow, you did something useful for once.â
âOh, come on!â
Gloria looked out of her window. She almost smiled at Graceâs exasperated expression.
âWell, you might as well get in through this window.â
It took some time for him to calm down. It required cookies and milk.
After some hesitation, he finally asked, âYouâre demons, right? You still eat human food?â
âYes, in a way,â Grace answered. âMost demons should actually eat some human food to be fully healthy. But.â
Oh, dear, he was back to not being calm. She did need to explain this, though.
âBut all demons need to consume human souls to survive.â
He paled. âWas⊠Was that why you took me?â
Grace started to stare at him intensely. âNot necessarily for that reason.â
âEh?â
âI saw through your mind, you know.â
âEh??â
âYuya. Sakaki Yuya, the entertainer. Planning to pursue professional Entertainment Dueling after graduating from high school. Youâre currently finishing up the last year of high school, if I remember correctly.â
âEh???â
Grace continued to stare at him. Heâs actually pretty cute when this surprised. Adorable, even. Unfortunately, he was speechless after this revelation.
âDo you know what this city of demons needs? More than just one human soul?â
Yuya didnât respond.
âDo you know how bored we are?â
Gloria interrupted, âJust you, Grace. Iâm perfectly fine with just eating him right here and now.â
Poor Yuya. He paled again. Grace wasnât sure if she could stand eating him if he actually did fail.
âGloria! Iâm not the only demon bored out of my mind. The entire city population would gather around him if they could because what human ends up in the middle of a demon city out of nowhere?â Grace whined.
âAnyways,â Grace continued, âeven if I had the heart of an angel and tried to help you escape back into your own world, the entire city would be out to get you. But donât fear just yet! Thereâs an alternative!â
Gloria rolled her eyes. Yuya, however, seemed to catch on very quickly.
âI just have to entertain them, and then Iâll be free?â
âLADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!!â
How is he sooo adorable when he says that?! Grace was practically squealing in her seat and didnât even try to prevent herself from standing up from her seat. She didnât even notice Gloria rolling her eyes up at her. Yuya had just pendulum summoned Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon along with an Entermate companion.
âSince an Entermate monster was pendulum summoned, Entermate Pendulum Sorcererâs pendulum effect adds 1000 ATK to all of my Entermate monsters!â
The audience of demons stared in wonder as the sorcerer enhanced Entermate Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix on the field, increasing its attack to 3000 ATK. You can never go wrong with sparkles~ Grace giggled at her own thought.
âGrace, please,â Gloria grumbled. She didnât bother asking Grace to sit back down, though. Once Grace was this excited, whether it be from having a crazed duel or sucking someoneâs soul dry, nothing could be done to contain her excitement.
âBattle! Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix will attack Ojama Blue!â
Ojama Blue was in ATK position, but due to the Ojama country field spell, it had 1000 ATK.
âAargh!â
The opponentâs life points went down to 2000.
âHmph! Since Ojama Blue was destroyed by battle, I can add two Ojama cards from my deck to my hand.â
The opponent oh so happened to be the one demon to be the most annoyed at Graceâs antics (except for Gloria). That was one of the reasons why Grace didnât offer to duel Yuya herself, as tempting as that sounded. She wanted Yuya to defeat this stupid demon.
As strange as it sounded, though, the main reason was so that she could be part of the audience itself. As much as she enjoyed dueling, she wanted to experience this Entertainment Duel from the audienceâs perspective.
That wonât be enough to stop Yuyaâs attack, and you know that. Even though Ojama King currently has 3000 ATK, and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon only has 2500 ATK, there must have been a reason why he didnât choose to crash Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix with Ojama King. More importantly, itâs just that Yuya looks like he will win this turn. His confidence. Heâs so...
âYUYAAA!!!â
Grace screamed again, and Gloria wondered why her sister had to have a crush on Sakaki Yuya out of everyone. Why did it have to be a human and not a proper demon? Stupid Grace...
Nico Smiley, the announcer, exclaimed, âOdd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon currently has less ATK than Ojama King! What is Yuya Sakaki planning to do?â
âThe fun has just begun!â
Grace screamed yet again, and Gloria just wanted this duel to end.
Yuya jumped on top of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and then rode it towards Ojama King.
âI activate Entermate Odd-Eyes Unicornâs pendulum effect! I target Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix and add its original attack to Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!â
A rainbow road formed underneath the dragon and led to Ojama King. The audience gaped, amazed at the sheer brilliance of the color palette that the rainbow offered to the stage. With 4500 ATK, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon battled Ojama King.
Grace was looking at heaven itself.
Yuya continued, âSince Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon is battling a LV 5 or higher monster, the battle damage is doubled! Go, Reaction Force!â
With only 2000 life points left, the opponent took 3000 damage.
Nico Smiley proclaimed, âThe winner of this duel is, the Entertainment Duelist, Sakaki Yuya!!!â
The audience resounded throughout the stadium like a thunderstorm.
âCongratulations, Yuya!â
Yuya turned around from his new demon fans who visited them at the Tyler mansion and faced Grace.
âThanks, I wouldnât have gotten this far without you. If it wasnât for your idea-â
âNo need! That duel was spectacular! I couldnât believe my own eyes! It was incredible!â
Yuya laughed sheepishly. âThanks! Iâm so glad to hear that!â
He paused, however, when Grace approached his fans and told them that she wanted to talk to Yuya privately before he left for the human world. After they left, Yuya still had one question to ask.
âIâm honestly surprised that the demons would let me go after just one duel. Actually, Iâm surprised that they would let me go at all.â
Grace giggled. âI told you, didnât I? That this city is waaay too boring. Your entertainment was worth far more than one human soul.â
Yuya supposed that he could live with that compliment.
âBut if you still feel indebted to meâŠâ
Before Yuya knew it, Grace pushed him down on the sofa and straddled him. Yet again, Yuyaâs mind wasnât working, but for completely different reasons. Grace leaned down and whispered in his ear, âI donât know if I told you this, but Iâm a succubus.â
Yuya flinched, his face becoming even redder. âOh, I guess I didnât. Well, hehe, now you might have an idea how I suck human souls dry from their bodiesâŠâ
Yuya really wasnât sure how to feel about this situation. Graceâs voice lowered. âDonât worry. Iâm still never going to harm you. I just want to offer⊠hmm⊠my company if you return to visit. Or what about right now?â
She nibbled on his ear. Yuya yelped and slid his way out of the couch, face red as a tomato. And stumbled.
âGrace, I- I really appreciate it, b- but I want some time to think about it.â
Grace chuckled, still lying down on her side on the couch. Shy, wasnât he? He didnât seem that opposed to it, fortunately.
âTake your time~â
Yuya looked down in embarrassment. Grace rose from her couch and stood in front of him. And tenderly held his face in her hands and looked into his crimson eyes.
And then kissed him.
For once, Yuya didnât flinch away. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her.
âGrace, why is it that the first thing I see when I enter is you and that human kissing?â
Masumi stared at Yuzu in disbelief, unable to see how a girl as pretty as her couldnât sing.
Yuzu seemed bashful. âI know that it seems like I love music, and I do, but I really go off tune when I sing.â
Masumi felt a little dejected, but it wasnât the end of the world, she guessed. âWell, I guess karaoke isnât really an option then.â
After the end of the Maiami tournament, to celebrate, Yuzu volunteered to organize the party. After hearing that Yuzu was in charge, Masumi dived headfirst into volunteering with her.
âOh, wait!â Yuzu panicked. âNo, itâs still an option. Hearing everyone else sing would be great. Itâs just that, you really wouldnât want to hear me sing.â
âI guess thatâs true.â Masumi muttered. She did want to sing with Yuzu, though. She even had a wonderful dream about singing with her. âBut,â she added, âI would still be happy singing along with you.â
Wait, did she say that out loud? What if Yuzu found out? Yuzu might not be able to mindread, but Masumiâs sure that even she could hear how hard her heart pounded.
Yuzu sighed, âAh, butâŠâ
âW-, Wait!â Masumi stuttered. âYeah, sorry, you donât have to sing. Itâs fine! Itâs fine.â
She didnât mean for Yuzu to get dejected! Why was she like this when next to Yuzu? When snarking at Hokuto, Masumi felt as smooth and cool as a polished gemstone, but she felt like her face was on fire when talking to Yuzu. It really didnât help that she felt like she was constantly messing up when talking to her.
Yuzu smiled wistfully. âItâs fine. Here, letâs talk about other events we could do instead if we donât end up choosing karaoke.â
While the two worked on their event plans, all Masumi could think about was how wrong that smile was and how sad her eyes were.
Masumi walked on the moonlit beach. Sometimes, the clouds cast shadows on the sand and the ocean. Where the moonlight hit the sea, it glowed. The sea breeze gently caressed Masumi, and her hair was swept around. As she closed her eyes, she heard a faint melody that was carried over by the breeze. A beautiful voice. A beautiful song. A beautiful night as accompaniment.
Masumi, have you ever heard of sirens?
She opened her eyes in remembrance. The scene around her was too enchanting for it to not have been influenced by a sirenâs presence. There was a warmth to the voice, though, which perhaps meant that the owner of the voice was not fully a siren. The singing of full-blooded sirens usually reminded the listeners of ice.
Masumi was not scared. Her only wish at that moment was to draw nearer to the source of that lovely voice. After all, it brought to mind the voice of the girl she loved. It was at moments as these that she could finally admit to herself that, yes, she was in love with her.
After walking toward the source in a trance, she eventually saw the siren. The siren sang to her heartâs content as waves of melodies mesmerized Masumi. Masumi remained there, awed at the concert the diva gave only to herself.
However, even the grandest of concerts must end. The sirenâs last piece was a ballad that she herself composed. After it ended, Masumi came to her senses.
âYuzu?â
The siren abruptly turned around and realized that she had an audience all along.
âLiar.â Masumi smiled. âYou sang the most beautiful songs I have ever heard.â
Yuzu raised her eyes in surprise. âI- Masumi? How long were you standing there?â
She smirked. âEnough to last an entire concert.â
She faltered, however, when she saw Yuzu looking down at her feet, looking dejected. She mused, âI never saw you as a sappy type, which was stupid because you literally gave me a rose after I beat you in the tournamentâŠâ
Her voice was soft, but even from that distance, Masumi could clearly hear every word she said. Masumi drew closer, unable to understand why Yuzu seemed so sad. She clearly wasnât sad about the quality of her voice, so why?
Yuzu suddenly rose her head and stared at Masumi with determined eyes. The same eyes that made Masumi start to fall a little bit in love with her. âDo you realize that youâre dreaming right now?â
âWhat do you mean?â Masumi stopped short of meeting Yuzu. âThis is a dream?â
She looked around her. Everything seemed real. If anything, it was all too vivid. But what was this place? How did she get here? Oh.
âNow do you see? Everything you saw here, it was all just a dream.â
Masumi stared back in confusion. Even if it were a dream, something told her that this was still not meant to be taken lightly. âIâm not sure.â
Yuzu insisted, âYes, this is just a dream.â
This world is not the only world that exists, Masumi. While we humans can only exist in this world, sirens are not bound by the same limitations as we are. Sometimes, however, we may dream of living in the world that sirens live in.
Masumi remembered her fatherâs words. âIâm probably sleeping now, but this isnât just a dream. Sorry, Yuzu, but you canât convince me otherwise.â
Yuzu sighed and conceded. âWell, looks like I canât convince you.â
Something still seemed off about Yuzuâs actions. âWhy did you try to convince me that this isnât reality?â
âBecause Iâm a siren! You must have realized by now!â
Time froze still. Yuzu looked back down. Masumi couldnât really think of how to reply. All she could say was, âYuzu, I⊠I really donât mind, you know. You, being a siren.â
As the silence continued, Yuzu didnât look up, and Masumi grew more anxious. Why was Yuzu still upset?
Finally, Yuzu spoke up. âThe fact that youâre in the dream with me. Do you know what this means?â
The ocean waves continued to crash on the shore.
Yuzu continued, âYou see, even without singing, sirens can use charm magic, even unintentionally. I⊠Iâm not sure⊠Iâm not sure ifâŠâ
âYuzu,â Masumi interrupted. âWait!â
Masumi couldnât believe what she heard. Excitedly, she asked, âYou, thatâs how you feel about me?â
âBut, I-â
âI thought you had a crush on Yuya!â
âI did, but-â
Masumi ran down the beach and embraced her. âCharm magic or not, I wouldnât give this up for anything!â
â...!â
They stood there, near the sea, quietly gazing at each other.
Blue, so blueâŠ
Masumi stared into blue eyes. The blue eyes of the siren who would be the end of her. The eyes glistened, and before either of them knew it, tears fell from those eyes.
âHeh, what was I thinking? Why was I so worried? That you would hate me if you found out? Why didnât I trust you more?â
How do you imagine a situation where Yuuma and Yuuya decided to play with Ignis/Ai in Yuusaku's duel disc (of course without the disc's owner permission lol)? Your art is very adorable, keep it up~!
