just popping here to wish you a very very splendidly happy new year!
let 2022 be the year of nothing but sweet pleasures. remember - no matter how hard it gets, the experiences will only make you stronger! in the meantime I also want to wish all of the writers (myself included) lots of motivation.
stay safe folks. and remember I love you all so so much!
↳ other warnings: wound description, manipulation, slight fighting description
↳ a/n: hello my lovies! the final chapter is here and it’s a day earlier than usual^^ thank you one last time for interacting with my fic. have a wonderful day!!
It was just like the time had looped.
Once again, the first thing Aira saw after waking up was a stark white ceiling. Her body was burning with the scorching pain, however, this time it didn't come from her arm and leg but from the middle of her chest.
Opening her eyes, she had no clue what was happening, no clue where she was. The only thing she could remember was waking up in a similar scenery two weeks later.
In a place that belonged to Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Without thinking, she ripped off the tube that was attached to her nose, rapidly getting up from the bed she was laying in.
Had he kidnapped her once again?
Were the others in danger because of her?
Her hands trembled as she tried to stand back up. Having no idea what was happening, the first thing Aira thought about was to do everything to survive. Recognizing she wasn't wearing her usual clothes, she frantically searched for her belongings. The only urge she felt was to escape the place she was currently in.
But then the door opened, causing her to turn back towards the direction of the noise.
"Aria..."
"You're alive," she mumbled, glancing at Osamu, who had just walked into the room.
"Lay down. Your wound isn't healed yet," he ordered, grabbing her hand to lead her to one of the three beds.
"I-I," she stuttered, hesitantly sitting down. "Are the rest..?"
"They're alright," Dazai interrupted her in order to safe her strength. "Though you're aware what are they doing. Aren't you, love?" he asked, referring to Fyodor's plan of cannibalism.
"I-I'm so sorry," she murmured, covering her face with her hands. "I really am stupid, aren't I? I thought Dostoevsky was going to let me go the moment I played my part," she added, feeling Dazai sitting next to her as he wrapped her arm around her.
"You're far from being stupid," he assured her, carefully stroking her arm not to hurt her already existing wounds. "I've talked to the doctors here. They said the bullet missed your heart, piercing through your lung instead. Pretty lucky, considering the close distance between you and Fyodor," he added, smiling softly. As soon as he heard the hospital staff saying this, he realized she had used her ability to protect herself.
"He wanted you to watch me dying," she whispered, her eyes going up to look at him. "He knew that by doing this you'll agree on his plan," she said, tears appearing in the corners of her eyes.
"I've expected this, to be honest," he replied, looking down at his hands. "When you were gone I've decided to see where you went. That's when I've discovered you were in your old house. And there was only one condition under which you'd returned there," he explained briefly, his glance still fixed on his fingers.
"And coming there to rescue me would equal destroying the plan," Aira added, nodding her head as she fully understood his words. "But it's okay. I'd probably do the same if I were you," she confessed, letting the tears escape her eyes.
"I..," Dazai hesitated, not knowing where his sudden vulnerability was coming from. "I didn't expect to react that way when you were shot," he finally admitted, images of Aira and Oda flooding his head.
He watched his best friend dying on his hands.
He thought nothing could've possibly been comparable to that moment ever again.
Yet, witnessing Aira loosing her vitality made him experience the emotions he didn't thought he was capable of feeling.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. You're probably have the trauma surrounding Oda," Aira murmured, fidgeting with the trim of her hospital gown.
"Remember the time when we were visiting him and Atsushi-kun came?" Dazai smiled at the memory, hence it was the last peaceful time before the attempted mass murder started.
"I do," Aira responded, stopping herself from placing her head on his chest. He was wounded as well and she didn't want to cause him more pain.
"He asked me if Oda was a woman. I responded that if he was I'd die with him there," Dazai confessed, closing his eyes as he smiled softly. "But then when that time came and the most gorgeous woman I've ever known was bleeding out next to me, there was no way I was going to watch her suffer. There was no way I'd die next to her," he added, exhaling quietly.
Aira had no idea where his sudden confession was coming from. It was unlike him to think about death in any way other than suicide. A suicide that would set him free from this life, its hardships and pain. Moreover, it was surprising how the event changed his point of view, when it came to the actual moment.
And at that time his words held more meaning that a simple I love you Aira was hoping to hear back. Him admitting the need to save her not only proved he cared about her, but also proved that he was going to give up his beliefs in order to keep her alive.
Those sentences were more that Aira could've possibly had asked from him.
"I’m sorry you had to go through this," she whispered, gently touching his hand.
"Don't. If Fyodor thinks you're dead, we have an advantage. The element of surprise," he smiled, placing his palm over her fingers.
"Can I ask you something?" Aira changed the subject, knowing it wasn't the most suitable time to ask him this.
Yet, he used the word we. Not himself or just her.
We.
"The Agency, the Port Mafia, Shibusawa and Dostoevsky... Which side are you on? Truly?" She plucked up her courage, realizing that no matter what he would answer, she was okay with it.
"No one's. Sides aren't what's really important, Aira. What matters is doing the objective good," he responded, watching her nod her head.
"Good and bad are subjective, Osamu," Aira answered, looking up at him. "I think the better way of saying this is to not hurt the people we care about. To supervise from the side," she added.
Holding onto one's ideals never brought anything that was good for all of the people. Hence claiming only one point of view made the person entirely committed to what they believed in.
And still, humans were like water; they change their forms when it came to reoccurring conditions, they could accommodate to the certain situations based on their current state of mind.
Only at that moment Aira fully understood Dazai; all of his previous actions, decisions, plans. They were a part of a tremendously larger schema he was pursuing.
A schema that made sense to her only when she experienced similar things he went through.
"Will you help me with that?" Dazai asked after a while, locking their eyes as he stopped stroking her hair.
"Why? Do you need company all of the sudden?" Aira teased softly, watching a smile appearing on Osamu's face.
"Only yours."
~.~
A day had gone by, leaving Aira and Osamu alone in the hospital room to perfect their plan.
Destroying either the Armed Detective Agency or the Port Mafia would equal causing chaos both between and in the organizations. Due to that fact, killing either of the leaders was not in the best interest of neither parties.
With Fukuzawa and Mori leaving their hidings in order to fight between themselves, all that remained was to capture Fyodor Dostoevsky and the rest of the Rats, simply so they won't cause any more chaos.
The missing piece of information came when the founder of both Mafia and the Agency visited the hospital room Aira and Osamu were at. Natsume-sensei provided them with the knowledge about the ongoing situation as well as with the suggestion of joining forces with the mafia. Without further explanation, both Razuki and Dazai agreed on the plan being the most ideal out of everything they came up with.
Finally being able to stand on their own two legs as the wounds had healed, Aira and Osamu left the infirmary, ready to fulfill the promised schema. To do so, they needed to find both Akutagawa and Atsushi and make them agree on working together. Dividing the work between the two of them, Dazai was meant to get the mafia member, having Aira to find Atsushi.
With the information of the boy's whereabouts, Razuki wasted no time on thinking and went straight to the place him and Kunikida were at.
The sun began to set, leaving nothing but tangerine clouds above their heads. The breeze gently stroke their hair, making the two men sitting on the stairs appear almost straight out of a movie.
Approaching them from behind, Aira smiled, recognizing their silhouettes.
"Razuki-san?!" Atsushi was the first one to notice the woman coming towards her.
"Hi, boys," she chuckled, noticing Kunikida's eyes open wide.
"But Dazai said—!"
"He's a drama queen. He didn't tell you I woke up to surprise you," she answered, interrupting Doppo in the middle of his sentence.
Complete out of his character, Kunikida got up and immediately wrapped his arms around her.
"Hey, I've missed you too but I was shot, remember?" Aira giggled, hissing quietly as his hug was hurting her not entirely healed wound.
"I-uh..," Doppo mumbled, quickly shaking his head. "You've promised me not to do anything stupid, Aira! I haven't heard from you since the fog had appeared and now you're back, acting like nothing ever happened?! You're irresponsible!"
Aira smirked, bursting with laughter. Kunikida's face went completely red from shouting at her as he returned to his usual persona.
"Back at it again," she murmured, approaching Atsushi as Doppo continued his yelling. "I need your help, kiddo," she started, sitting beside him at the stairs.
"Aira! I need explanations! You came out of nowhere and..!"
"Doppo, calm down. I'm alright," she stopped him, patting the spot beside her. "I'll tell you everything once this mess is over. Now our priority is to save the Agency," she added with a completely calm tone of her voice.
"You're starting to act like Dazai-san," Atsushi noted quietly, glancing over the two arguing adults.
Aira smiled, knowing she had to avoid this question. If she argued and said she wasn’t, that would be a complete lie. If she agreed, Doppo would continue his shouting, getting mad at her more and more with every second.
Hence she decided to ditch the topic and swiftly change it.
"People experience things that lead them to change their mindset. Sometimes for good and sometimes for bad. But what is life if not flopping between those two things. Hmm, Atsushi?" Aira started, smiling to herself.
"We have to decide what the best option is. And now, the only option we have is to stop the Agency and the mafia from fighting," she added, watching Atsushi's confused expression and Kunikida furrowing his brow.
"I... I guess you're right, Razuki-san," the boy mumbled, looking down at his feet.
"I don't know if I'm right, kiddo. That's just something that came over me recently," she admitted, getting up as she clapped her hands. "Now, we have our friends to save."
~.~
"Atsushi's at the dorm. I've told him we'll be needing him tomorrow morning," Aira said to her phone as she tried to take off her coat with only one of her hands.
"I'll get Akutagawa-kun tomorrow," Dazai said on the other side of the phone, causing Aira to subconsciously smile. "Can you get the truck we were talking about?" he asked with a firm tone.
"Oh, am I going to be your driver once again? Don't you think driving in my current state is irresponsible?" she chuckled, taking off her shoes as she entered her living room.
"You're the best driver I've ever known, my love," he responded in his usual manner, making her giggle even more.
"Cheesy," she pointed out, pouring some tap water to her kettle.
"How else could I convince you?" Osamu laughed and Aira could've sworn he was smiling from ear to ear.
"A kiss maybe?" she nonchalantly suggested, waiting for the water to boil.
"I promise to do so next time we'll going to see each other," he responded cockily as a huge grin painted all over Aira's face.
"I'm gonna go. Be careful and don't do anything dumb," she replied, making herself a cup of tea.
"Me?" he chuckled, yet heard nothing but silence in the response. "Okay, okay, I won't," he added before saying goodbye and hanging up his phone.
Aira smiled to herself, taking a sip of the green tea she had prepared for herself. Sitting on the beige sofa she closed her eyes, touching the spot next to her.
It was that piece of furniture that had made her more aware of herself; on that sofa she showed Dazai the first physical signs of her affection. The exact same thing she couldn't think of doing just a few months ago.
And oh, how glad she was for doing so.
Her relationship with Dazai was what made her reconsider her past; what made her the person she was now. Despite all of the hardships she had to went through, she was alive. Probably more than ever before.
She was glad for having him in her life; she was glad that he was simply there.
Yet, most importantly, she was proud of herself.
Proud because she opened up to someone.
Proud because she apologized to Yosano.
Proud because she stopped self-pitying herself.
Proud because she discovered her full abilities.
Proud because she came to terms with the past that was haunting her.
Getting rid of jealousy and anger towards herself was the last thing she thought of doing. Yet now, looking back at all of it — she realized it was the only thing that saved her from the depths of sorrow and regret.
Now, she was free.
Alive.
Finally ready to take action.
~.~
"Let me go, Dazai-san!"
"Nope!"
Aira chuckled to herself, focused on the road despite sitting on the passengers seat. The highway was leading them to the Rats hideout. However, having Dazai, Atsushi and Akutagawa in the back of the truck was way more distracting that she could've expected.
It was the next morning, which meant it was the finale of Fyodor's plan. The virus was about to become active in the span of last couple of hours — the deadline for defeating the person, who had caused it.
"You're a great friend, Doppo," Aira smirked, glancing over the man in the driver's seat.
"You made me do this," he complained, eyes fixed on the road.
"Yeah, that's exactly why are you a great friend," she responded, toying with her knife as she listened to the conversation going in the back of the truck.
"I'm still angry with you, Aira," Doppo admitted, gripping the wheel a bit tighter that anticipated.
"I got a call from the government that day. Not to brag, but it's slightly more important that your warning," she teased, smiling from ear to ear. "But I'm sorry. I agree I wasn't thinking clearly," she confessed, hiding her knife in her pocket.
"You seem... different that usual," Kunikida noted, giving her a quick glance.
"What do you mean?" she asked, furrowing her brow.
"Happy... You seem happy," he explained hesitantly.
And yet, he truly meant that.
Since Aira came back, she had been extraordinarily nice to everyone, however, still completely focused on the given task. Almost like someone stripped away her inner sadness connected to her past.
And Doppo suspected it was Osamu.
"When I was kidnapped I acted more confident than ever before... cockily even. But then when I finally had time to reconsider what actually happened I had this moment of... complete nothingness in my brain, you know?" she started explaining, not going into details.
"So it wasn't because of Dazai?" Doppo furrowed his brow, causing Aira to burst into laughter.
"He played a crucial role in it, but no. Changing for another person is simply stupid, Doppo," she responded, looking at him. "But I might be in love with him, though," she stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Ew, Aira, I don't want to hear about this part," he grimaced, taking a turn left as he was driving.
"What? I'm just answering your questions," she scoffed, however, she couldn't resist but smile.
Doppo growled, causing Aira to giggle once again. She truly loved having him as a friend.
"All things considered, I think I might be actually happy now. Just because I went through some absolute shit recently proved I was wasting time on crying over things that weren't important," she added, adjusting her position on the passenger's seat.
"Wasn't that what I was telling you all along?" Kunikida furrowed his brow, yet a small smile had appeared on his face just then.
"Yeah..," Aira agreed. "But I had to came to that conclusion all by myself to understand it," she explained briefly, watching as Doppo drove through a forest.
They were getting closer to the Rats hiding place. With that, Aira decided to reload her guns, just in case of the possible attack of the security.
Not a moment later, she and Doppo heard knocking, coming from the trunk of the car and the noise of a small window between it and the driver's area opening.
"Were you two talking about me?" Dazai asked, his face visible only through the small hole.
"Not everything is about you, you narcissist," Aira teased, one corner of her mouth going up as she heard him speaking.
"Never mind, I guess you haven't changed at all, Aira," Doppo sighed, listening to the bickering between his two coworkers.
"Yeah, Razuki-chan! I think you're still a bore as well!" Dazai mocked Kunikida's tone gaining a reprimanding stare from the woman.
"Let me remind you that I have a gun in my hand," Aira threatened him jokingly, showing him the pistol she was reloading.
Despite the recent changes that made Aira grew as a person, she still kept up her usual spirit. She could've experienced many traumatic things on the span of her whole life, yet it was her, who was to decide how she was going to act at the end of the day.
Hence why she returned to her usual persona... yet, giving herself the pinch of happiness she needed so badly.
Stopping the car in the safe distance, the Agency members and Akutagawa exited it, finding their way to the overgrown area, just in front of the entrance to the hiding place of the Rats.
"How's your life going, Akutagawa?" Aira asked nonchalantly, wanting to get rid of the tension surrounding the mission.
However, he didn't bother to answer. Instead, he plainly glanced over her and resumed his walk. Aira smirked, rolling her eyes at the antics of the younger man. He kind of reminded her of herself when she was in her teens.
After a short explanation of the mission, Akutagawa and Atsushi went ahead and entered the hideout's entrance, completely unnoticed by the security guards.
"You guys think they won't get caught?" Aira murmured to Doppo and Osamu, taking out one of her knives.
"That's the most entertaining part," Dazai answered, watching Aira and Doppo sigh.
"We should help them," the woman added, flipping the knife that she was playing with a moment ago.
"We can't kill the guards. They all have the wires monitoring their vital parameters," Kunikida answered, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, I'm not talking about killing them, silly," Aira chuckled, deciding to take off her gloves. "When my ability was trying to kill me, I've discovered something really really fun," she explained evasively, watching Dazai's smile widening.
"It's not time-restricted?" Doppo asked, referring to the prime effects of the Time-master.
"Nope," Aira smirked. "Oh, just look at him," she changed the subject, pointing at the weretiger, who managed to get into the building.
"He slid past the guards and the sensors," Kunikida stated, commenting on Atsushi.
"We have to keep up. Let's get started," Dazai answered, a corner of his mouth going mischievously up.
"Dazai, you're going back to the track to monitor the situation. Aira, you and I will stay here and stop the guards if they'll ever decide to come inside," Kunikida ordered, noticing how Dazai and Razuki smiled at each other.
"What?" he added, furrowing his brow.
"Nothing," Osamu smirked, placing his hands behind his head.
"I guess we've just missed you, boss," Aira answered, teasing Doppo with the nickname she had just given him. "Shh, don't yell. We're in hiding, remember?" she added, noticing his face turning completely red.
"I hate you," Kunikida sighed loudly. "I hate the both of you."
Thirty minutes went by as Akutagawa and Atsushi were trying to capture one of the Rats, who was responsible for infecting the both leaders with the virus.
Aira felt like a complete spy, having to monitor the behavior of the guards in front of the entrance of the building. Hidden behind a tree, she managed to capture three of them, who were acting a bit more suspicious than the others.
Placing her hand on their forehead, she caused their most painful memories to came upon them, as she carefully put a piece of duck tape over their mouths.
Her newly discovered ability allowed her to lock the people in a space affected only by they deepest fears of their past. The only way they could bring themselves back fo the reality was for them to shout, hence putting some tape over their lips made them entirely efficient towards her gift.
For a brief second Aira thought of the situation as a pure torture, yet she quickly reminded herself that sometimes problems required not so humane solutions.
"Osamu, how's the situation with that Pushkin guy?" Aira spoke to her earpiece, carefully watching the movements of the remaining guards.
"He's trying to escape now, but don't worry, love. The mafia and the Agency will arrive just in time," he answered, causing Aira to grin.
"And you're so sure because..?" she asked, not finishing her sentence.
"Everything goes according to the plan," he responded briefly. "Speaking of which... do you wanna go on a date?" he changed the subject, causing her to roll her eyes.
"When?" Aira chuckled, taking the pieces of duck tape out of the guards' mouths.
"Now?" Dazai answer with a question, hearing her giggle.
"It's not a date if Fyodor's coming, too," she replied, making eye contact with Kunikida to tell him her and Dazai were about to leave.
Finding her way back to the truck, Aira got into the driver's seat, quickly starting the engine of the car. However, before she started driving, she waited for Osamu to come to the front and sat next to her.
"Well, hello there," she greeted him with the biggest smile possible, grinning even wider as she felt his lips kissing her cheek.
"Your enthusiasm is starting to terrify me," Dazai chuckled, getting comfortable on the seat as they drove out of the forest.
"Can't help it, though. The idea of kicking Dostoevsky's ass is thrilling," she replied, speeding up as they found themselves on the solid road.
"You're lucky he didn't use his ability on you," Osamu stated, causing her to furrow her brow. "Oh, I think I forgot to tell you about it," he laughed, watching her confused expression.
"So no beating his ass?" Aira pouted theatrically, eyes focused on the road.
"Precisely," Dazai chuckled. "He could kill you with a single touch of his hand," he explained quickly, however, her expression was as still as ever.
"Can't say I'm shocked," she scoffed, driving them to the location her and Dazai talked about earlier on.
Probably breaking all of the speed limits, Aira concentrated on getting to the spoken caffe as quick as she possibly could. Despite the painful wound in the middle of the chest, she managed to drive the fastest she could.
Just to see the look on Fyodor Dostoevsky's face, when he saw that she was alive.
Twenty minutes later, her and Dazai sound themselves in front of the building, coming through the back entrance, not to cause any ruckus if Fyodor were to spot them.
Covering her face with the cafeteria's menu, Aira carefully watched the Russian smiling widely as he was getting the report from his subordinates.
"You're enjoying it, aren't you?" Dazai asked quietly, a wide smirk appearing on his face.
"More than I should," Aira responded in a hushed tone, smiling at the waitress, who simply brought them two cups of coffee.
"Remember day time when you agreed on going with me to the cafe for the first time?" Dazai grinned, still keeping an eye on Fyodor.
"Only because you've said you'll be paying for my coffee," she replied, taking a sip of the black brew.
"I flirted with that waitress only to see your reaction," he chuckled softly, feeling Aira kicking his foot from under the table.
"Wait. So you knew I had interest in you just then?" Aira furrowed her brow, still keeping her voice hushed.
"Yup," Osamu smiled innocently. "But making the real first moves was boring, so I've decided to just watch you do your job," he added, causing Aira to shake her head as her smile widened.
"What a mean, mean person you are," she stated, almost finishing her coffee. "Oh, hi. I don't think we've meet before in person," Aira greeted the man, who sat right beside her, covering his face with the newspaper he was holding.
"I've heard much about you, Miss Razuki," the Guild leader answered casually, beginning to act like he was reading the newspaper.
"That's so typical to say. Couldn't you came up with something more original?" Aira smirked, taking the last sip of her coffee.
"My dear Aira might be hard to please, Fitzgerald. However, I do agree with her," Osamu added, causing the woman to slightly blush.
His Aira?
"Let's finish that chit-chat. We'll have time to discuss it later," she whispered, pointing at Dostoevsky, who had just stood up from his table.
As they quieted down, they watched Fyodor casually leaving his previous spot and heading towards the exit. However, he slowly stopped, turning his eyes towards both Aira and Osamu as he was about to pass them by.
"Hey. Nice cafe, huh?" Dazai nonchalantly asked as Aira placed her chin on the palm of her hand.
Fyodor didn't say anything but slowly turn his head towards the two people, who were smiling at him from ear to ear.
"You okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost," Aira chuckled, watching his terrified expression.
"I've never seen you so shocked," Osamu smiled softly. "You want to ask how we found you here, don't you?" he asked, slowly opening his eyes.
"I really played my best card," he continued. "This is my best card. The one that caught the demon," he pointed at Francis Fitzgerald, who had just revealed his face by closing the newspaper he was reading.
"Long time, Rat," he greeted Fyodor, just as he knew him for the longest time.
"Excellent!" Dostoevsky exclaimed, corners of his mouth going up. "Eyes of God?" he asked, referring to the ability the Guild leader had obtained.
After a short explanation of their plan, Dazai finished by saying Fitzgerald was only helping them to retrieve the Guild's assets the Rats had stolen from them. But it wasn't where the exchange of the words was going to end. After hearing about the fulfilled schema, Fyodor's interest turned towards Aira.
"I knew I should've used my ability instead of that gun of yours," he smirked, his eyes still opened wide.
"Average people are so fun to watch, aren't they?" Aira asked, quoting the words he said to her before shooting her.
"Maybe I was wrong about you," he scoffed, yet was unable to say anything else as the government agents entered the cafe.
"We'll take it from here," a voice belonging to Ango exclaimed. "Is that alright, Dazai-kun?"
"Sure," Osamu answered, completely emotionless. "That's why I asked Aira to call you."
~.~
"You look like an old lady, Yosano," Aira mumbled, taking a sip of the champagne she was holding.
"You've returned to being an asshole, asshole?" the doctor smirked, taking the glass with golden liquor out of the other woman's hands.
"I was drinking that, you know?" Aira furrowed her brow, yet, couldn't help but smile.
"War reparations," Yosano whispered cockily, watching as Kunikida approached the two of them.
"I've never imagined joining forces with the Guild," he stated, standing opposite of the two women.
"Sometimes you've got to do something out of the ordinary to achieve the greater good," Aira shrugged, watching Yosano drinking her champagne.
"Dazai really messed up your little noggin," the doctor chuckled, causing Aira to roll her eyes.
"Oh, shut it," she giggled, taking another two glasses of the liquor from the waiter.
"Oi, Razuki! Why drink when you could be eating all of those goodies?" Ranpo stated, showing a piece of delicious-looking cake into his mouth.
"It's not for her, detective," Yosano said, watching Aira trying to keep herself from laughing.
"Oh, of course. You're just being a good girlfriend. Right, Razuki?" Ranpo teased her, covering his plate with lots of sweets.
"We're not dating," she replied, looking away to avoid the eye contact.
"Sure you're not," Kunikida rolled his eyes.
"Backstabbed by my best friend? You know what?" Aira dramatically put a hand over her heart. "Nice dress, Naomi," she complimented the girl standing beside Doppo in hopes of changing the subject.
"Thanks, Razuki-san," she smiled, looking towards the direction of her brother, Kyouka and Kenji, who were talking in hushed tones.
"I'll be back in a second," Aira excused herself, sending each of her coworkers a warm smile.
With the two glasses of champagne, she decided to find her way to the deck of Fitzgerald's ship the party was taking place on.
It was quite odd how the Agency, the Port Mafia and the Guild all decided to celebrate today's day by gathering in one place at the same time. A mixture that could lead to disaster was actually functioning way better than anyone had ever anticipated.
And yet, there was still someone missing in this utopian scenery — the dark-haired man that was standing next to the railing of the ship, carefully watching the sunset alone.
"How's the view?" Aira asked casually, standing right beside him as he handed him the glass filled with golden liquor.
"Thank you," Osamu smiled softly, accepting the champagne.
"Still not answering my questions, huh?" Aira teased him, leaning back on the railing, raising her head to look at the orange clouds filling the darkening sky.
Her purple dress matched perfectly with the scenery — it was the exact same color as the top part of the sky. Her golden hair were moving as the gentle breeze blew. She closed her eyes, holding her glass with champagne close to her chest.
And still, the only thing Dazai could've possibly focus was her genuine smile that had appeared on her face the moment she saw him.
"I love tangerine sunsets. They're truly one of the kind," she whispered, still smiling to herself with her eyes closed.
Dazai couldn't say anything but just keep on looking at her, simply enjoying the moment.
A subconscious smile came upon his face and without fully comprehending his actions, he wrapped his arms around Aira's waist, causing her to glance at him.
"You'll spill my champagne," she giggled, putting away the glass to hug him back. "Hey, Osamu?" she furrowed her brows, fully confused as why wasn't he answering her.
"Hmm?" he murmured as he lowered his head and placed it in the crook of her neck.
"What are you doing?" Aira chuckled, feeling his breath tickling her neck.
"Thinking," he replied evasively, causing Aira to grab his head and gently force him to look at her.
"About?" she asked, glancing deep into his dreamy hazel eyes.
"Just how much I love you," he replied and Aira could've sworn she stopped breathing for a second.
Her hands with which she was holding his hands became light as a feather, her knees were feeling weak. On top of that, she could've tell her face was turning completely red.
"Why are you so surprised? I thought we've established that a long time ago," Dazai chuckled, returning to his usual persona.
"I've never thought I'll hear you saying that," she murmured, unable to fully comprehend what she had just heard.
"I love you," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "I love you," he repeated, kissing the top of her nose. "I love you," he said one last time, placing the final kiss on her lips.
"Stop it or I'll get emotional," Aira chuckled quietly, turning her head to the side to hide her eyes that had began to tear up.
"I don't mind it," Dazai smiled, cupping her chin in his hands to kiss her once again.
It felt so perfect.
Him kissing her in the tangerine sunset as a single tear of happiness escaped her eye.
It was all she dreamt of; that little confession that made her heart flutter than ever before.
"I love you too," she finally said, hugging him closely.
The clouds reflected in the surface of the sea, the buildings seemed so far away in the distance. And even the loud noises of the party couldn't interfere with the moment the both of them shared.
Just them and the sunset.
"Don't you think we should go back to them?" Aira asked after a while, pointing down at the stairs leading to the main part of the ship.
"Nope," Osamu answered simply, smiling from ear to ear. "I'm enjoying staying here," he added, taking a sip of the champagne Aira had brought him.
"Me too," she whispered, grabbing her glass as well. "If I come back, Yosano'll tease me for sure," she giggled, looking at the sea in front of them.
"And why is that?" Dazai asked, clearly ready to tease her.
"She screams at me for not making the things official," Aira answered simply, watching Osamu's smile widening.
"Well, in that case we shouldn't be giving her the pleasure of teasing you," he chuckled, planting a kiss on her cheek.
Aira only giggled in response, messing his hairstyle with her free hand.
They stood like that — in complete silence — for another few minutes before they both heard Atsushi coming to the deck of the ship.
"This is such a nice venue," the boy started, causing Aira to immediately look at him.
"Hey! Aren't you too young to be drinking that?" she asked with a huge grin, watching his cheeks becoming red. "I'm messing with you," she added, gently patting his arm as she walked passed him.
"You could stay with us, Razuki-san," Atsushi offered, realizing she was leaving the are just to give them some privacy.
"Nah, you deserve some time to talk alone," she chuckled, turning on her heel with the biggest smile that had ever appeared on her face.
Waving goodbye to them, she finished her champagne, returning to the main area of the ship. With everyone cheering and celebrating yet another victory, Aira sat on the chair in the corner after she grabbed another glass of the golden liquor.
Watching them all happy and filled with joy was more than she could've possibly asked for.
And she would've lied to herself if she said she wasn't feeling the exact same emotions.
Aira Razuki used to thought she wasn't biased towards many things. Yet on the span of the past months she realized she hid her anger and frustration under the layers of lying to herself.
She thought she had dealt with her past a long time ago, yet it turns out is was just a recent discovery she had made.
With that, she stopped crying over herself, she stopped being jealous of others, she even stopped hating her own name.
The word Aira meant love and affection. Something she despised before, yet the same thing she grew into admiring. Those two things led her to the place she was now.
And after all she had been through, after all she experienced, she could finally say she had found something she was missing her whole life.
↳ other warnings: super super dark, wound descriptions, fighting descriptions, ANGST, manipulation
↳ a/n: Aira’s having an existential crisis but hey! so am I! also, writing Fyodor brings me so much joy, I-
Aira blinked two times as she watched her blue replica smile at her.
She stood in front of the creature, her hands gripping tighter the pistol.
What was going on?
The mass suicides turned out to be, indeed, serial killings with the victims being murdered by their own abilities. Aira had been trying to came up with the conclusion earlier that evening, yet only now it had struck her — someone, a man by the name of Shibusawa, to be exact, had caused the gifts to act up. That affect them attack their owners, making the death of theirs a truly terrifying experience.
Aira's knees weakened.
If the abilities had taken a human-like form, did that mean that...
"Shit!" she shouted loudly, realizing that her deduction from before was right.
She had just tried to use the Time-master only to see if she could turn back time. As predicted — she couldn't. That meant she didn't have control over her own gift and in conclusion...
...the only way of bringing it back was probably to kill the blue hologram standing in front of her.
Without a second of hesitation, she pulled out her gun out once again, firing three shots at the being.
Yet, instead of dropping dead, her doppelgänger simply shook its head and started walking towards her.
"Of course it wouldn't be that easy," Aira mumbled, reloading her gun.
She hoped the others would be alright.
Her ability was more of a tactical one; when it came to combat, it was usually up to her to choose how she would use it. Turning back time was something that helped her buying time, causing no particular harm with the girt itself. The only damage that she could do was to use her knives and guns.
When it came to Atsushi, Kyouka or Kunikida on the other hand, their gifts were certainly made for fighting. That meant, they were going to be affected physically more than her.
As the blue figure came closer, Aira rolled to the side, pulling the trigger as she shoot it into its jaw. She knew it wouldn't kill it, yet she hoped to buy some time in order to attack it once again. Grabbing her knife, she intended on stabbing her clone into its chest, however, it was faster than she thought. Moreover, it had the advantage of using the Time-master. With a blink of an eye, the clone turned back the time by four seconds, finding itself right behind Aira, ready to attack her with the knife. Before she managed to escape, the blue hologram smirked, reaching its hand to touch Aira's forehead.
"Wh—?!" she didn't managed to finish as her vision got blurry.
Trying to bring herself back, she blinked rapidly. But instead of returning back to reality she became nauseous; her body felt completely paralyzed, unable to move.
And then came something she wasn't expecting.
It was just as she shifted back to the living room of her parents house; the destroyed furniture, bullet holes in the walls, blood splattered everywhere — it was their murder scene.
But...
...the bodies weren't there.
Aira pulled out her gun with her trembling hands.
"What the hell is going on," she cried, her vision improving.
"Come to us, Aira."
Her breathing became uneven at the sound of the familiar voice.
Her mother was standing in the middle of the room, her corpse decaying. She reached out her hand, all covered in crimson liquid.
The scream coming from Aira's lungs was what brought her back to the reality. Her clone was standing over her collapsed body, knife ready to stab her right into her chest.
Kicking its legs, Aira managed to escape, shooting five bullets without even realizing what she was doing.
What was this ability? Why was in her parents living room a moment before?
She had no time to think due to another series of attacks coming from her clone. Trying to defend herself, Aira run towards one of the buildings.
She needed a moment to come up with a plan.
Moreover, she needed a moment to fully realize what was happening.
Yet, the hologram certainly had different plans. With a blink of an eye, Aira was being pulled down the stairs by her own coat. Grabbing her by her throat and touching her forehead with the other hand, the doppelgänger thrown her over the railing, causing her to fall down.
"Have you coped with your past, my love?" Dazai's voice rang in Aira's head.
It was when she realized she was standing in the middle of the pathway leading to the cemetery, they had visited this morning.
"You son of a..!" Aira yelled, snapping right back to the reality.
Her clone was running down the stairs, preparing for another attack.
Yet Aira couldn't help but think about what had just happened. Twice.
Every time the hologram had touched her forehead, she was being forced to relive to her memories and the most petrifying fears.
And each moment she shouted something, she was being brought back right away.
Was it another ability she wasn't aware of?
Like the exact one she discovered during her first meeting with Chuuya?
It seemed exactly like it.
But then another question came — Dazai's one. He didn't ask her that just because they were visiting his friend's grave. He did it because he knew something about her gift she had no idea of.
But how?
Aira clenched her jaw, remembering what Ango had told her; Dazai was responsible for bringing Shibusawa to Yokohama. It was because of him all of this was happening.
And she knew she was going to find him.
Not only that, but she also was going to defeat her clone, arrive to the Skull Fortress and search for the answers.
"Come here, you little shit!" she yelled towards the hologram, who smiled at her.
Within a split second, it had appeared right beside her. It used her ability. Now she had exactly one minute before another time shift.
"You're not touching my forehead this time, you bitch!" Aira screamed, stabbing the clone into its stomach.
As the hologram took a step back, the crystal on its head glowed red and its wound regenerated.
"Forehead," Aira repeated quietly with a grin on her face.
The crystal was the source of its energy. Ripping it out would equal completely killing the doppelgänger.
Without further do, Aira launched at her copy, trying to shoot it straight into the middle of its head. Yet, unsuccessfully.
The being speeded toward her, plunging one of its knives right into Aira's shoulder.
With a loud growl, the woman pulled out the weapon, throwing it behind her.
As it was going to use the other knife, Aira kicked the hologram's chest, making it fall on its back.
"Your parents hated you! And Dazai's been manipulating you all this time!" she shouted cockily, grimacing at the burning sensation of her arm being wounded.
She knew the hologram wouldn't answer. Yet, what a satisfaction it was to yell those things out loud.
The being got up, completely unharmed. One minute had passed since it had used the ability, which meant that it was ready to strike again.
It was like a lighting had struck Aira as she realized what she needed to do in order to defeat it. Plucking up all of her courage, she grabbed onto her knife, making a run towards the clone. Just as expected, it turned back time, finding itself right behind Aira once again. Feeling its finger on her forehead, Razuki exhaled one last time before closing her eyes.
This time she was in front of the Medical School, holding the negative exam results.
"Oh, that’s so boring!" she yelled, snapping back into the reality but...
...only for a brief moment.
Next thing she knew was she was back in her parents house, but this time it was seven Port Mafia members. It was just before she massacred them all that night.
As she was about to scream, one of the agents laughed at her, taking out his gun.
"But if the memories come back, remember to just brush them away. They can't hurt you, they're just memories," Dazai's voice rang in her head.
She was back at the cemetery, her fists clenched.
"You could've told me your plan, you know?" she spitted with disgust in her tone, finding her way back to one of the Yokohama's roads.
Her clone was still standing behind her, holding a knife to her throat.
That was when she knew she had to risk it all in order to win.
"You know what, Aira?" she murmured, smiling to herself. "You think you're strong, but we’re both equally stupid," she added, feeling the knife slashing her throat wide open.
Beginning to choke as she bled, she felt the grip of the hologram loosen.
Four seconds.
It was the time.
With a swift, fast move of her wrist, she stabbed the being straight into its forehead, ripping the crimson crystal out.
Two seconds.
Unable to breath, Aira watched the body of the copy vanish away in the depths of the night.
Placing her hand over her bleeding throat, she collapsed, almost feeling her soul leaving the body.
One second.
The hologram was gone.
The crystal had been destroyed.
The only thing that was left to do was for Aira to stop her from bleeding out.
And so she did.
Using the Time-master to turn her body back to the state it was four seconds ago, Aira exhaled unsteadily.
And just like nothing had happened a moment ago — she was back. The skin on her throat almost fully restored. The things that remained was the shallow cut of her neck and the wound going deep in her shoulder. They weren't lethal, however. Aira could've easily go on with them.
No.
She had to.
She had no other choice than to go to the Skull Fortress and stop the mass murder that was about to happen.
Wasting no time, she picked herself up from the road. She needed some time to bring back her strength, but it was only the matter of time before she did so.
Opening the door of one of the abandoned cars, she smiled to herself, noticing the keys being still in place. She had to get to that building.
Starting the engine, Aira began to drive towards the direction of her destination.
It was when she noticed how badly she was feeling mentally; she had no time to think about Dazai's betrayal before, but just now she realized how much anger and frustration she was holding within herself.
It was like someone had stabbed her right in the heart.
The only worse thing being the fact that Dazai had given her clues she didn't pick up on before. Starting from him not wanting to go to work, telling her how should she forget about her past and brush away her memories.
It was all coming together just then.
She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs.
The ongoing lies, subtle hints, secrets. It made her wanting to hate him but...
...she couldn't.
She couldn't possibly hate the man, who brought a serial murderer to their town.
She couldn't possibly hate the man, who lied to her at numerous occasions, despite her telling him not to hide anything from her.
He had to had a reason. A plan. A simple something that would explain his actions.
Hence Dazai wasn't stupid... and Aira didn't believe he was evil as well.
Or maybe she simply didn't want to believe it.
"I'm going to beat the absolute shit out of him," she murmured, feeling the anger overwhelming her once again.
But then the road in front of her disappeared.
And it most definitely wasn't because of the fog.
A ginormous red dragon had appeared in front of the Skull Fortress, wrapping its tail around the building. Although its head was far above in the sky, Aira could've sworn it had just made eye contact with her.
Not a moment after, she felt the car she was in being lifted in the air. Saying she wasn't terrified would be a straight up lie. If she was to hit the ground now, her bones would be completely crushed... but after all she could've used her ability to restore the condition of her body. Right?
That was why she impulsively grabbed the door handle, jumping off of the car. It was just like the time had stopped when she was falling down; feeling no ground under her feet, Aira saw nothing but blue-ish fog surrounding the whole area. She had no sense of gravity, all she was able to feel was the wind caused by her body speeding through the air.
Just a moment before she landed, Aira caught a glimpse of a plane with a familiar man jumping out of it. She smirked to herself, noticing the red aura surrounding him.
If Chuuya was going to fight the dragon, her comfort had certainly been increased. Now she was able to maintain the task she was given by Ango.
A few seconds before she was about to crash with the concrete roof of the Fortress, she had closed her eyes, retrieving her body and getting rid off every single trace of broken bones that was caused by the fall.
"Shit, that hurt like hell," she cursed out to herself, getting up from the cold ground.
Without thinking, she managed to find a window, she decided to break to get inside.
Her blood was boiling at the thought of seeing Dazai. And yet, she didn't feel hatred. Just overwhelming frustration and disappointment towards him.
It didn't matter what was reasoning for all of this mess was, she couldn't possibly ignore the notion of her coworkers being exposed to something similar she went through. All of that because a certain man decided to improve his suicide technique.
But then the building shaken.
Aira's senses were aware enough to see a huge piece of the ceiling ripping of and coming directly at her. She only realized she was in danger after it fell down, trapping her already wounded arm. First thing she wanted to do was to turn back time and prevent herself from getting hurt.
But then she thought about Chuuya, who had probably caused this; he was in the middle of the fight and with her using her ability, she would have made him repeat his attack once again.
Growling, she managed to get her arm free, however, turning back the state of the body didn't work — four seconds already had passed and she couldn't prevent her bones from their injury.
But the worst part was only about to come.
Not later after the ceiling incident, the whole Skull Fortress was being torn apart; pieces of the walls being destroyed, the floor having huge holes in it, making it impossible to walk through.
It looked like the end of the world.
Breathing unsteadily, Aira realized how bad was the state of her body — her arm was broken and had been previously wounded by the knife. Her neck had a shallow yet visible scar, and she was bleeding from her side. On top of that, Aira could've sworn the bruises from her falling firstly — down the stairs, secondly — from the mid-air had just started to form.
Entirely exhausted, she didn't look where she was going. That was what caused her to fall through the hole in the ground, landing directly on one of her legs.
There was no way she was going to find Dazai both in the condition of herself and the building.
There was no way she could help the others now.
Aira Razuki didn't cry often.
It was rare of her to show emotions different than anger.
But during this time, she bursted our in tears, maniacally trying to stiffen her broken arm and manage her hurt leg.
She felt hopeless.
But she couldn't possibly give up.
She needed to hear Dazai's explanations.
She needed to find out why all of this was even going on.
Stumbling on her feet she slowly walked forward, her vision blurring. Yet, resting wasn't an option. She was determined to keep on going. After all, she had to.
It was Chuuya, who had made her hopes come back. Seeing where he had just landed, Aira speeded up, ignoring the physical pain she was experiencing.
Her whole body became paralyzed as soon as she saw two male figures on the horizon. She knew that the confrontation was about to come.
And it was what she feared the most.
Discovering the truth she wasn't sure she could handle.
Taking out her pistol, she approached the silhouettes. Her left hand swayed by her bleeding side, entirely limp. One of her legs made it impossible for her to walk straight. Her face was covered in bruises, blood at the most recent tears that were starting to mix with the dirt that had covered her whole body.
But despite all of that, she managed to smile.
Smile with all of the disgust and frustration she was holding within herself through all of that night.
The forced grin widened even more when she saw Dazai, dressed in all white. He was sitting with his back facing her, completely unaware of her presence.
"Do you know why I always wear a burgundy coat?" she asked as soon as she was close enough.
"Aria?" he gasped, rapidly turning his face towards her.
He sounded completely shocked.
"Do you know?" she repeated, taking the safety off of her gun.
"You weren't supposed to be here. That's not what I predicted," he mumbled, his eyes wide open as he sat and held unconscious Chuuya in his lap.
"I wear it because the blood is the exact same color. You can't see me bleeding because of it," she continued, completely ignoring his terrified tone.
With her forced expression, she walked up to him, noticing the horror painted all over his face.
"And that makes me appear stronger to my opponent," she added, pointing a gun at him. "So? You were saying it was not what you've predicted, right?" Aira clenched her jaw, her finger traveling towards the trigger of her pistol.
"I thought you were going to help them," he whispered, glancing at the main part of the Fortress.
"You poor thing," she spitted out. "If it wasn't according to your plan, why the hell didn't you tell me about this?" she asked with anger, her hand resting steady on her gun.
Dazai didn't say anything. Instead, he lowered his gaze, looking completely discombobulated.
"Oh, you're not going to answer, are you?" Her voice was entirely venomous.
"It was to stop them, Aira," he replied quietly, and only now she noticed it was the first time she saw him so vulnerable.
"That doesn't explain a single fucking thing!" she yelled, feeling anger coming over her completely. "You've lied! Again! No more lies my ass! You're a goddamn liar, Dazai!" she ranted, watching him slowly get up.
"I couldn't tell you," he whispered, taking a few steps forward. "I couldn't risk getting you tangled up in all of this."
"Bullshit," Aira mumbled furiously, still pointing her gun at him. "I trusted you. I trusted you because I-I," she stopped herself, realizing she was about to fully confess her feelings towards him.
And it was the least appropriate thing in this moment.
"I'm... sorry," Dazai whispered, placing his hand over the front part of her pistol.
And yet, instead of lowering it, Aira gripped his palm with the fingers of her broken arm, hissing from the pain.
"What happened?" he asked, looking at her wounds.
"Don't act like you care just now," she replied, letting out a shaking breath. "You didn't predict Ango was going to call me and tell me about your involvement. You didn't predict that I was going to do everything to find you. Everything," she added, her eyes tearing up.
But she wasn't going to cry. Not when he was here.
"Why?"
Aira blinked rapidly.
"Why? Why?!" she repeated, shaking her head. "Because I love you, for god's sake!" she yelled, without ever thinking twice about her answer.
And, oh, how she regretted it at the moment.
"Why?" Dazai furrowed his brow, his confusion only deepening.
Aira's expression faded, leaving nothing but pure shock.
Why?
Nothing more.
Just a single word.
"Be-because," she stumbled on her own answer with her mouth open agape. "I-I'll be taking some time off of work," she changed the subject with her voice weak.
"Okay," he answered simply, watching her finally lower her gun.
"Okay," she repeated, not feeling her legs.
Hiding her gun behind her belt, she began walking back from where she came, hoping Dazai would stop her.
But he didn't.
He didn't say anything.
He didn't even move for a moment.
Instead, he just stand there, watching her leave.
Finally being able to let her tears stream down her cheeks, Aira found a staircase on which she sat and covered her face with hands.
Her sobs weren't loud. It was the complete opposite — quietly crying in the destroyed building, Aira let out all of her emotions.
All of the sorrow, disappointment and the sound of the heart, entirely broken in pieces.
"My, my. It was like a finale of a soap opera." The male voice caused Aira to immediately look up.
After taking a glance at the person, the first thing she noticed was his clothes, similar to what Dazai was wearing that day. His dark hair were hidden under a fuzzy hat, completely not suitable for Yokohama's weather conditions.
And then she remembered Dazai saying them. He was going to stop them. It wasn't just him and Shibusawa. That meant the man standing in front of her was actually the other participant in the anticipated mass murder.
Without another thought, Aira stood up, taking out her pistol as she pointed it directly at the man.
"Oh, you really think that will help you?" the man lowered his tone, slowly approaching her.
The next thing she saw was only darkness.
~.~
White.
The white ceiling above her was making her eyes burn.
Aira was laying on a bed under warm sheets.
The pain form her injuries was almost completely gone, the only thing reminding her about it being the bandages wrapped around her arm, leg, head, and waist.
Inhaling loudly, Aira sat up, her expression fully petrified. She started reminding herself of the events leading up to the moment she met the man in white. A man that had walked up to her and hit her directly in the head.
Getting up from the unfamiliar bed, she found her coat on the hanger. She was still wearing her usual clothes, but her weapons weren't on their usual place. Taking a look at the room, she began searching for her pistols and knives in one of the dressers, knowing she wouldn't be able to defend herself without them.
What was going on?
Why was she here?
Was she kidnapped?
All of what Aira could've focused on was her missing things. The adrenaline kicked in, causing her survival instinct to room over her.
"If you're looking for your weapons, they're in the beside table's drawer," the male voice spoke, causing Aira to jump.
"What the hell am I doing here?" she rapidly asked, taking a few steps back.
"Oh, you wanted me to leave you unconscious in that fortress? What kind of a person would I have been to let a lady be alone in a place like that?" he answered, smiling as she hit the wall with her back.
She had nowhere to run to.
"First of all, it was you, who knocked me unconscious," she answered, completely changing her tone.
"Yeah, my bad. I might've hit you a bit too hard. Just thought you'd be useful," he smirked, placing his hands behind his back.
"Useful?" she repeated, shaking her head. "Who are you? What do you want from me?"
"Too much questions. I don't know which one to answer first," he replied, smiling mischievously.
Aira scoffed, slowly approaching the bedside table to get her weapons. The man didn't oppose, leading her to think he wasn't going to let her go easily. That's why she needed to come up with a plan sooner rather than later.
"Do you like cello?" he asked nonchalantly, sitting on the side of the bed.
She snorted, hiding her guns behind her belt.
"Villains are so predictable," she smirked, crossing her arms. "Zero answers and questions that make you feel off," she clarified, playing with her knife.
She was far pass the point of being terrified. Working at the Agency, she was used to people acting in the exact same way. And moreover, showing no fear made her appear confident. A thing men like her kidnapped hated the most.
"Now I'm sad Dazai didn't say I love you back," he chuckled, smiling even wider that before. "You're a peculiar woman, Miss Razuki."
"Oh, so that's what's going on," Aira let out a single giggle, furrowing her brow. "Manipulating me to help you with hurting him. Predictable," she whispered, watching him smirk.
"Not precisely," the man answered, standing up. "You didn't answer my previous question," he added, opening the door for her.
"I don't mind cello," Aira responded, walking out of the room. "So? How long was I unconscious?" she asked, putting on her coat.
"Three days," he answered nonchalantly, leading her towards another room with nothing but two chairs in it.
"Not so bad," she shrugged, sitting down to face him. "By the way, thanks for the hospitality," she added, pointing at the bandages he must have put on her.
"No problem," he smiled, placing a cello in front of him.
"And because of that I expect you to want something from me," Aira continued, lowering her head and placing it on her hand. "But don't tell me just now. I'm a detective, I want to deduce it myself," she added, watching him chuckle.
"I see why he likes you," the man stated as he started playing his instrument.
"But it's not only about him, is it?" Aira asked, crossing her arms. "Let's establish what we know. You're aware of my relationship with Dazai, you know I'm working in the Agency. And now, you'll probably kill me if I don't agree on your terms. Quite boring," Aira mumbled, biting her lip.
"It's far from boring," he answered, not stopping playing music.
"Inside information," she ignored him, smiling to herself. "You want to destroy the Agency, don't you?" she added.
"Not only the Agency," he replied in the same manner. "But you'll partially right. I will kill you if you don't help me," he chuckled.
"Care to elaborate?" Aira furrowed her brow, watching him play the cello.
"I need the information about the gifted," he explained briefly.
"Not happening," Aira murmured, watching him raising up one of his eyebrows. "What? Getting murdered is better than being a traitor," she added, getting up from her chair.
"That's naive of you to think that," he stated, glancing at her as she paced through the room.
"Maybe. But I don't even know your name and we're having a conversation about me betraying my coworkers. It's not reasonable as well," she replied, noticing him rolling his eyes.
"Fyodor Dostoevsky," he finally introduced himself, giving her no space to prove her point further.
"That explains that hat," she noted, pointing at the fuzzy white headpiece he was wearing.
"You sure are talkative for someone, who had just been kidnapped," Fyodor noticed, suddenly stopping playing.
"Maybe that proves you're just a shitty kidnapped," Aira shrugged, tucking her hands into the pockets of her coat.
Her palms started sweating.
She couldn't risk him notice that she was already completely petrified.
~.~
Aira took another sip of her whiskey.
Her eyes were puffy and red from crying that evening. After another two days of being held captive, she was finally being let free, hence the first thing she did was to get drunk as quickly as she could.
Fyodor told her part about his plan of starting a war between the Agency and the mafia. Infecting the two leaders with the virus that would made them utterly aggressive, he intended on destroying both of the organizations by letting them the choice of killing one of the leaders in order to save the other.
A sick game she was made to participate in.
Constantly consumed by fear, Aira kept her coolness, acting like nothing serious was happening. She agreed on Fyodor's conditions after she made him promise he wouldn't kill any of her coworkers himself. He gave her the choice of helping them after her part was completed. With him not being entirely involved, Aira still got the chance to protect the ones she cared about.
And yet still, the regret of giving Fyodor the information he wanted was killing her inside.
She meant what she said the first time they talked — being a traitor was worse than any other punishment.
With her trembling hands she picked up the glass filled with the alcohol, emptying it on one breath. She couldn't help the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. Acting like everything was in the best order made her emotionally drained, and now she was simply letting her sorrows come out.
Fyodor's plan was about to start in one week. Considering his conditions, she couldn't return to the Agency's dorm, nor talk with anyone from her work. Being socially isolated from them was something what caused her to drink that night. On the other hand, a week was long enough to come up with a perfect schema of helping the best she could.
And yet, she wasn't used to this lifestyle. Not telling anyone about the dark secrets, not talking to anyone. She wondered if that's how Dazai felt most of the time. Finding herself in the situation similar to his made her more aware what he was going through all of this time.
How she wanted to hold him now.
His warm embrace was the only thing that could've saved her from the depths of despair she was currently drowning in.
Exiting the kitchen to get another drink, she stopped in front of the police tape still located in the entrance of the living room.
For the past couple of days she was hiding in a place she didn't wish to return ever in her life.
The place that brought back the memories of the unfortunate night.
Yet, it had surprised her how she didn't feel sorrow nor anger any longer. It was just pure tranquility that had filled her the moment she stepped her foot on the property she once called home.
With a sad smile, Aira realized she used to referred to the place as her parents' house, not hers. And still in the end, she used to live here, too. Describing the house that way was simply to separate herself from the massacre she took a part in.
But there was no escape now.
The place that changed her completely was now her hideout. And she needed to come to terms with her own past, not only trying to forget about it.
"Cheers, Fyodor," she chuckled to herself, raising a glass of whiskey.
~.~
A week that was spent completely alone changed Aira more than she thought it possibly could. Having the time and place to reconsider her choices, regrets and failures was something she needed for a very long time.
But now, she was going to fulfill the last part of her contract with Fyodor Dostoevsky. Both the President and the leader of the Port Mafia were already infected with the virus, causing both of the organizations to investigate the causes of their sickness.
Now, the final day of Aira's betrayal was coming to its end. During which Fyodor ordered her to join him in one of the alleys, not explaining a single thing about his intention. He claimed that the situation was going to be self-explanatory to her, and with that her trial as being a spy would be completed.
Dressed as usual, Aira hid herself to be completely unnoticed by Fyodor's acquaintance, which she suspected to be Dazai. Why else would he want her to come with him? Dostoyevsky enjoyed sick games and manipulation. On top of that, Aira claimed the situation was going to be nothing but an experiment for him.
Just as expected — it was Dazai, who appeared in the other side of an alley. Wearing Fyodor's hat, he began the conversation.
Aira noticed how her heart skipped a beat; it was the first time in almost two weeks that she saw him. And, oh, how she wanted to hear his voice.
But the conversation took a darker turn that she anticipated — Fyodor and Osamu started talking about the book the Russian was searching for. They discussed about him destroying the Agency and the Port Mafia as Dazai claimed he would probably do the same as him.
But then...
...a sniper shoot Dazai right above his stomach.
Aira covered her mouth with her hand to prevent herself from screaming. Of course Fyodor would've broken his promise. That was to be excepted.
But Dazai had to know that the sniper was going to be there. He had to know Fyodor wasn't going to kill him just then.
And that's what when it struck her.
He brought her here to watch Dazai getting shot. Not to reveal his plan to her but to simply manipulate her enough to crush her psyche.
"Yes. I'll be using this book to create a world without sin... without gifted," Fyodor answered Osamu with a small smile on his face.
"You've promised not to hurt him," Aira spoke slowly, exiting her hiding. Her appearance was met with Dazai rapidly turning her head towards her. He tried to mask his fear, yet his eyes betrayed him.
"And you've agreed on not interfering. I guess we're even now," Fyodor chuckled, watching the expression of both Dazai and Razuki.
"Why is she here?" Osamu asked, covering his wound with the palm of his hand.
"Oh," Aira gasped, finally realizing what was going on.
"Average people are so fun to watch," he added, noticing her sudden change of face mimic. "You finally know why I needed you, right?" he asked nonchalantly.
"Shock value," Aira whispered, pointing slowly at Dazai.
Fyodor didn't need her to tell him about the others' abilities.
He didn't her to be a spy.
He needed her to mentally destroy Dazai.
"He's going to survive. I'll still be needing him," Fyodor started as Aira noticed where this was going. "You, on the other hand."
Without thinking, Aira tried to grab her gun, yet Fyodor was quick to take it from her, pulling the trigger within a split second.
She didn't fully comprehend what was going on when Fyodor disappeared from the alley and she fell down on her back with a gunshot wound in her chest.
She watched Dazai kneeling down next to her, trying to stop her bleeding as he was saying something. Yet, the only thing she could hear was the notorious sound of her gun being fired over and over again in her head.
"...Aira, you're going to be alright," Osamu breathed heavily, his expression entirely terrified.
He didn't believe what he was saying.
"You... wanna know why I wear... my burgundy coat?" Aira managed to ask with the rest of her strength.
"Shh," he murmured panicked, placing her head on his knees.
Was it going to be just like with Oda?
"Because... the blood..," Aira tried to finish her sentence, yet she felt her eyes subconsciously closing.
"I know, I know. Just save your strength," he mumbled, one of his hands placed over her wound, the other stroking her head.
"I'm sorry," she responded, her head feeling heavy.
"Aira, don't close your eyes," she could hear him saying. "Aira!"
"Double... suicide, huh?" she tried to chuckle, yet instead of a giggle only blood had escaped her mouth.
As she saw nothing but darkness for the second time during the past couple of weeks, she smiled weakly.
If she was going to die, at least it was Dazai, who was there with her.
↳ spoiler warning: mentions of Dead Apple (the beginning of the movie)
↳ other warnings: fluffy but gets dark towards the end
↳ a/n: hi! here’s a super adorable chapter, just so you could prepare for the dead apple that comes in ch07
"You did what?!" Yosano exclaimed loudly, almost spitting out the wine she was drinking.
She and Aira were currently in a bar, fulfilling the reoccurring promise of going drinking together.
A few days after the grand battle with the Guild, Aira Razuki was still feeling the excitement and adrenaline going through her veins. Yet, it hadn't been caused by the occurrence itself; it was, most likely, the doings of a certain individual Aira had just admitted to kiss the day of the Agency's party.
"I thought you wouldn't be so surprised," Aira chuckled, sipping on her gin with tonic. "After all, it was you, who told me it was to be expected," she added, watching as the expression on the doctor's face was rapidly changing.
"Well, yeah," Yosano quickly nodded. "But I didn't think you were going to be the one, who kissed him first! I thought you'd chicken out!"
Aira turned her head to the side, covering her mouth with the palm of her hand.
"I'm not that bad at expressing my feelings," she replied, shaking her head to prevent herself from laughing.
"You are!" Yosano objected, giggling in the middle of her exclamation. "So are you official now or something?" she asked casually, however, Aira's response was entirely different.
"I, uh, no," she mumbled, looking down at her hands.
"What do you mean no? From what you said, he's been head over heels for you," the doctor replied, furrowing her brow.
Aira had told her about the events leading up to her kiss with Dazai; she described meeting him in the Art Gallery and how they stayed hugged to each other for almost ten minutes.
It was quite obvious to Yosano that Osamu shared some strong feelings for Aira. Of course, he usually was a flirt, but at that time the doctor was positive the thing between him and her coworker was definitely something more than just the usual Dazai's antics.
"I don't..." Aira started, blinking twice as she realized what she was going to say. "I mean, we've only kissed and went for some drinks later on," she corrected herself, her smile slowly fading.
She wasn't sure if Dazai truly had feelings for her.
She wasn't sure if she wasn't going to be just another woman, he casually flirted with.
But there was one thing she knew for sure — if her worst predictions were to came true, her heart would definitely be shattered into pieces.
"But I can't believe you haven't talked about it in the past four days," Yosano responded, noticing that some things weren't adding up in her mind.
"We did," Aira corrected her, fidgeting with her fingers. "It was just... casual."
"Casual?" Yosano repeated, chuckling right after. "From what I saw it was far from casual," she added, having in mind their interactions at the office.
Every time Aira walked pass by Osamu his eyes were starting to glow, his attention being immediately turned to her.
Each moment he said something moderately stupid, Aira was smiling to herself, returning to her work a few seconds after.
Not to say Yosano hadn't noticed them leaving together for the past four days, always chatting and grinning.
To her, it most definitely wasn't casual.
"I don't know, Yosano," Aira shook her head, gripping her glass of gin. "I don't want to make another move first. I'm scared of forcing him into this," she confessed, shrugging as she said the last word.
"Oh, for fuck's sake," the doctor sighed, placing her head on the palm of her face. "Then get over it or do something," she repeated her advice from two months earlier, getting fed up of Aira's indecisiveness.
"I don't know if I can do any of those things," she admitted, exhaling loudly.
She was being completely honest; getting over it wasn't an option. Her feelings were too vivid, she cared too much about Dazai to let him go.
But on the other hand, she was afraid that by doing something, she could possibly lose her only chance.
With the inner conflict going on inside her mind, Aira had no clue what to do. Battling in her own head, she was even more confused than before even kissing him.
And yet, why seeing him felt so good each time?
"Can't you just walk up to him and confess? Casually. Just as you said," Yosano smirked, using Aira's on weapon against her.
"I..," Aira hesitated, biting her lower lip.
"Oh, so that's where the chickening out comes in," the woman chuckled, taking a sip of her wine. "I know you wouldn't have the guts sooner or later," she added, watching Aira's cheeks covering in red.
"Don't gaslight me, Yosano. That won't work," she scoffed, realizing what the woman was trying to do.
"Why do you act all smart only when it comes to that," the doctor replied with a resigned expression, rolling her eyes at her coworker.
"I'm a detective. That's what I do for a living," Aira laughed, placing her head on the top of the table to avoid the eye contact.
"Sometimes I regret I've decided to become friends with you," Yosano stated sarcastically, refilling her glass of wine.
"It works both ways, you know?" Aira responded in the same manner, getting up from her seat.
"I hope you're going to confess to Dazai now," the doctor said, watching the other woman.
"Nope. I need to order something stronger," Aira replied, wanting to escape the passive-aggressive conversation.
"Drinking won't solve your problems!" Yosano called after her with theatrical confidence in her tone.
"And you're the one to say that?" Aira furrowed her brow, pointing at the half empty glass of hers. "Hypocrite," she added with her eyes closed.
"At least I'm not a coward!"
~.~
"Atsushi, are you okay? You look extremely tired," Aira asked as soon as she noticed the boy entering the office.
His hair was messy, the dark circles surrounded his eyes. He looked just as like he had stayed up all night to complete the most difficult mission in the world.
"I can't get enough sleep, Razuki-san," he replied, yawning just before he managed to sit in front of his desk.
"Kyouka-chan sleeps in my bed now and I've decided to sleep in the wardrobe," he added, causing Aira to hold her chuckle.
"Don't you want to buy a second bed," she responded, biting her lip as she tried not to giggle. "I can even get you one if you want to," she suggested, breaking the eye contact with the boy.
"No, no. It's okay, Razuki-san. I just have to get used to it and I'll be fine," he replied, turning on his computer.
Aira let out a quiet chuckle after he looked away.
She had always liked Atsushi and maybe that was why she felt so bad for him. His innocence and soft heart were the two things always getting him into some unpleasant situations.
Yet at the same time Aira could've claimed he was a good person. Surprising, having in mind she had no appreciation for the concept of good and bad.
Returning back to drinking her usual morning coffee, Aira sighed, glancing at an open file on her computer screen. The report of the grand battle still needed to be written, hence almost all of the members of the Agency were equally tired and bored as her.
Paperwork was never fun, considering the fact that now every single person in the room was forced into doing just that.
However, Aira's desk was her safe space. Being the first one from the left opposite of Atsushi, she had the perfect view of the whole office. Her notes were always organized, just as in the space to her left that belonged to Kunikida. There rarely were any loose papers or pens. Anything that didn't belong on her desk was never there, despite a singular cup, always filled with black coffee. It was the complete opposite of the two desks in front of her — one that belonged to Atsushi, second that belonged to Dazai...
...who, by the way, wasn't even in the room at the moment.
Aira furrowed her brow, glancing at the watch on her hand.
Nine in the morning.
It wasn't unlike him to be late, however, it was extraordinarily disrespectful from him to not show at the appropriate time that day.
Hence why the first thing Aira did, noticing Osamu entering their headquarters forty minutes later, was to immediately get up.
"Why are you so late?" she asked without hesitation, holding a pile of papers close to her chest.
"It's nice to see you too, Razuki-chan," he teased her, ignoring her question.
He knew exactly what he was doing.
Saying hello to Atsushi, he nonchalantly sat behind his desk, placing his hands behind his neck.
"I'm being serious, Dazai!" Aira approached him, standing next to his right side. "Have you seen the amount of work you're ought to do?" she stated rhetorically, grabbing onto the papers she was holding.
"Careful here. You're starting to morph into Kunikida-kun," Osamu answered casually, smirking with his eyes closed.
The next thing he felt was a bunch of papers hitting his head.
"I don't think violence in a workplace is appropriate with our policy, my dear," he responded, watching with one eye open how her jaw clenched.
"Get. To. Work," she ordered, separating each word.
"Nope," he smirked, answering plainly.
With a loud scoff, Aira returned to her desk, trying not to look at him. They may have shared a kiss but that wasn't changing the fact he was as annoying as ever.
Starting to write another paragraph of her report, Aira tapped her fingers on the desk, waiting for the inspiration to appear.
She absolutely despised this type of paperwork; fighting was her most preferred task. Yet, no matter how boring the job might have seem — it needed to be done and finished. The sooner the better.
Forcing herself into writing first four sentences, Aira began to feel like it was actually going somewhere. It definitely was not about to be her best work, but the job was being done.
Just as she was starting writing another sentence, she noticed Atsushi get up. That seemed to be exactly the factor she saw Osamu lean a bit forward.
"Razuki-chan," she heard him whisper.
"Razuki-chaaan," he repeated, this time extending one letter.
"Razuki."
"Shut up, Dazai. I'm trying to work," she finally answered, glancing at him with the absolute death's stare.
"Let's go out," he suggested, placing his chin on the palms of his both hands.
"No. I'm busy," she responded without thinking. However, realizing what he had just said, Aira couldn't help but blink twice.
"Not now, silly," he smirked, still looking directly at her. "But let's go out," he repeated.
"I might say yes if you finish your report," she answered with a grim tone, however, she couldn't help but blush.
"That's disgusting," Kunikida's voice interrupted as he looked at both of his coworkers with a furrowed brow.
"What's disgusting?" Atsushi interfered as he was about to return to his desk.
"Dazai's flirting with Razuki," Ranpo joined the conversation, taking a bite of his cookie.
"He's not!" Aira objected, feeling her face turning completely red. "You're not, right?" she asked, searching for a confirmation to finish this topic.
Yet, instead of answering, he simply shrugged and smirked as he was looking away.
"He totally is," Yosano responded, appearing right behind Kunikida.
"What's going on here?" Kenji asked, clearly confused.
"I think they're together," Kyouka answered quietly, and only now Aira realized that she had been standing all of that time behind Ranpo.
"I hate you. I hate all of you," Aira mumbled, covering her face with her hands.
~.~
"But it was funny!"
"It was embarrassing, Dazai!" Aira objected, taking a break from eating her pasta.
"Yeah, that's exactly why it was funny," he responded cockily, feeling Aira kicking his leg from under the table. "Hey, behave. We're in a restaurant," he reminded her, only to annoy her even further.
"No shit," she scoffed, rolling her eyes.
That afternoon Dazai had finished his report. That meant that just as she promised, Aira agreed on him taking her out to the restaurant.
It was unspoken, however, the both of them knew it was a date.
And yet, Aira was too afraid to start a topic that had recently troubled her mind. After all, none of them couldn't simply bring up the subject of their feelings just like that.
"I'm quite disappointed you've only kissed me once, you know?"
Oh.
Dazai apparently could.
"Excuse me?" Aira choked on her food, completely unprepared for him to start the topic just now.
"Well, I thought the feeling was mutual. That's why I was waiting to see what you'll do," he shrugged with a smirk. "But there was no interest from your side, so I've decided to invite you on a date," he explained.
Aira's eyes wide opened, making her forget she was in the middle of chewing her pasta.
Swallowing both the food and the gulp in her throat, she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
Moreover, she couldn't believe Yosano was right.
"Hello? You're there?" Dazai asked with a childlike tone, waving his hand in front of her face.
"I-I... The feeling is mutual," she rapidly responded, not realizing she had just made Osamu laugh.
"You're so adorable when you're clueless," he replied with a grin on his face.
"You know what?" she asked, quickly returning to her usual persona.
"What, my love?"
"I was kidding. You're pissing me off," Aira stated, looking away. She couldn't help the soft smile that had just appeared on her face.
"Oh, how could you say that? You're breaking my heart," he theatrically cried, placing a hand over his chest.
"You're pissing me off but I still like you, though," she corrected herself, toying with her fork. "I guess I'm a masochist," she added, watching Dazai smiling goofily from ear to ear.
"I like you too," he answered, putting the emphasis on the exact word she used.
Having another one in mind, he quickly dismissed the idea of using it, simply because of the comedic aspect of his sentence.
But, oh.
How badly he wanted to choose different words to describe how he was feeling towards her.
~.~
"This is unfair," Aira mumbled during taking off her shoes.
"What's unfair?" Dazai chuckled, glancing at her overly expressive face mimic.
"This," she repeated, slowly doing a spin in his living room. "Your flat is so much nicer than mine is. That's unfair," she explained after taking a look at the furniture.
"That's because I'm a better detective, my love. I deserve a nicer flat," he smirked, closing the distance between the two of them.
After their dinner in the restaurant, they both decided it was time to go somewhere more private. Talking about their feelings in a crowded place was less more intimate, hence Dazai suggested they could spend time in his apartment instead. With Aira agreeing, they both set off to the place of the dorm.
The dorm, or rather an apartment complex owned by the Agency, was a secluded building where most of the employees lived. This system allowed them to warn each other in an urgent state but also visit one's flat to socialize. Hence lately Dazai was finding his way to Razuki's flat probably more often than he should.
Today, however, the roles were reversed. It was Aira, who visited Dazai and immediately started complaining about the sizing of their houses. He was an employee of the Armed Detective Agency longer than her, and because of that he got the significantly nicer flat.
She fully understood that, however it was no excuse for her to start complaining.
"You're not a better detective. You're just cunning," she responded, feeling his hands wrapping around her waist.
"Yeah, that's one of the traits of a good detective. You're not making your point," he answered, kissing the top of her head.
Putting her hand on his chest, Aira exhaled loudly, poking her finger into his side.
"Hey, you're destroying the moment," Dazai complained, grabbing her hand with his own.
Placing it on the crook of his neck, he lowered his face, stopping right on the height of her lips.
"Oh, we were having a moment? I've only heard your ginormous ego," Aira teased, subconsciously closing her eyes and leaning slowly forward.
"Nah, that's it. No kiss for you today," he quickly exclaimed, breaking the hug and taking a few steps back.
"Oh, come on," Aira complained loudly, crossing her arms in front of herself. "Now you're just being petty," she mumbled, watching Dazai bluntly ignoring her.
With a smirk on his face, he walked into his bedroom, grabbing the book that was laying on his bedside table. Nonchalantly resting on the bed, he opened it in the middle with the intention to annoy Aira.
His plan was successful, hence the woman only furrowed her brow.
"Don't act like a child, I was messing with you," she admitted, noticing Dazai raising his eyebrows, only to return to reading his book.
"So you're just going to ignore me now?" Aira continued, watching his still expression. "That's rude, considering you've invited me here," she added, approaching him. Yet, he still didn't say a word.
With a noisy frown, Aira took out the book from his hands, placing it on the surface of the bedside table.
"I was reading that," he responded, a grin painted on his face.
"You have it memorized by now," she stated, referring to the 'Complete guide to suicide', he was carrying with himself on daily basis.
A spark appeared in Dazai's eyes, which wasn't unnoticed by Aira. But before she had a chance to ask him about the sudden change of his face expression, he grabbed her hand, pulling her towards him. Caught off guard, Aira lost her balance, landing with her chest beside Dazai and her legs on his lap.
"What the hell, Osamu?" Aira chuckled, noticing how his eyes widened.
"How did you call me?" he asked with a dreamy tone watching the theatrical panic appearing on her face.
"Move, I'm getting up," she said, rapidly trying to change the subject.
"Tsk, tsk. You're not going anywhere," he replied, placing his hands on her back to prevent her from standing up.
Without putting up a fight, Aira smashed her head into the pillow, knowing that she won't be able to avoid the conversation.
"I've never heard you saying my name... and I must say, I'm thoroughly enjoying the sound of it," he added, causing her to turn her head towards him.
"And on that note I'm not calling you by your first name ever again," she responded, feeling him hugging her closer.
"You're a cruel woman, my love," Dazai chuckled, planting a kiss on her cheek.
"I think you've missed," Aira smirked, placing a finger on her lips. "What?" she asked, noticing his huge grin.
"You'd forgotten one word," he teased her, knowing she would immediately know what he was talking about.
"I think you've missed, Osamu," she repeated herself, rolling her eyes. "Can I have my kiss now?" she spoke with a demanding tone, causing Dazai to chuckle.
"I think you're my most favorite person in the world," he whispered, kissing her on her lips, just as he promised.
"What about Chuuya?" she asked, biting her lip to prevent herself from laughing.
"Jesus, Aira. He's the last thing I want to think about now," he laughed, looking away for a second.
"I'm sorry. I just can't get over it," she responded with a giggle, this time being the one, who planted a small kiss on his lips.
With the biggest smile on her face, she ran her fingers through his hair, gently closing her eyes. Aira had no idea such a relationship could have bring her so much joy, so much happiness. It was like she finally was in the right place with the right person.
For the most part of her life she had experienced none of those things. Her sense of belonging was so weak, she often felt like no one ever wanted her anywhere she went.
With Dazai, however, she finally wasn't in the dark anymore. And there was no other place she would've rather been.
But was it what love felt like?
She had no clue, hence she hesitated with doing anything and everything.
Maybe some time a realization would came upon her, but just now, she intended on doing only what her gut feeling told her to.
And yet still, what was this electric sensation filling every cell, tissue, and muscle of her body?
You're my favorite person in the world.
He was hers too.
So why was she so afraid to tell him that?
Osamu and her felt asleep last night together, hence she hadn't returned to her apartment and didn't manage to charge her phone, which usually informed her about getting up from the bed the morning next.
"Shhh, 's not morning yet," he mumbled, turning towards her and wrapping his arm around her stomach.
"Dazai, it's ten o'clock. We're late to work," she explained, trying to get up from the bed.
"How about we don't go to work today," he responded, placing his head on her chest.
"No. No way," she objected quickly, but couldn't bring herself to push him back. He looked too innocent laying like that.
"Come onnn," he murmured, snuggling up with her.
"No. Get up, I'm not your pillow," she stated, trying to slowly move to the left.
"But you are," Osamu yawned, opening one of his eyes.
"Dazai, get up. I'm not repeating herself again," she ordered, managing to crawl away from his warm embrace.
"Shush and come back here," he added, reaching out his arm wanting to hug her one more time.
Aira shook her head, putting on her black pants. She couldn't help but smile to herself while looking at Osamu, still half asleep; his messy, wavy hair spread across the white pillowcase, his arm in mid-air, waiting for her to join him again, his rosy from waking up cheeks. He looked absolutely angelic like that.
"Quit staring and come to bed," he interrupted her thoughts, yawning one more time.
"We really need to go to work," she responded, however, still decided to lean down and hug him.
"Now I'm not letting you go anywhere," he smirked, pulling her closer to him.
"You can get your rest in the evening," she responded. This sentence was exactly the thing that caused Dazai to sit up and realize it was the day next.
"No, I can't," he replied with a more serious tone.
"What do you mean you can't?" Aira repeated, sitting up next to him.
He couldn't tell her.
He couldn't tell her about Shibusawa and Dostoyevsky.
"Nothing," he responded, quickly returning to his usual quirky persona. "I was thinking of visiting Oda today," he added, swiftly changing the subject.
"Oh..." Aira whispered, realizing what he was talking about.
The night they had their first kiss, she asked him about explaining who Oda Sakunosuke was. As they decided to go for some drinks that night, he told her his whole story about leaving the Port Mafia, saying it was mainly because of Oda's last words.
That was why a thing clicked in Aira's head at that moment. It seemed to her like he needed time to visit his grave that day, hence he wasn't so keen on going to the headquarters.
...or at least that was what he wanted her to think.
"Do you need some time alone? If so, I entirely understand, you know?" Aira rambled, completely losing her reprimanding tone.
She understood how painful it was to lost someone so close to him. Having seen her parents murder scene, she couldn't imagine how hard it was for him to watch his best friend dying in his hands, hence she decided to not investigate further. She possibly couldn't do that.
"You can come with me if you want to," Dazai responded with a soft smile.
"Only if you're comfortable with it," she smiled back, getting up from the bed.
"You look good in my clothes," he changed the subject, glancing at his shirt he was wearing.
Deciding to stay over a night, Dazai had lend her one of his clothing items so she'd had something to sleep in.
As his words were spoken, they were not only meant to digress but also to simply compliment her.
"Thanks," she plainly responded, chuckling to herself.
As they both got dressed, they set off to the graveyard Oda was buried at.
Not knowing if she should start a conversation, Aira quietly walked next to Dazai. Instead of driving, they decided to walk. Feeling the gentle sun rays on their skin and the breeze messing up their hair, Osamu looked at Aira, taking her by the hand. If it wasn't for the grim atmosphere of the place they were going to, the scenery could easily be complimenting a romantic walk.
"Have you coped with your past, my love?" Dazai suddenly asked, causing Aira to furrow her brow.
"Why this question all of the sudden?" she wondered, thinking the second after that it was probably him wanting to know the answer because they were going to see his friends grave.
Not realizing the question could have meant something more, Aira internally cursed herself out in her mind.
"Sorry, I know where you coming from," she apologized, knowing she needed to answer now. "I think so. Maybe not entirely but I'm getting there," she responded, glancing at him.
"Good," he simply said, stroking her fingers with his thumb. "But when the memories come back, remember to just brush them away. They can't hurt you, they're just memories," he added, making Aira even more confused than before.
However, she had no idea if she was in the right place to question him. She knew how strongly the death of Oda affected him, hence not wanting to make him more miserable than she thought he was, she decided not to ask any questions.
"I've never said it... but I'm truly sorry for your loss," Aira said softly, noticing a sad smile appearing on his face.
"It's okay, my love," Dazai chuckled quietly, kissing her cheek. "You hide behind this facade of a cold person a bit too often sometimes," he added, referring to her words.
"I... I guess you're right," she admitted, looking down at her feet. "But I'm getting softer because of you," she added, biting her lip.
Dazai smiled in response, knowing that what she was saying was exactly the thing he wanted to warn her about.
Vulnerability was the last thing she needed right now.
"Don't change for others. No matter how much you like them," he added.
"I could never...," Aira stopped herself, wondering if what she was going to say was true.
She had changed for others so many times in the past; firstly, because of her parents, who wanted her to become a doctor. She cut off her friends, focusing only on studying.
Only because she wanted them to love her.
As second came her change for the Agency. She acted tough and cold, shared none of her personal experiences and hid behind the mask of someone, who didn't care about anything. Only because she didn't want to be hurt by anyone else anymore.
Then, she thought she was finally starting to change for herself. Cutting ties with her past, becoming more and more open, smiling more.
But just now she realized it was for Dazai.
She became genuine but that had only lead her to becoming vulnerable.
Only because she wanted to feel wanted once again.
Aira Razuki had no idea, who she truly was.
Her whole existence was based on wanting, not being something she needed to be in order to feel like herself.
And now, with Dazai's words she didn't know if what she was feeling for him was true.
She wanted it to be true, but was it what she was doing for herself or him?
Her hand started trembling at the thought of her lying to herself once again.
But then she remembered how much joy and happiness she felt each time she saw him.
How she was scared of him being not interested in her.
How she was feeling electric every second she spent with him.
And only because of him holding her hand just then, she realized he was one of the most real things in her life. He was the reason behind her feeling alive once again. And as long as she put the line between genuine and vulnerable, she wasn't changing herself for others again.
No.
She was finally becoming her own authentic self.
"We're here," Dazai spoke calmly as they stood in front of the gates of the cemetery.
Aira tightened the grip on his hand to give him the sense of support, joining him in the walk to the graveyard. Without any problem Dazai found his way to the gravestone with Oda written on it. Sitting right in front of it, Dazai had closed his eyes, smiling softly to himself.
Aira watched him from behind, not wanting to interfere with the moment. He needed some time alone, she fully understood that.
Watching him carefully, Aira noticed Atsushi coming their way. Turning her head towards him, she smiled as he waved back to her.
Soon after that the church bells started ringing and the boy approached Dazai, who was still sitting in front of the grave.
Stepping aside to let them talk, Aira thought once again about the words Osamu had said to her on their walk to the cemetery.
When the memories come back, he said.
Not if the memories came back.
He knew that they were about to come.
Sooner or later.
~.~
"Burned corpses, fog and suicide. That's a case for a mortician not a detective," Aira mumbled, sipping her black coffee during the emergency meeting Kunikida had presided over. "What?" she asked, noticing a reprimanding glance of her blonde coworker.
"Speaking of suicide... Atsushi, where's that fool Dazai?"
Right.
Just after Atsushi came to the graveyard, he had informed that they needed to be present during the meeting that was taking place just now. Apparently, there had been numerous occurrences of mass suicides of the gifted people in different parts of the world. To be completely frank, Aira couldn't see how that huge number of people could come up with a plan to commit suicide at the same time, in the same places.
It was strange, to say at least.
Another strange things about that day was that Dazai decided to ditch the meeting. He didn't even show any signs of concern when Atsushi mentioned it.
"He said he was going to pass, because he came up with a new suicide technique," Atsushi responded, small drops of sweat appearing on his forehead.
Was it a coincidence?
"That bonehead!" Doppo yelled, causing Aira to grimace at the sudden change of his tone.
With that, the commotion started in the meeting room. Tanizaki siblings started to argue with each other, Ranpo was in the middle of packing his snacks to, what it looked like, a safe box, and Kunikida continued to get angry about Dazai not showing up.
"So, what does it have to do with us?" Yosano asked, her eyes fixed on the computer screen. "There's more to this than just, "Let's be careful, we're gifted, too," right?" she added, causing Aira to nod.
"Like this day couldn't be better," she sighed loudly, placing her head on the table.
They were being warned about mass suicides...
But why any of them would commit such thing?
Maybe despite Dazai.
It made Aira think about the whole premise of the situation. It soon had been made clear that the detectives were meant to capture Shibusawa Tatsuhiko — a man, who apparently had been involved in the serial suicides of the gifted.
~.~
Sitting on the floor of her apartment, Aira was directly in her usual settings; her laptop in front of her, piles of paper stacked upon each other. Three empty coffee cups were placed on the coffee table behind her.
She was currently investigating the abilities of the people that died during the mass suicides, while Kunikida and Tanizaki were out in the town, searching for clues.
However, this time Aira didn't complain about the paperwork. In fact, she was more terrified discovering the gifts of the victims, than she would be out on a mission.
It was strange.
Every single person that was said to had committed suicide had the exact same abilities they were found being affected by.
"It's a mass murder," Aira murmured to herself, completely terrified.
If the person, who appeared in the places of the killing was in their town, that meant...
...Yokohama was going to be his next target.
Without thinking, Aira picked up her phone, dialing Kunikida's number with her hand trembling. If the killer was here, that meant they were in soon going to be in severe danger.
And she couldn't possibly forgive herself if they turned out to be dead.
"Razuki?"
"Thank god you're okay," Aira said, being grateful he picked up her phone. "Doppo, they're not suicides, they're..."
"Murders," Doppo finished her sentence with a morbid tone. "Listen, Razuki. Don't leave your flat unless it's an emergency. I beg of you," he added, sounding as concerned as she was.
"Is Dazai with you?" she asked, realizing she hadn't heard from him since she had saw him at the graveyard.
"No... but Aira, don't do anything stupid!"
"I won't," she mumbled, hanging up the phone.
She couldn't feel her legs nor any part of her body in particular.
She was more terrified than ever.
Swallowing the gulp in her throat, she decided to try to call Dazai, yet he didn't pick up.
He hadn't picked up any of her next six calls.
With an unsteady breath, Aira watched the dark sky from her window.
Every single of the killings happened in the middle of the night. If anything was to occur — it was only the matter of time that night.
She couldn't listen to Doppo. She couldn't stay at home when Dazai was still out there.
Her phone rang.
"Hello?" Aira breathed heavily, not checking, who called her before she picked up.
She truly hoped it was Dazai.
"Miss Razuki? It's Ango Sakaguchi," the voice on the other side of the phone said.
"Ango? Why are you calling me?" Aira asked, fully petrified.
"I know you're close to Dazai but listen carefully. He's involved in bringing Shibusawa to Yokohama. I need you to..."
"What do you mean he's involved?" She tried her best for her voice not to break, yet unsuccessfully.
"I'll explain later. We don't have much time," the government agent rushed her. "I need... y...to th..."
"I can't hear you," Aira mumbled petrified. The signal of the phone was getting only weaker.
"Sk...ll fo—."
"Ango, repeat," she panicked, having no idea what was going on.
"Sk... fortre..."
The call was broken.
"Fortress," Aira murmured with her eyes wide open. "The Skull Fortress," she spoke, connecting the dots.
Wasting no time, she approached one of her drawers, pulling out a gun and the ammunition. Stocking it up to the slides of her belt and wrists, she picked up her set of two knives.
She needed to stop this.
She needed to help her friends and...
Dazai.
Was he the one truly responsible for all of this?
Was it the reason why he acted so suspicious this morning?
Was it the suicide technique he told Atsushi about?
Running out of her apartment, she knew she couldn't hesitate any longer. Finding her way to one of the streets, she noticed that the cars were abandoned in the middle the road, but...
...there were no corpses nor alive people around.
Her hand stopped trembling as the sudden realization hit her once again.
The people weren't there because they weren't the target. The gifted were.
Breathing heavily as she stopped in the middle of running, she realized she needed to find Kunikida and the other detectives.
They had better chances of surviving if they stayed together, not separated.
But just as she was about to run back towards the direction of the dorm, she felt a knife being thrown at her, fortunately missing her shoulder.
Turning back to see, who the attacker was, she couldn't believe her eyes.
The thing standing in front of her definitely wasn't a person.
It looked like a blue hologram. The sparkling red crystal on its forehead shined in the moonlight, making its eyes appear almost invisible.
No, it didn't have eyes. Just two empty holes fixed directly at Aira.
But then she noticed the resemblance; hair tied up into a bun, a long coat, two knives in its hands.
↳ other warnings: mild manipulation, gets super fluffy
↳ a/n: i had a really bad day & I’m posting this part a day earlier so at least you can have some fun! love ya guys xx
It was almost like the weight was lifted from Aira Razuki the moment she saw the city being bombed from above.
That was the exact time she realized that there was so much more to life for — and watching from the side was plainly pointless.
She had so much more to give, so much more to receive.
She was used to telling herself she didn't need anyone but herself, claiming the others weren't keen on showing her the affection she so dearly longed for. But now the weight of her past was lifting. Aira realized that it was going to be a process, rather than a single situation.
And yet, she was going to participate in it with all of her strength and will.
Returning to her old habits of scheduling the work, she came up with a plan that was going to help her achieve the peace of mind; firstly, the Agency needed to defeat the Guild. That was the priority. Secondly came the need of stop pitying herself. It surely was going to take some time, yet by saying the problem out loud, Aira was a few steps closer to solve it.
And lastly... there was the whole Dazai-situation.
To be completely honest, Aira had no clue what to do about it just now. Her guess was she'll just had to see how the things would go on the span of the following days, maybe weeks.
However now, she started naming what she actually felt. The jealously, worry, concern, affection… They were just parts of a definitely more complexed factor. The factor that Aira had noticed just as she and Dazai were laying on that beige couch in her living room.
Those feelings weren't singular, they had appeared earlier in her life, creating a bubble that was only vivid just now.
And Aira was certain she couldn't push it back any further.
Walking into the Agency's main room, she was ready for another exhausting day. Solving the three-way conflict was the most important thing now, hence regaining all of her focus, she needed to help with the plan Dazai had told her about yesterday's evening.
Teaming up with the mafia.
Sometimes the problems required unconventional solutions that weren't exactly what one wanted. Yet, the notion of the greater good was stronger than anything else Aira had ever felt.
However, her intention of getting to her desk and started working was dismissed as soon as she noticed Osamu, laying face down on one of the Agency's couches.
"For god's sake, Dazai, get up. We have work to do," Aira exhaled loudly, sitting on the sofa opposite of him.
"But I don't want tooo," he replied with a childlike tone.
Sighing again, Aira grabbed the pile of paper she brought with herself, placing it on the coffee table between them. Ignoring the man, who had just started watching her carefully, she took out her pen, scribbling on one of the pages.
"We need to get Atsushi on that ship again," she mumbled to herself, turning the pages of one of the brochures. "The back of the Moby Dick would definitely be... no. They'll be expecting this," she continued, glancing at the blueprint in front of her as she tapped her fingers on the surface of the wooden table.
"Front entrance," Dazai whispered lazily, trying to help the ideas spark in Aira's head and at the same time hold onto the idea of not working himself.
"You think?" she responded, biting the tip of her pen.
"I don't knooow, I don't feel like working," he yawned, returning to his previous state of mind.
"Stop sounding like a broken trumpet first thing in the morning," Kunikida claimed, walking up to where his coworkers were seated.
"Hi, Razuki," he added, glancing at her, completely buried in the papers in front of her.
In response, Aira only raised the palm of her free hand, carefully watching the Moby Dick's blueprint she got from an American hacker earlier that morning.
"I don't even feel like holding a conversation now, Kunikida-kun," Dazai complained, his eyes still closed.
"This town was saved from annihilation thanks to you and Atsushi," Doppo glanced over the two detectives. "So why have you ended up like this the next day and Razuki is acting as usual?" he asked, this time speaking only to Dazai.
"Cause overworking myself makes me feel safe," Aira explained quickly, returning to the pile of papers.
"And the boss has lined me up for this new job..." Dazai turned his head from Kunikida, facing the back of the sofa now.
"Is this what Atsushi and the boss was discussing yesterday?" Doppo wondered.
"It is," the President said, appearing right behind the blonde detective.
With the soft sweep of her hand, Aira hid the blueprint of the ship under a report she had written yesterday. She didn't want her boss to know she got it.
Her informer was an acquaintance of Dazai and the matters Aira and him were discussing were nothing that needed to be brought up just now.
As Razuki and Dazai returned back to the dorm yesterday, he had told her of how people knowing too much weren't a good thing. Then, he suggested her getting in contact with the American hacker, who stored the information about the Guild's abilities. Apparently, he had worked with them before, hence he knew everything of insides and outs.
That was also the moment Aira asked Osamu not to lie to her ever again. She claimed knowing his plans would benefit the both of them and she would feel significantly more comfortable with the schema, they were about to maintain.
This moment became an unspoken partnership between the two of them, making them almost appear like partners in crime.
That was also the exact reason why Aira knew about the meeting with the Port Mafia that the President and Dazai were currently talking about.
As the President said goodbye to them, taking his turn back to his office, Aira returned to her work, as she was the one in charge of the planning to get Atsushi at the Moby Dick.
"Oi, Dazai..." Kunikida whispered, still standing completely straight. "A secret meeting with the Port Mafia?!" he shouted as soon as the President walked out of the room.
"One of the greatest Atsushi-kun ideas," Aira replied nonchalantly.
"It turned out to be a great deal," Dazai continued, looking out of the window. "Even though the Guild is now our biggest threat..."
"Wait a second!" Kunikida interrupted him angrily. "I have no idea what's going on! First of all, why are you the one arranging the meeting?"
"Because I'm originally from the Port Mafia," Dazai responded casually, causing the further state of shock to Doppo.
"What?!" he wondered out look, immediately glancing at Aira. "Why aren't you surprised?!" he asked her, causing her to giggle.
"Everybody knows about it apart from you, Kunikida-kun," Osamu responded softly.
"What?!"
Aira couldn't help herself but laugh. Doppo's reaction was understandable, yet so extraordinarily funny to her.
"You know, at least Kunikida-kun here is acting confused and not trying to kill me like you, Razuki-chan," Dazai chuckled quietly, gaining a reprimanding stare from Aira.
"I wasn't trying to kill you!" she argued trying to sound serious, yet the tone of her voice completely betrayed her.
~.~
The Port Mafia killed her parents.
She killed seven of their members without hesitation.
Aira always thought standing face to face with their leader would make her blood boil.
And yet, it was peaceful.
She watched Dazai and the President talk to the Mafia Boss just as she and Kunikida were standing in the back, carefully observing how the situation would go.
Anger wasn't something going through her system. Oh, no.
It was pure joy, satisfaction and confidence surrounding her.
Those feelings reached their top as soon as her and Chuuya's eyes met. Casually waving to him, she watched an appearing grimace on his face, followed by him looking away.
It felt splendid.
That exact moment made her question why she hadn't thought of regaining her confidence earlier; her life was so much better when she wasn't constantly thinking about her past.
It was just like discovering the new aspect of her ability; new, raw, refreshing. Only this time, she felt more powerful than ever before. Not because of her physical strength or gifts, but because she knew she was the master of her own thoughts.
And all it took was to see the city burning.
Or maybe the thing that had started all of this was Dazai hugging her?
"So what about this? We settle our accounts here and now," the President spoke, grabbing the top of his katana.
Aira and Doppo subconsciously tensed up, preparing for the possibility of the fight.
But with a blink of an eye, Razuki realized that their boss knew what he was doing. The absence of Tanizaki, whose ability allowed him to create an illusion, meant that the plan was already being completed.
She was right; the President and the Mafia Boss exchanged a single attack, only to find themselves being held at knifepoint by one another.
With the sour exchange of words, the President's silhouette suddenly faded away, leaving nothing but green light around the other man.
With the mention of retrieving Q, the kid that was responsible for the doll incident, and the threat from the Agency to the Mafia, Aira decided to adjust her gun beside her belt. Apparently no intervention was needed.
As the Agency members returned to the insides of the building in front of which the meeting was taking place, all of the fellow members prepared for their further tasks.
Aira was getting ready to go back to the headquarters, expanding the plan regarding the final battle she was coordinating. Yet, on the span of a few seconds, she noticed Dazai walking into the direction of her car.
"Weren't you supposed to go capture Q?" she asked as soon as she saw him approaching her.
"Later," he plainly responded, getting into the passenger seat of the vehicle.
"I'm going back to the..."
"I know," he interrupted her, watching her sit down as well. "I wanted to talk to you," he added, fastening his seatbelt.
"I'm listening," she replied, turning on the engine of the car.
"Since Kyouka has been captured, I think we should make the grand battle be her entrance exam," he stated, his voice as firm as ever.
"That's a shitty idea," Aira snorted, but she couldn't help smiling a little. She noticed herself doing that a bit more often in his presence.
"I disagree," Dazai smirked, toying with the bandage that was wrapped around his broken arm.
"Then give me one good reason," she replied. Having the kids be in danger was the last thing she could've possibly wanted.
"It'll be fun," he responded nonchalantly.
"I don't know why I even bothered asking," Aira scoffed, stopping as the traffic on the street started to form.
"Because you always need to justify your actions, my love," Dazai stated with confidence, yet at the same time — calm. "But sometimes the explanations are not needed. Sometimes you need to see what will happen," he added.
"You've become extraordinarily stoic since I went to that warehouse," Aira noted, carefully observing him. "What exactly are you planning to do?" she asked, still full of suspicion.
"With what?" he responded evasively, acting like he didn't know what she was talking about.
And then Aira realized that meant he wasn't going to tell her a single thing just then. It was pointless of her to investigate further.
"You seem to have read too much romance novels, my dear," she chuckled softly. "Women in real life don't really like mysterious men."
There was a smirk Dazai had sent her before focusing his eyes on her face.
"But do you?" he asked innocently, causing her breath to shorten.
"That's a tricky one."
~.~
That was it.
Aira had finally come up with the perfect plan of the final battle. And only after she was done, she realized once again the true meaning behind her conversation with Dazai.
The speech of letting things happen in reality meant that Aira needed to assume the Port Mafia's input one of their members was going to have.
She couldn't comprehend how easily Dazai thought about it and how swiftly he made her brain work in the exact way that it needed to work.
So vague, yet so brilliant.
It made Aira question how often she underestimated Dazai before she found out about his past. His intelligence was what drove her to him the most; the way he was planning out everything was simply genius.
And, oh, how she admired that.
Smiling to herself, she entered her kitchen, washing the rice before cooking it. She hadn't often experienced the domestic aspect of life; after all, it was always a mission or an appointment that was more important than cooking for herself.
Yet now, in the midst of the possible crisis, she was able to prepare her favorite dish without even thinking twice about the things that needed to be done.
Another ten minutes passed as her vegetables were cut, her sauce was ready and rice cooked perfectly. The sun began to settle and for the first time in a long time, Aira took a glance at the sunset.
The usual color of blue was fading away, getting replaced by soft pink and orange clouds. The wind was blowing gently, making the trees move its branches with green leaves, looking just like tiny little ballet dancers. The last rays of the sun were shining into her living room, making the place shine orange, almost tangerine.
As Aira sat down to eat her dinner, she received a text message from Dazai:
Chuuya-kun's here. I think he'll be completely pissed of if you came.
Aira chuckled to herself, knowing that the text message literally meant: "please, please Aira, come help me annoy him".
Taking her time to finish the food she had prepared, she thought about how much she truly adored Dazai.
At that moment she was one hundred percent positive he was the reason for the recent change in her mindset.
Grabbing her burgundy coat and the keys of her car, Aira decided to actually join the two men that once used to work together. It surprised her how much they truly despised each other; of course, she thought of them as the complete opposite, yet working by one's side meant they had to at least tolerate the other person.
Right?
Aira shook her head, arriving fifteen minutes later to the place the whole affair was about to happen.
But what she saw made her eyes wide open.
There was a creature in the middle of the field, which almost resembled an octopus or a squid.
As soon as Chuuya attacked it, four of the testicles fell of, yet almost immediately regenerated.
Jumping out of her car, Aira noticed Chuuya getting tossed around, only to later on see him flying above the creature which prepared for another attack.
"Hey, redhead! Need some help?" she shouted, a wide smile appearing on her face as she saw him.
"You again?!" he shouted, not interrupting his fight.
"Can you learn answering to the questions?" she asked loudly, rolling up the sleeves of her shirt.
Chuuya only managed to sigh before he decided to fly above the monster once again. Without the proper reply to Aira, she noticed him using his ability on the body of the creature...
...which at the same time seemed to be having a bomb inside its body.
But something was wrong about Chuuya as well. His eyes didn't seemed to be having pupils, his body covered in red stripes, making Aira completely unsure of the situation.
What was going on?
But within a split second, Aira used her gift on the mafia member's ability to stop the monster in time, which meant it wasn't going to move before it was destroyed both from the bomb and from Chuuya.
And just like that, everything around the field the fight was happening on went stark white. The dust was flying around, and some of the creature's remains were stuck in Aira's hair as she was the one, who stood the closest to it.
"Ew," she grimaced, taking off some part of a slimy testicle out of her hair.
Not another moment after the dust settled, revealing Chuuya, who stood in the middle of the battlefield, laughing maniacally.
Still using his ability, he started shooting crimson orbs, causing Aira to blink rapidly.
"He's mad or something," she mumbled to herself, watching as Dazai walked up to his former coworker and stopped him in the middle of the chaos he was causing.
"I told you to stop me as soon as it was over," the mafia member exhaled, completely exhausted.
"I was going to but it was too entertaining to watch," Dazai replied swiftly.
"I used Corruption because I trusted you," Chuuya continued, his voice as weak as never before.
Without thinking, Aira approached the two of the men closer, rapidly grabbing Chuuya's body before he collapsed.
"What the hell was that, Dazai?" Aira mumbled, trying to use her ability to retrieve the state of the mafia member. However, unsuccessfully.
"Do you still want to know about everything that happens?" he answered with a question.
Aira watched him getting up from the field with her mouth agape, completely unable to say a word for a moment.
"I..." she finally started, still holding Chuuya. "It was the part of our pact," she stated.
"Alright then," Dazai replied with his usual smirk, grabbing the unconscious mafia member to carry him to the car.
Aria kneeled down for a bit longer before joining Dazai and Chuuya.
After all, it was exactly what she wanted, right?
With the knowledge came the responsibility of knowing. No matter how strange it was going to feel.
If so, why were her knees feeling weak all of the sudden?
~.~
The sound of Aira's heels hitting the ceramic floor filled the whole Agency's computer room.
For now, she was alone there, getting prepared for the grand battle that was about to happen.
Atsushi was currently in the car with Tanizaki. They were due to use one of the helicopters to travel to the deck of Moby Dick.
With her coffee beside the computer, Aira logged into the system, nervously bouncing her feet.
She had always preferred fights over coordinating the missions. It made her feel safe, knowing that she was the one in charge of the actual fight.
But maybe that was just something she needed to get used to sooner than later.
Exhaling loudly, Aira decided to prepare the second computer. After all, Dazai was the one, who was supposed to join her in a while.
"Why are you so nervous, my love?" the spoken man asked, entering the room.
She didn't answer.
Instead, Aira just simply glanced at him, continuing her own preparations.
"Is that a silent treatment of some sorts?" Dazai chuckled, putting on his set of headphones.
"No," she finally spoken, fidgeting with her pen. "I'm just concerned about them," she confessed, glancing at the computer screen.
"Oh, don't be, Razuki-chan," he started, moving closer to her. With a huge grin on his face he patted the top of her head.
"You know what? We should go to an art gallery together after this all is over," he added, smiling from ear to ear.
"You're so stupid, Dazai," she chuckled, returning back to her current task. "Get back to work. Atsushi and Tanizaki are in the helicopter," she ordered, burnishing off the situation that had...
...just made her blush.
With Dazai coordinating Atsushi as he found himself in the inside of the Moby Dick, Aira got in contact with the American hacker, who gave her the ability to see through the security cameras of the ship.
"Oh, dear," Dazai mumbled as Atsushi informed them about the sudden meeting with no one else than Akutagawa.
"Crap. They weren't supposed to fight," Aira whispered to herself, realizing that the things weren't necessarily going according to her plan.
Of course she had suspected for a mafia member to appear. However, she had no idea that it was going to be Akutagawa, who was known for his bad experience regarding two particular members of the Agency.
"Dazai, you should talk to him," Aira answered after him and Atsushi exchanged a few sentences.
"I know," he replied firmly.
And with that being said, Osamu ordered Atsushi to give the speaking device to Akutagawa. It was not only going to buy them some time, but also was going to distract the mafia member enough to no longer interfere in the Agency's work.
"Dazai-san!" The scream of Akutagawa was so loud, Aira could've hear it without even wearing the headphones.
Observing Dazai, Aira was curious about what was he going to go regarding the situation. If it was up to her, she would much rather preferred to talk to the mafia member, trying to buy some time. On the other hand, the extensive conversation could lead to more destruction, given the circumstances of Dazai and Akutagawa's relationship.
Osamu hung up the phone.
"Well, that was quite cruel," Aira sighed, watching him shrug.
"It was necessary."
~.~
"So that's all?" Aira mumbled, walking side by side with Dazai and the President.
"Was it not enough for you, Razuki?" the President asked, shooting her a reprimanding stare.
"No. Of course not," she objected quickly. "I simply thought the Port Mafia was going to interfere more," she added, adjusting her sunglasses as they found their way to the shore.
"Dazai-san? Razuki-san? Boss?" Atsushi spoke as soon as he saw the three people approaching him, his eyes wide open.
With a long exhale, Aira turned her glance to look anywhere but the boy, knowing that Dazai had probably prepared an unnecessarily long speech that wasn't exactly anticipating on telling Atsushi about the fact that Kyouka was, in fact, alive.
Just as anticipated, the conversation starter in the usual Osamu's manner, not telling the newbie about everything he needed to know, causing his eyes to tear up immediately.
Oh, how Aira hated this.
Why couldn't they just get straight to the point? Explaining the things as they should've been explained from the start.
Glancing at Akutagawa, she noticed he had tensed up the moment he saw his former coworker. A teacher even, to be exact.
With another exhale, she approached him, letting Dazai and the President continue their speech about the entrance exam.
"You okay?" she asked casually, almost like it was another one of their usual interactions.
"Why do you care?" Akutagawa hissed, looking away from her.
"I don't. I'm just curious," she shrugged, taking the squared sunglasses out of her head.
"Are those..?"
"Mafia's? Yup," she ended his sentence, handing him out the piece of accessory. "I'm returning them," she added, watching him hesitantly reaching for them.
"Why?" he asked, furrowing his brow.
"Because sometimes is better to forget about the things that had happened and move on," she explained, observing as he clenched her jaw.
That was when she knew he understood the meaning behind her words; it wasn't entirely about the sunglasses, she had took with her after finding them at the scene of the murder of her parents. It was also about Akutagawa, cutting the ties with his own past.
Holding onto hatred and sorrow brought Aira nothing but further tears and the memory of what she could've done if she made different choices. Yet, she finally understood what Kunikida had been telling her this whole time — that there was no going back. She couldn't fixed what already was destroyed and buried under the ground of her own fear. But she could, however, repair the things that the damage had caused her.
This time, however, was the moment she was fed up of crying over her own past.
This time was finally the moment when she said goodbye to her dead parents, the seven mafia members, failed Medical School's exam.
This time was exactly the moment when she realized that was free.
~.~
Aira hated parties.
It wasn't like their reminded her of anything; they were just too loud and too obnoxious.
Completely unnecessary.
And yet, she found herself enthusiastically putting the food on the tables and blowing balloons, just so the little Kyouka could finally have some time to take a breath.
The Agency wasn't usually throwing out any sorts of parties. Today, however, their celebrated their victory and the new member of their crew.
As soon as the door of the office opened and the fourteen-year-old walked through them, the celebration started.
"Oh, baked goods! How much I adore you," Ranpo exclaimed, showing down his throat numerous cupcakes, Aira had prepared earlier that day.
"Glad you like them," she chuckled, approaching Yosano who had been waiting for her with two glasses of wine.
"Cheers, asshole," the doctor stated, handing the other woman her glass.
"Cheers, loser," Aira repeated, nudging her in the side.
It was so nice.
Everyone gathered together, having the most amazing time since the past couple of weeks. No one screamed at one another, no one was stressed.
And although Aira was a part of the Agency for the past year and a half, that was the first time she finally felt like home.
The sense of unity, cheering faces, laughter. It was just like it always should be.
She had closed her eyes, sinking into one of a chairs, slowly sipping another glass of wine that day. Glancing over at Atsushi, cutting up a piece of a cake for Kyouka, Aira smiled genuinely. It was so calming finally seeing the girl happy.
"Razuki, can I have a moment with you?" the President asked, making her instantly straighten up.
"Of course, boss," she responded, immediately putting down her glass of wine.
"Dazai told me you've came up with the plan of the grand battle. I wanted to personally thank you for your input," he stated.
Aira blinked twice to see if she was really aware and not only imagining the President smiling to her.
"I...uh. Thank you so much, boss," she responded with a grin.
As the President walked away, she closed her eyes, smiling widely. This day was truly the best day of her life. Everything seemed so perfect; the party, the atmosphere, the satisfaction from the victory.
Aira wondered how much Dazai told the boss about her plan that, to be completely frank, had a myriad things that didn't need to be explained any further.
She wondered if Dazai...
"Dazai!" she spoke out loud, her eyes wide open.
Just as she realized her voice brought attention to her, she blinked rapidly, forcing a smile.
"Oh, don't worry. He's probably ditching us again or something!" she exclaimed, returning to her previous state of mind.
Or that's rather what she wanted the others to see; the truth was — she started getting worried about his whereabouts.
He didn't show up. And it was unlike him to ditch a meeting that wasn't supposed to be formal.
Quickly grabbing her coat, Aira walked out of the party. With the speed of light she ran down the stairs, getting into her car.
What if he was in danger?
What if something had happened to him?
Taking out her phone, Aira abruptly stopped, remembering what he had said to her a day prior.
"The art gallery," she whispered to herself.
The only question she had on her mind was why?
"Crap! I have to take a metro!" she yelled, completely mad at herself for drinking that day.
~.~
She heard the whole conversation.
She heard the leader of Black Lizard admitting to had been taking part in Akutagawa’s arrival on the deck of the ship.
She heard Dazai admitting that he was preparing for something greater.
She heard him explaining why he had join the Agency.
Standing behind one of the pillars in the Art Gallery, she rolled down her sleeves, leaning her head on the wall.
Why?
Why did he wanted her in that place at that exact moment?
And why did she even come here?
The alcohol had left her system the time she had arrived at the gallery, leaving her dumbfounded. Maybe that was exactly why she wanted to walk out out of her hiding and ask Osamu about every question that was running through her mind.
"I think there's a certain someone waiting for you in here," Hirotsu, the leader of Black Lizard spoke, standing up from his seat.
Aira tensed up.
"Good evening, Miss Razuki," he said as soon as he passed her by, walking out of the gallery room.
Aira's glance was fixed on the Dazai, who had been sitting in front of a painting. He didn't say anything, only tapped a spot next to him on the black seat.
She approached him hesitantly, only one word running through her mind.
Why?
She sat down, looking directly at an impressionistic painting of a tree.
They stayed like that — not saying a word to one another for the next couple of minutes.
That was until Aira was the one to break the silence that seemed to had casted a spell on them.
"I thought we agreed on no more lies," she whispered, not taking her eyes out of the work of art.
"Why do you think I've told you to come here? There are no more secrets," Dazai answered with a soft tone.
"Oh, we both know there are," she responded calmly. "But I don't know why," she confessed, looking at the palms of her hand that were resting in her lap.
"You don't need to know," he replied. "Just stay here," he added, exhaling quietly.
"Okay," Aira murmured, gently placing her head on his shoulder. "I'll stay."
With the words spoken, Dazai smiled to himself, wrapping an arm around her. Aira snuggled up to him, adjusting her head that was resting in between his head and arm.
The warm embrace they felt once again was beyond comforting. To be completely honest, it was better than anything they've ever felt before.
Just the two of them.
Sitting close to each other with the world spinning around them.
"This painting is awful," Aira mumbled after a while, a smile appearing on her face.
"I agree," Dazai chuckled, kissing the top of her head.
It was so nice.
"Dazai?" Aira asked hesitantly as she stopped feeling her fingers.
"What is it?" he responded, looking down at her.
"I like it here," she answered, trying her best to stop her voice from shaking.
"Well, I think those paintings are rather mediocre. And the white walls are kind of unpleasant," he replied, a huge grin appearing on his face.
"I meant, I like it here... with you," she corrected herself, fidgeting with the sleeve of her coat.
"I know, I'm just messing with you," he chuckled, standing up only to give her a hand to stand up.
"Where are we going?" Aira asked, subconsciously smiling from ear to ear.
"Wherever you want to," he smirked, leading her out of the building.
"Remember we used to be drinking buddies before all of this?" Aira waved her free hand in front of them.
"Oh, no, Razuki-chan! I thought you'll be a bit more creative," he complained theatrically, causing Aira's brow to furrow.
"What do you mean?"
"Drunken confessions are boring," he added, rolling his eyes.
What?
Aira was even more confused than before.
She was tremendously bad at emotion display, hence she had no idea what to say just now.
Did he really mean it?
"Hey, your hairstyle is different," Dazai broke the silence, pointing at her loose hair.
Oh, he was so right.
She did that on purpose.
"Y-you said..."
"It looked nice?" he smirked cockily, holding his chuckle back. "Yes, I recall that."
"Jesus, stop teasing me like that," Aira bursted out in laughter, punching his arm playfully.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Dazai scoffed, resuming their walk, apparently, to the metro station.
But she didn't follow him.
She watch him turn back, looking away as she bit her lip.
"And what are you doing?" he asked, tilting his head to the side as he watched her standing in place.
"Nothing," Aira mumbled, feeling her smile getting wider and wider.
"Nothing?" Dazai repeated, approaching her.
Aira took a few steps closer to him as well, wrapping her arms around his neck as she stood on her tiptoes.
"You know, I made a little schedule a week ago," she started, feeling his arms wrapping around her waist once again this day.
"A schedule? Who are you? Kunikida-kun?" Dazai chuckled, noticing that their faces were getting closer to each other.
"One, defeat the Guild. Done," she started, rising up one of her fingers. "Two, stop pitying myself. Partially done," she added a second finger.
"And three?" Dazai asked, looking deeply into her eyes.
"Well, I was waiting for the alcohol to kick in, but since you're not too keen of getting our drinks tonight then, I guess, I'll just have to pluck up my courage as I'm sober," she smiled, closing her eyes at the same time.
As she felt Dazai's hand moving towards her cheek, she placed her lips on his, locking them into a soft kiss. She wasn't too sure about if what she was doing was appropriate. Most importantly, she didn't knew if Dazai was going to give the kiss back, hence she decided not to go too far.
Yet, to her most pleasant surprise, he kissed her back. More passionately than she anticipated.
She couldn't help but smile during the kiss, her fingers going up to rest in his dark curls. One of Dazai's hands, still remaining on her waist kept her from falling back as the kiss deepen.
Magical.
That was the only word that could've explained that moment.
It was just like all of the things in Aira's live had found their place.
It was just like everything was going the way it needed.
Then they pulled back, Dazai's hand still on Aira's cheek. They were smiling; entirely enjoying the moment they've shared.
"You know what, we can go get that drinks," Dazai joked, grabbing Aira's hand to lead her towards the metro station.
"But when we get there..." Aira started, biting the inner side of her cheek. "Can you tell me about that friend of yours?" she asked hesitantly, not knowing if it was the right time to start this topic.
"Oda?” Dazai responded, couldn't help but smiling towards her. "Sure," he answered, kissing the top of her head once again that day.
↳ other warnings: injury description, mild fluff^^
↳ a/n: hi! I’m not able to reply to all of your comments but I wanted to thank every single person for messaging me with such nice words! I’m so glad you’re enjoying my fic, thank you xx
So that was it.
The Agency, Port Mafia and the Guild had announced an unspoken conflict between the three of them. It all started from little Kyouka's kidnapping; for the past couple of hours she was nowhere to be seen. Kunikida and Atsushi had just regained consciousness from their encounter with Guild members, and Kouyou Ozaki — former Dazai's coworker — was still in coma after the attack.
Aira sat in the middle of her flat, papers and briefcases surrounding her.
The Agency needed a plan before the massacre was about to come, making her the one in charge, since Doppo was unable to do anything but try to recover from his wounds.
But all Aira Razuki could've come up with was two variants of the situation — and she wasn't comfortable with any of them in the slightest.
Both included parts and pieces of something that would cause another conflict. This time completely inner when it came to Aira.
Yet a moment she was about to came to the case-breaking conclusion, the door of her flat opened wide.
"Razuki-chan! I'm dying!" Osamu stumbled on his own feet, leaning on the hallway's wall.
"Shit, Dazai. What happened?" Aira approached him rapidly, trying to take a look at his face.
Did the Guild attack him?
Was it the mafia that was trying to kill him again?
"Kunikida-kun is in infirmary, I have no one to talk to," he exclaimed, quickly changing the tone of his voice. He stood up, smiling cockily.
"You goddamn bastard!" Aira yelled, not hesitant to punch him straight into his jaw. "So you came here just to make a scene?!" she screamed, internally cursing herself for even thinking it was something important.
"But I thought you missed me too, Razuki-chan," he pouted, wrapping his arms around her neck.
"Ugh, get off. I'm busy," she growled, trying to get rid of his hands. "Dazai, I'm being serious!" Aira reprimanded him, getting tired of his antics.
"And I'm bored," he complained, glancing over his shoulders at the notes she was taking a moment before he decided to step in.
"I don't care just get—!"
"Don't worry, I've already come up with a plan," he whispered to her, grinning from ear to ear.
"I thought I've made it clear that I don't trust you," she hissed, collecting her papers from the ground.
"Come onnn, I thought we were friends," Osamu teased her, crossing his arms.
"Ugh, you can stay here. Just be quiet," Aira sighed, placing the pile of papers on her coffee table.
Gathering her thoughts, she was almost positive what Dazai's plan would be regarding the three-way conflict. And it also happened to be the second opinion of her schema she was so opposed to.
Tapping her fingers on the windowsill, she was trying to figure out how to perfect the already rotten plan.
Maybe if they...
"Razuki-chan," Osamu started, brutally interrupting her thoughts.
"Dazai, I really don't c—!"
"You look pretty with your hair down," he stated softly, seated on her beige couch.
"What?" Aira blinked twice.
She wasn't wearing her usual low bun today.
In fact, she wasn't looking like her normal self; instead of a shirt with puff sleeves, she was wearing a tank top and her pajama pants. She hadn't had the time to put on makeup, nor to fully wake up by drinking coffee.
To her, she looked like a complete mess, not…pretty.
"Why would you say that?" Aira furrowed her brow, tilting her head to the side.
"You know, you don't have to search for a hidden meaning in everything. You can just accept the compliment," he smirked, getting comfortable on the sofa.
"Thank you?" she answered hesitantly, still suspicious about the whole affair.
"Good job! Work on it and you'll get there," he teased nonchalantly, grinning to himself.
"I don't understand you," she mumbled, approaching him slowly.
"People sometimes want to be nice to you, Razuki-chan," he responded, shrugging casually.
"But why you?" she continued. "I don't get it."
"'Cause I've found making you dumbfounded more entertaining than making you angry," he smiled, gaining another punch from her.
"You're so stupid," she mumbled, not realizing Dazai just lied.
His intention were simple this time; he really just wanted to tell her she looked nice.
"But, actually now that I think of it… I might need your help," Aira changed the subject, sitting right next to him. "Could you use your ability on me?" she asked, noticing his expression being filled with confusion.
"Suure?" he chuckled and as soon as he saw the lilac aura surrounding her, he grabbed her arm, just as he tend to do during their sparring.
Within a split second, Aira found herself on the other side of the couch, smiling mischievously at him.
"Holy crap, I really am talented," she giggled, observing Dazai's expression.
"So you've figured it out," he smiled softly, realizing that she used Time-master to turn back his own ability.
"Oh, I have an idea! We should train sometime soon. With that I am invinci—! Shit! Ouch! Why did you do that?!" she yelled as soon as she was thrown out of the couch by his swift movement.
"Invincible, huh?" He glanced at her, helping her to get up. "Don't get caught up in that. An arrogant enemy is the easiest one to beat," he added, moving to the left to make a room for her.
"Oh, really, Sensei? I had no clue," she mocked him, poking his side as a form of a childish revenge.
"You know what?" Dazai wondered, playing with the lock of her hair.
"What?" Aira repeated, gently taking back the piece of her hair.
"It's a shame you don't want to commit double suicide with me."
~.~
Sitting in the Agency's hall, specially prepared for emergencies, Aira was fidgeting with the trim of her coat.
Since that morning, she was feeling unlike herself; unsteady, questioning completely everything. The thought of it being the state caused by the Agency being under attack, completely covered the true cause of Aira's emotion display at that moment.
She told herself it was only the adrenaline kicking in, where in reality it was...
...oxytocin.
"Razuki-san, are you alright?" Kenji approached the woman, sitting on the step beside her.
"Yup, thrilled actually. Can't wait to beat up th..."
"Listen all!" The President's voice filled the room, making every single person in it turn their eyes towards him. "The Port Mafia seeks to eradicate the Agency. The Guild seeks to usurp it. We must protect the Agency from those two foes. Dazai, explain," he stated firmly.
Osamu went on saying how the detectives should split into offensive and defensive teams, just so peace of the Agency could be untouched. All of the fellow employees agreed that Yosano was the one, who was the most valuable member of the team currently. After all, she was a doctor. Her abilities were crucial when it came to them being outnumbered.
Just as Dazai finished explaining who would be joining who, Aira's eyes wide opened at the mention she was going to be in the offense team. That meant, she was going to stay in here instead of actually fighting with the enemies.
After the plan was spoken out loud, the detectives were awaiting for only one crucial thing — an intruder.
Hence why every single member of the Agency’s offense team was currently seated, minding their own business. Kunikida, Tanizaki, Atsushi and Dazai after being self-proclaimed defense were preparing to leave the emergency hall.
Aira silently stood up and approached Osamu, who had just finished talking with the newbie.
"Why am I staying here?" she asked him, her brow furrowed.
She rarely was told to stay. It was her, who often get the solo missions, which almost every single time were turning out to be quite bloody. That was exactly why she couldn't understand the orders she was given.
"Come here," Dazai grabbed the back of her arm, pulling her to the side. "If anything was to happen to the President, I'm sure you'll manage to help him and the others," he explained quietly, looking straight into her eyes.
"That's not it, Dazai. You're lying," she answered. "Look, I'm not opposed to this whole situation. I just want a proper explanation," she added, noticing him smiling softly.
"You're right, I'm lying," he smirked, looking away. "For now all I need you to know is that I trust you with this. More than anyone else here," he said, messing up her hairstyle.
"I'll still be waiting for the answer, you idiot," she threatened through her smile, making him grin.
Returning to her previous place after saying goodbye to the others, Aira sat beside Yosano, glancing over her shoulder to take a look at the security cameras.
"So it's him after all," Yosano chuckled, glancing at her coworker.
"What are you..?"
"You're oblivious or just stupid?" she asked the other woman, shaking her head. "The call about you being jealous. It was about Dazai, right?" Yosano explained, watching Aira's face turn light pink.
"No. Yes. I don't know," she spitted out, glancing nervously at her hands. "But I'm not..! I possibly couldn't..!"
"Sure you're not. It was just a friendly interaction," the doctor giggled, looking away.
"Exactly!"
"I was being sarcastic, asshole," Yosano interrupted, watching Aira as she shook her head.
"We should go back to the job," Aira suggested firmly, adjusting her position on a chair.
"Ah, yes. Watching those security cameras is the toughest thing in the world," the dark-haired woman rolled her eyes. "You can talk about it with me, you know? If not now then..."
"President, I think we should call back the defense teams," Ranpo claimed, his tone filled with seriousness.
With the blink of an eye, Aira returned her glance towards the computer screen, noticing a mafia member she had met earlier.
"Oh, how lovely," she chuckled, putting on her coat. "What?" she asked, noticing the President's reprimanding stare.
"We're not going to fight just now," he spoke calmly, causing Aira to sit back on the chair.
"Cameras three, four and eight are down!" Yosano exclaimed, her voice filled with seriousness.
"Activate the automatic turrets!"
"No use, President," Aira sighed, watching Ranpo obeying the orders.
"And why is that, Razuki?" he asked, raising up one of his brows.
"You'd send these puppets to receive a special envoy? You're so short-staffed, I could cry," the familiar red-haired man spoke through the speakers, only to later on demand someone to fight with.
"He has a gift to manipulate gravity," Aira explained briefly. "I fought with him once. It was a tie as you may see," she added.
"What do you suggest?" he continued, fully curious about his employee's plan.
"Yosano and Kenji come in first. Distract him enough to boost his ego. Then I'll join. After all, an arrogant enemy is the easiest one to beat," she repeated Dazai's words from earlier that day, subconsciously smiling to herself.
"You want us to do the worse job, just so you can come and finish him up?" Yosano furrowed her brow, however, she stood up and picked up her weapon.
"I have an ace up my sleeve," Aira smiled, watching Kenji and the doctor walking out of the door.
"Razuki," the President called her name before she was able to join the two. "I hope your know what you're doing," he spoke, noticing her smile.
"How couldn't I?"
And with the words said, she was gone. Taking her time to get to the old tunnel that once was a railroad, Aira smiled to herself, rolling up her sleeves as she wondered about the words Dazai said to her.
If he truly had trusted her, why didn't he tell her about the full plan earlier on?
To protect her?
No. She had fought by his side numerous times. He knew she could handled herself in a struggle.
Aira shook her head.
She didn't need the distractions to corrupt her mind. Being focused was the only thing she was ought to maintain.
And that's when she saw Chuuya, standing in the middle of the railroad, all covered with dust that was about to set.
"Now. Who wants to fight against gravity?" he spoke, his voice full of confidence.
"I do," Aira answered, watching his smirk drop almost immediately after he saw her. "But I don't think you'll like it, Chuuya," she smirked, firing her gun.
He jumped back. This time there was no crimson aura surrounding him.
"I've done my research since our last meeting, you know?" she smiled widely, her gun still pointed at him. "Gravitational time dilation," she explained, her eyes almost flickering at the notion of power she held.
"You can't do it if I don't use my ability," he answered, taking his hands out of the pockets of his coat.
"Oh, do we fight in an old-fashioned style?" Aira chuckled, approaching him.
"What assurance do I have, you won't use yours?" he challenged her, taking out his gun.
"I'm not a cheater," she shrugged, jumping to the left to avoid the bullet he had just shot.
Rolling over to her side, she was the next person, who fired a series of bullets, yet, he avoided every single one of them.
"I'm surprised," she laughed, after another one of his bullets had missed her. "You're quite a good fighter, not given your ability. But," she smiled, pointing at the ceiling. "…you underestimate me," she finished, shooting up.
Within seconds a large piece of stone had fallen down, pinning the mafia member to the ground. Aira approached him, toying with the gun in her hand.
"Do you surrender or do I have to kill you?" she asked softly, kneeling next to him.
"Ugh! You're just like—!"
Not waiting for him to finish his sentence, Aira used her ability to turn back time, before she even managed to pin him down with the stone from the ceiling. Grabbing his arm, she pulled him to the left, helping him avoid getting hit again.
"Sorry I didn’t let you answer. I just didn't want your organs to look like purée before you’d decide," she spoke, hiding her pistol behind her belt. "Oh, here comes your peace treaty," she added, pointing at one of the speakers.
~.~
It was unlike anything the Agency had ever experienced.
Them and the Port Mafia had just settled on a temporary peace agreement, which meant they were joining forces in defeating the Guild.
Hence why the offense team and the President were in a need to hide. Now, they were just waiting for the things to settle, no mater how draining the time period was about to be.
But there was something else that bothered Aira at that moment.
Neither Kunikida nor Dazai were picking up her calls and she couldn't lie about how worried she was about them.
Making her way to the coffee shop located below the Agency, Aira was still trying to contact either of them, impatiently fidgeting with the ruffles of her collared shirt.
"I believe we haven't met each other. I'm Kouyou Ozaki," the woman that Aira hadn't noticed spoke, making her jump in place.
"I'm..."
"I know your name, the mafia has been talking about you recently, Razuki-chan," Kouyou smiled, putting down the book she was reading.
"I've been wondering when you'll come and get me for those seven men that murdered my parents," Aira smirked, sitting opposite of the woman.
"Oh, no. No. It's not about your parents," Ozaki softly smiled, glancing curiously at the detective.
"Chuuya, then? I knew his ego was crushed the moment I used my ability on him," Aira chuckled, taking a glance at the book the other woman was reading. "Do you recommend it?" she asked, pointing at the pages she had flipped.
"Moderately entertaining," Kouyou replied, taking back her belonging. "Now it's your turn to answer my question," she added, bringing her face closer to Aira.
"I'm listening," the female detective responded, not loosing her calmness.
"How is it dating a traitor?" she spoke and Aira knew the question was about Dazai.
"I've already told Chuuya I and him are not..."
"No, sweetheart. It wasn't that reckless kid, who sparked my imagination," she interrupted the younger woman, smiling mischievously.
"The traitor told me to keep an eye on you if I were to see you," she added, watching Aira looking away. "You're so adorable when you're getting shy. Honestly I didn't think I was going to make you act this way."
"If Dazai said what you're telling me he said, why did you decide to bring this up?" Aira questioned, her suspicions arising. He wouldn't say that if he wasn't sure Ozaki wouldn't repeat his words back to her.
"It’s up to you to discover," Kouyou smiled, watching the detective stand up. "But Razuki, remember he's a traitor. He will backstab you… or the Agency sooner or later," she added.
"I think I'll be the one to see that," Aira responded with a forced smile, making her way towards the exit.
Dialing Dazai's number once again she received no answer.
Again.
"Atsushi!" Aira called, noticing the boy on the other side of the street.
"Razuki-san, is everyone okay?" he asked as soon as he found himself crossing the road.
"Yes. They are," she answered quickly, taking a look at him. "I'm glad to see you safe," she added with relief.
"Are you coming to the cafe?" Atsushi wondered.
"I was actually trying to find Kunikida or Dazai," she explained, adjusting her coat.
"Oh, Dazai-san is meeting with a government agent right now," the boy spoke, making Aira's eyes open wide.
"What agent?" she responded on one breath.
"I-I don't know, Razuki-san. Do you think it's dangerous? Should we go to check on him?" he shot a series of questions, now equally frightened as Aira. However, the one thing that differed their mindset was the fact she had just understood the meaning behind Ozaki's message.
Keeping an eye on her?
Dazai wanted her to do the exact opposite.
"No, kiddo. I'm just surprised," Aira answered, forcing a calm expression on her face. "You go to that cafe, there's nothing to be worried about," she lied swiftly, waving to him as a goodbye.
Rapidly getting into her car that was parked on the side of the road, Aira stomped on the brakes with the intention of riding around the town in hopes to find Dazai and the agent.
The unspoken rule in the Agency was when a detective was meeting with someone from the government, they needed to stay in a car.
And this time Aira feared that finding the vehicle was not going to be hard in the slightest.
Like spoken, she wasn't wrong, hence she was about to find out what was going on as the next twenty four minutes had passed. On one of the less crowded roads, she spotted a black vehicle, stopping in the middle of the road. Not soon later than that, a beige van crushed directly into its side.
Stopping rapidly, Aira walked out of her own car, pulling out her pistol. Without hesitation she shot the driver of the beige van right into his shoulder. She had never intended on killing anyone, just overpowering them. With the speed of the light, she run towards the other vehicle, opening the passenger's door.
"Oh, I knew you'd come," Dazai smirked, however this time his voice wasn't as cheerful as always. It was weak.
"Shut up, I still have a gun in my hand," she reprimanded him, handing him out her hand. "Help me with Ango," she ordered, pointing at the government agent, laying unconscious on the driver's seat.
"I should act surprised now, you know?" Osamu joked, pointing towards his former coworker. "Oh, you know each other? Why didn't you tell me, Razuki-chan?" he teased with a childlike tone, gaining a morbid stare from her.
"If you weren't hurt, I'd punch you," she mumbled, helping the unconscious man get out of the car. "Come on. We have to carry him to the backseat," she added, laying him down in her car.
As soon as Aira got into her vehicle, she started driving, hoping that they weren't going to have a tail of someone trying to kill them.
When she finally felt like they were moderately safe, she exhaled loudly, glancing at Dazai, who had wrapped his hand in some of the bandages he was usually wearing.
"So let me get things straight. You've seen through the fact that we'll be needing to contact the government before this whole shit-show even started. To be exact, it was the moment when you walked into my flat, claiming to be dying. It was only to see my reaction. To see if I'd help you," she started, trying to focus on the road in front of her.
"Oh, that's getting interesting. Go on," Dazai chuckled, smiling from ear to ear.
"Then you made me stay with Yosano and others just to make sure I was going to be there, unharmed. Just so I could be ready to help you with this," she waved her left hand in the air, pointing to the situation.
"Partially true," he answered.
The thing Aira got wrong was the fact that he didn't only wanted her to be unharmed to help him... but also for the sincere reason of her not getting wounded.
"On top of that you've told Ozaki to keep an eye on me, knowing that I'd piss me of and I was going to do the investigation on my own," she finished, her grip on the wheel tightening.
"I love how smart you are," he responded, placing his chin on his unharmed hand.
"You've manipulated me you son of a—!"
"Shhhh! Ango doesn't like swearing," he interrupted her, not taking his eyes from her.
"He's unconscious, goddamn it!" Aira yelled, getting honked at as she drove when the red light was still shining.
"Careful here. You're going to get us killed, my love," Dazai teased, hearing only Aira's growl in response.
~.~
"Are you still mad at me, Razuki-chaaan?" Dazai's voice filled Aira's apartment once again.
It was noon the next day.
After scolding him more than she should, Aira walked out of the Agency, spending the following night and morning on rearranging her thoughts.
She knew Dazai had used her for his own good, yet...
...things weren't ever black and white in her head.
A person having one motive for their actions was rare, and especially with Osamu — this definitely wasn't his case.
So with that in mind, Aira travelled between the possibilities solving the three-way conflict and thinking about her own personal life.
Believe it or not, the second thing was even worse than the first.
"Hello? Is anyone home?" Dazai called with a childlike tone and Aira could've heard him taking off his shoes before he stepped into her living room.
"I'm thinking!" Aira called, exhaling at the sudden commotion in her flat.
"In the bathroom?" Osamu chuckled, realizing when her voice was coming from.
"My brain works better when I'm taking a bath," she explained quickly, wrapping herself in the dry towel that she had prepared earlier on.
Putting on her slippers, she dried her body up, noticing only now that she hadn't brought any clothes to change into.
"Dazai?" she called, internally cursing at her whole existence.
"What is it?" he asked and just by the tone of his voice, Aira could've sworn he was smirking.
"Can you get me some clothes from my bedroom? I don't want to walk around in a towel," she complained, approaching the mirror with her eyes open wide.
She was blushing.
"But I don't mind it," Dazai chuckled, however, his voice seemed to be coming from the other room his time.
Why was she blushing?
"Here you go," he said casually, opening the bathroom door a little.
"Thanks," she responded, closing the door as soon as she possibly could. "Get yourself together, you schoolgirl," she whispered to herself, putting on her black pants.
"Hmm? Did you say something?" Osamu asked nonchalantly.
"Yes," Aira responded, walking out of the bathroom. Now, fully clothed. "That I don't remember giving you the keys to my flat," she explained, crossing her arms.
"I can open them, just like that." He snapped his fingers, making a reference to the part of his ability that allowed him to rearrange the locks.
"That doesn't give you the right to just come in here," she argued, walking into her living room and laying on the couch.
"But I wanted to apologize," he pouted, standing right above her.
"No, you didn't. You don't apologize," she responded with her eyes closed. "What are you—?"
"Apologizing," he interrupted her, laying right beside her on the couch.
"No, you're taking up my space," she complained, being forced to squeeze between the back of the sofa and him.
"I'm not going to hug you if that's what you're trying to do," she added, trying to get up, yet his hand wrapping around her waist stopped her.
And then she felt her face burning.
Again.
A serenade of an inner conflict.
Light, calm sounds of the lute were the only things surrounding her at that moment, completely paralyzing her body.
Then, it was like a lighting had just struck her.
She felt electric. Almost like she wasn't human, just a drop of emotions.
And from the first time in a very long time they were only positive.
Oxytocin.
But then she realized she was still there; present, experiencing every single thing.
And instead of joy and happiness, she began to feel unsteady. Almost like the sounds of the lute became unbearable to listen.
She was overwhelmed.
"Are you done?" she asked after a while, noticing that Dazai had buried his head in the crook of her neck.
She sounded dry, completely emotionless.
But, oh, how she longed for the feeling she was experiencing now.
"It's so strange..." Dazai spoke calmly, his hand still on her waist. "...and yet so peaceful," he added, being able to hear Aira's unsteady breathing.
"It is," she murmured, moving her hand a little.
Not a moment later, she hesitantly placed her left palm on his shoulder.
It felt so... nice.
They laid down like that for another few seconds which felt like hours. None of them said anything, hence no words were needed.
It was just them, laying in the couch they weren't supposed to fit on together, holding each other like the world was about to end.
Besides two heartbeats, nothing could have been heard.
"Dazai?" Aira was the first to broke the comforting silence.
"Yes?" he asked softly, stroking her waist.
"We're going to fight with the Guild today, right?" she continued, hugging him a bit tighter.
"Naturally," he responded with nothing but tranquility in his tone. "But if it was up to me, I'd rather not leave from here," he added.
"Me neither," Aira whispered, subconsciously moving her hand to his hair.
"Razuki! Have you seen Dazai? Atsushi has been captured!" Kunikida's voice rang through Aira's apartment, making her sit up almost immediately.
It caused the dark-haired detective to fall to the ground, massaging his already hurt arm.
"Hi, Kunikida-kun!" Osamu greeted him cheerfully, completely ignoring his suspicious stare.
"Dazai? What are you..? Oh," Doppo stopped himself in the middle of the sentence, becoming silent for a moment. "Oh!" he yelled, adjusting the glasses that had almost fell of the bridge of his nose.
"I-It's not what you think it is," Aira rambled, completely panicked.
"It's exactly what you think it is," Dazai corrected, gaining a reprimanding stare from both her and Doppo.
"Aira?" Kunikida furrowed his brow, waiting for a further explanation.
"Your not her mother, Kunikida-kun," Osamu smiled cheekily, standing up from the ground he was thrown to a moment ago.
"I...uh," Aira mumbled, her eyes wide open. "Holy shit, I messed this up."
~.~
What went wrong in that little head of hers?
Of course she needed the comfort.
Of course she needed to hug someone.
But why this someone turned out to be her fellow coworker?
And why Kunikida was there, all of the sudden?
Aira splashed cold water all over her face, trying to make herself presentable before she went on speaking with Doppo and Osamu about Atsushi's capture.
After all, he was still on the Moby Dick, probably being tortured or locked up in a cell.
"Razuki-chan? You're alright in there?" Dazai knocked on the toilet's door once again this day. The only difference that now they were in the Agency's office.
"Yes, I just need a moment," she murmured, trying to put her hair in her usual bun.
Yet for some reason, her hands seemed to be trembling.
After ten more seconds, Aira finally managed to get out of the bathroom, only to see Dazai, who apparently had been waiting for her all this time.
"Don't overthink it," he whispered to her ear, opening the door to the meeting room for her.
"Yeah," she only managed to say, sitting in one of the chairs.
"So? Care to help us with rescuing Atsushi?" Kunikida asked, sounding completely hostile.
"Atsushi-kun doesn't need our rescue," Dazai smirked, placing his feet on the table in front of them.
"Excuse me?!" Doppo yelled, crossing his arms.
"What Dazai meant was that Atsushi is going to find a way to free himself. He only needs our help with destroying that cursed doll," Aira explained, regaining her usual professionalism.
"Oh, I forgot you two understand yourself so well," Doppo scoffed.
"Come on, Kunikida-kun," Dazai chuckled with a childlike tone. "Get over it. You're an adult man," he added, making the blonde detective even more mad than he already was.
"You are coworkers, goddamit!" he argued, throwing his hands in the air. "That's far beyond inappropriate!"
"Doppo, I promise it was nothing serious. We were just talking," Aira interrupted them, trying to make the situation a bit more bearable.
"That didn't look like just talking," he answered, shaking his head.
"Oh, I think we’ve pissed someone!" Dazai said with an overly-sweet tone, getting up from his chair.
"We should focus on helping Atsushi now," Aira added, following Osamu as he walked to the door.
After hearing Doppo's growl, the remaining detectives exited the building, heading straight to the car that was owned by the Agency.
"We haven't discussed the possible attack from the Guild," Aira noted, stopping right before she entered the car.
"We know what to do. Don't worry," Dazai smirked, walking up to the driver's door.
"Hey. You can't drive. Your arm's broken," Aira spoke, pointing at the other side of the vehicle.
"Like that would've stopped me," he chuckled, getting into the passengers seat, just as Aira silently ordered him.
Within the next couple of seconds, they set off. As Aira was driving, she was trying to spot any signs of Atsushi.
It was probably her favorite trait about herself — despite her personal feelings, she always seemed to be focus on her job when needed. Nothing was able to distract her. Nothing was able to put her down. It was always just her and the current case she was working on.
Well...
This time it was also Dazai she was working with.
"Oh, so that's what you've been up to all this morning," she spoke, noticing the black remote controller with a red button in the middle he was playing with. "What exactly is it?" she asked, trying to look at the road to keep driving, as well as at the sky to see the Moby Dick.
"Take a guess," Dazai replied with challenging tone.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it was controlling a bomb you've put in that flying thing," she responded jokingly, glancing up. "You know, you press the button, flames appear, everyone dies. Nothing extraordinary," she elaborated.
"No... but now that I think of it, it would be splendid," he smirked. "It proceeds a smoke and turns off the radars of the Moby Dick," he explained, almost like it was the most obvious thing in the entire world.
"I wonder how much you haven't been telling us now," she scoffed, yet she didn't feel angry.
Tranquil.
She felt tranquil.
"Probably more than you can imagine," he answered honestly, tilting his head to the side.
"Dazai," Aira called his name, abruptly stopping the car after the first bomb hit one of the Yokohama's streets.
"Yeah, I think we should walk from here on, too," he laughed softly, getting out of the car.
Within seconds, more bombs were released, setting the nearby buildings on fire and making the vehicle of ordinary citizens to cause crashes. The orange dust filled the sky, causing the silhouettes of the people became unrecognizable.
"It looks like the end of the world," Aira confessed, looking at the sky above them.
"Unfortunately, it's not," Dazai answered, grabbing her by the hand to resume walking. "But if it was I'd probably spend it with you," he added, yet this time definitely more quiet that before.
Aira blinked twice to bring herself back to the reality.
Was she just going to act like she didn't hear it?
After all, Dazai always blabbered about suicide and death. It wasn't nothing special this time.
Right?
"Oh, there he comes." Osamu pointed at the sky, noticing Atsushi using a parachute.
"We should hurry, Dazai," Aira snapped out of her thoughts, only now realizing she broke her usual schema.
She let her mind overwhelm her work.
Something like that had never happened before.
As they speeded up, Aira noticed another bomb falling from the sky, hitting the building behind them.
How come a group of foreigners destroy a place that had never belonged to them?
Yokohama was her town.
The town that needed to be protected with all of the strength they had.
And yet, did one bomb less make a difference?
To Aira definitely, hence she decided to use her ability to bring the building that was being torn apart to its previous state.
"Go ahead, I'll stay there and try to fix some of those things," she told Dazai, who nodded in response.
Aira couldn't undo the damage that had been done, just as she couldn't undo her past.
Yet, the factor that made her stay, despite the fact that she couldn't repair the buildings that had been destroyed more than four seconds ago, was the burning need of fixing something that could have been fixed.
It didn't matter what.
If she was able to do even one single little thing — it was worth it.
As the last bomb was speeding down to hit the city, the sky had filled with pink smoke, probably released with the help of the remote controller.
That meant none of the further destruction could have been done.
Not waiting for the bomb to hit, Aira had returned it to the place it was before — the Moby Dick.
The radars of the ship had just stopped working. Just for that moment — everything and everyone was safe.
But Aira didn't felt like a hero.
She was far from being one.
She was a lost girl in the middle of a half-destroyed city, trying to fix everything the best she could.
But without Dazai's help, the smoke wouldn't come up, meaning that the attack wouldn't have been stopped.
Just like with fixing the city, just like with the Agency making a peace treaty with the Port Mafia, Aira realized that maybe she need the help from others to fully repair herself.
Maybe that was the thing that would've helped her fully realized she was alive.
Tangerine Sunset 04 is airing on Saturday buuut I thought of spoiling some things to you today.
Certainly a bad habit of mine.
However, the main point of this post is to sincerely thank all of you, who read, comment and support my little writing-experience. I’m so thankful for all of those nice words I have been receiving. That really makes my days brighter ^^
↳ spoiler warning: s01e08-12, mentions of Dazai’s past (2nd season)
↳ other warnings: crime scene description, murder, wound description
↳ a/n: hi! I hope you’re doing well loves! Thank you so so much for the messages I’ve been receiving. It’s lovely to hear you like my story^^ have fun reading! xx
August was surprisingly chilling that year.
The nights got colder earlier than anticipated, which caused nineteen-year-old Aira to wear a sweater that night.
It was the habit of hers to stroll around the neighborhood, she once used to live in.
She used to, because her parents threw her off of the house the moment she told them she hadn't passed her Medical School entrance exam.
Yet, Aira Razuki couldn't entirely blame them for their decision; after all, they were struggling with money; her father was unable to work due to his sickness. It was obvious that they wanted their daughter to pursue the career that might have bought their tickets to the better place.
That’s why nineteen-year-old Aira couldn't see that her parents were simply exploiting her, not thinking about her well-being. That was exactly why she had the tendency to burrow herself in sorrow in pity after failing — even if it was just the tiniest inconvenience. She kept telling herself that if she wasn't enough for her parents, she wasn't also enough for herself.
Hence why she had found herself strolling around her old house once again this week — the need of validation.
She longed for her parents, their love, and them telling her that she was worthy to them. That was the only thing that teenage Aira wanted.
Normally, she would see the lights in the small, pastel yellow house. Sometimes she would even observe the silhouettes of her parents as they prepared themselves to go to sleep. Such thing gave her the sense of belonging and the hope of returning to them once more.
Yet the young girl hadn't known just then that today she was going to make a discovery.
The the most raw, terrific and frightening discovery of her teenage life.
The lights were off.
The front door was open.
Aira didn't know why she felt the burning need to step inside of the house.
Taking deep breaths and praying that her parents were sound asleep and only forgot to close their door, Aira walked into the building.
"Mom? Dad?" she called, her voice cracking more with every syllable she spoke.
"Who are you?!" she yelled, noticing a young man with rounded glasses standing right in the middle of the kitchen.
"Oh, you must be their daughter," the man spoke. "I'm Ango Sakaguchi. I work in the Special Division for Unusual Powers," he explained, placing the briefcase he was holding on the kitchen counter.
"I-I don't understand," she murmured, shaking her head rapidly. "Wh-what are you doing here? Where are my parents?" she whispered with a terrified tone, taking a few steps back.
"Miss Razuki, I need you to stop walking," he spoke calmly, trying to stop her from entering the living room.
Dismissing his words, Aira run towards the other part of the house, trying to find her mother and father.
"Miss Razuki, I-!" Ango hadn't managed to finish his sentence. The loud scream of Aira filled the whole area, the next thing he noticed was her falling to her knees next to her parents bodies.
It looked like a complete massacre. The blood was splattered all over the walls and floors, furniture had been destroyed by the bullets, and the worst...
...the worst was the sight of her parents dead corpses, fully unrecognizable by the numerous gunshot wounds they had received.
"I-I-I...," Aira stuttered, her body unable to move. "Wh-Why...?"
"You see, Miss Razuki, your father has been diagnosed as a schizophrenic," Ango began to explain, standing right beside her. "But we both know it wasn't true, right, Miss Razuki?"
"He was gifted," she murmured, swaying her head back and forward. "He could talk to the ghosts and that's why he thought he was sick," she added, her tears completely covering her face.
"The Port Mafia wanted to recruit him but… as you see, there had been a shooting," he responded, helping her to get up.
"Why?" Aira sobbed loudly.
"That's why I'm here. We're still investigating it," he went on saying, not knowing that he had only worsen Aira's state.
Instead of crying she was about to become cathartic.
And then… she remembered.
"Okay. J-just don't write in that report of yours that I was there," she replied.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Miss," Ango responded, glancing at her.
"Okay," she repeated, forcing a smile. "I'll be going then," she added and as soon as the government worker turned his back she grabbed one last thing from the crime scene.
An item that would remind her of that day from now on.
~.~
Aira stared at her own reflection after she put on the rectangular-shaped sunglasses. The sunglasses that belonged to a member of the mafia that was in her parent's house as the massacre happened.
Shaking her head and exhaling loudly, she drove to the Agency, getting ready for another day of paperwork. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator, she arrived, sitting behind her desk after filling her cup with black coffee.
"Good morning, Razuki-san."
"Good morning."
"Hi, Razuki-san!"
"Hi, Kenji-kun."
"Morning, asshole. Care to join me shopping today?"
"I'm busy, Yosano."
It was just as always. Greetings, work, coffee refill, more work. Some might say that Aira's routine was boring, yet it wasn't the case.
Repetitive tasks gave Aira the sense of security. Something, that was always going to be there for her. Something, that didn't necessarily involved others, making her feel control over the situation.
Just as needed.
"Razuki-san?!" The sudden voice of Atsushi banged through the walls.
"Sup, rookie?" she answered with a polite smile.
"Have you seen Dazai-san? He's not answering my calls," he replied panicked, showing her his calls history.
"It's not unusual for him to just vanish, you know?" she mumbled, dismissing the thought that something might have actually happened to him.
"Kunikida-san says the same," he sighed, completely unhappy with the outcome of their conversation.
"See? There's nothing to worry about," Aira smiled, taking a sip of her second coffee.
"But the Port Mafia is after him!" Atsushi called, showing how extraordinarily concerned he was.
"Will you be satisfied if I try contacting him?" she asked. Newbies were her soft spot.
"Please, do so, Razuki-san!" Atsushi glanced at her with the gaze of pure thankfulness.
"In the meantime, I think you should go to ask Doctor Yosano if she's up to something today," she whispered to him, trying not to laugh.
"Okay!" he cheerfully exclaimed, returning back to the main area.
"God, he has no idea," she laughed quietly, dialing Dazai's number.
He didn't pick up.
Aira tried once again.
No signal.
"Oh, come on, you man-child," she mumbled, only to spill some of her coffee on the floor.
What if Atsushi was right?
What if Dazai was seriously in danger?
~.~
"You?!" Higachi yelled after seeing Aira sitting right next to her in the coffee shop.
"I'm sorry I lied to you. You're just the only mafia member, whose number I have," Razuki chuckled.
After Dazai hadn't picked up any of her eleven calls, she decided to see if Atsushi's suspicions were true. That was exactly why she called the blonde woman, who came to their Agency two weeks ago, only to lure Atsushi and the Tanizaki siblings to the trap. In the phone call before their meeting, Aira told her she was looking for a job regarding the Port Mafia. She had meet up with her to get the information she so badly needed.
"Look, I don't care what you're trying to do. I'm leaving," Higachi hissed angrily, but Aira's hand stopped her from standing up.
"Where's Dazai?" she asked without further do.
"I don't know what you're talking about," the other woman bluffed, turning her head towards the window.
"You're bad at it," Aira giggled, shaking her head.
"Wh—?"
"Lying," she whispered to her ear, after appearing right next to her as she used her ability to manipulate the time.
"I really don't—!"
"Don't make a scene," Aira added, placing her knife next to the woman's waist. "So? Where's he?"
"Even if I knew, I couldn't tell you." Higachi's answer was followed by her growl, after Aira adjusted the grab on her knife. "He probably has some unfinished business with Akutagawa-san!" she blabbered, not taking a look at the other woman.
"What do you mean?" Aira continued her interrogation.
"Don't you know? They used to work together," Higachi replied, a mischievous smile appearing on her face as soon as she noticed Razuki's expression changing.
"Oh? You really don't know," she laughed quietly, placing her hand of her gun after a moment of Aira's vulnerability showing.
"Dazai was..?"
"A mafia member? Of course," Higachi interrupted her, lowering her tone. "He was the right hand of the Boss," she whispered to Aira's ear, her voice full of maliciousness.
Dazai and the Port Mafia?
The exact same Port Mafia that killed her parents?
No.
It couldn't possibly be true.
"If you excuse me, I'll be going," the blonde woman spoke, leaving Aira dumbfounded in the middle of the coffee shop.
What made him leave?
Most importantly — what made him join at the first place?
Aira couldn't comprehend the words she had just heard. She wanted it to be a bad dream, but instead, it was just another raw discovery.
But then, her phone rang.
"Dazai?"
"I don't know what you're up to, Aira, but no. Not Dazai," Kunikida answered on the other side of the phone, completely frustrated. "Listen, I need you to help Yosano and Atsushi. There's a bomber in the train they’re in," he briefly explained, causing Aira to completely return to her previous state of focus.
"Send me the coordinates, I'm on my way."
~.~
Finding the train was easier that Aira thought it would be. Turns out, there was just a one of them being set on fire. Predicting the speed and time, she managed to calculate when the train would be arriving at the location of the bridge, Aira was meant to jump off of to get on it.
Just as she figured out, the train appear on the horizon. Without hesitation, Aira decided to jump, finding herself on its roof.
"Kunikida? Which wagon they are in?" she yelled to the phone, trying her best not to fall off of the train.
"Yosano's in..."
"Never mind, I've heard an explosion," she responded, quickly handing up.
With all of her strength, she managed to kick in one of the windows, safely getting inside.
Making her way through two wagons, she rapidly opened the door, just to see Yosano's hand being pinned by the knife to the ground.
"Razuki!"
"Did you miss me, loser?" Aira smirked, interrupting Yosano's warning.
As another explosion happened in the place they were at, the woman in the burgundy coat waited for the flames to fill up the space, burning it to the core.
Through the pain and smell of burned flesh, she approached Yosano, noticing she wasn't breathing. Rapidly grabbing the other woman's arm, Aira flawlessly managed to retrieve their states to the moment from four second ago, leaving herself untouched, and Yosano with wounds and burns that were lethal, yet give her time to manage with them on her own.
"Are they deadly enough?" Aira grinned, having in mind Yosano's ability that allowed her to fix the body, but only where there was a possibility of dying.
"They're perfect," the Doctor smiled.
Not a second later, she was all ready to go.
"Do we kick their ass then?" Razuki cheered, rolling up her sleeves.
"Indeed, asshole," Yosano smiled devilishly. "Hide yourself, we want him to be surprised," she added and Aira simply followed her rules.
"Oh! I wonder if she's already nice and cooked!" the bomber exclaimed, approaching, what it looked like to be, Yosano's body. "Let's see—!"
With the two words spoken, Yosano punched the man straight into his face. Not a second later, Aira jumped off of the ceiling she was holding to, smashing his head on her own knee.
"Hmm, that was underwhelming. Don't you agree Razuki?" Yosano spoke, madness and blood heist painted all over her face.
"I think we could make it a bit more thrilling," the other woman grinned, kicking the man straight into his chest.
"On which side should I punch him now?" the Doctor asked, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.
"I-I-If I had do choose, maybe this?" he mumbled.
"Yeah, definitely the other," Aira smirked.
With that, Yosano sent the man flying across the wagon.
"I'm going to find Atsushi," Razuki said, patting the other woman's back. "Don't you think we make a great team?" she joked, not expecting her to answer.
"I've always liked you, Razuki. Don't know why are you biased towards me," Yosano answered, rolling up her sleeves as well.
"Because I'm jealous," Aira replied plainly, making Yosano's brow furrowed. "But that's a story for another time. Finish this bastard up!" she enthusiastically called, running out of the wagon in order to help Atsushi.
The chill went through her spine as she heard Yosano talk through the speakers.
Atsushi's was about to detonate the bomb.
But then, it was like something had paralyzed her. The bomber turned out to be...
...a little girl.
"I don't want to kill anyone else!" she screamed, standing on the edge of the fully-opened side of the train.
"Atsushi! No!" Aira yelled, wanting to stop the boy from jumping with the bomber. "Atsushi!" she yelled once again as she saw him falling into the water, followed by the explosion later on.
As she had no idea what drove her to do this, Aira jumped right after them, meeting with the sea surface. Firstly, she tried to look for their bodies, yet she managed to exhale when she noticed Atsushi swimming up to the shore.
"Holy shit, kid! What was that?!" she screamed after she got out of the cold, salty water.
Instead of answering, Atsushi spited out the water and laid on the concrete of the bay.
"What was in that stupid head of yours that you've decided to jump?!" she scolded him, forgetting about catching her own breath. "What the... what were you thinking?!"
"She didn't deserve to die, Razuki-san," Atsushi answered with a weak tone. "Although she did so much bad things, she didn't deserve it, Razuki-san," he stumbled on his own words, desperately trying to bring his breathing back to normal.
"I get it, kid," she whispered.
He was right.
No one deserved to be judged based on their past.
Even that girl, even herself, even...
"Have you found Dazai-san?" Atsushi asked, completely changing the subject.
"Not yet," she responded honestly. "But I will. And I think I have a plan."
~.~
It wasn't hard to find Ango Sakaguchi's old workspace. Of course, Aira went on and used her ability more than she possibly should, but the outcome was just what she anticipated — she managed to discover the old basement, all of the Port Mafia's reports were located in.
The reports obviously being written by Aira's one-time acquaintance — Ango.
"Excuse me? Who's there?" The voice of an old man rang through the room not later after Aira walked into it.
Hiding behind one of the bookshelves, she used Time-master once again, only to erase the man's memories of ever seeing her.
"Huh? I guess it's just my age," he joked to himself, closing the door of the books-filled office.
Trying to make as little noise as she could, Aira began to look for reports, starting from two years from now, hence it was the time Dazai had joined the Agency.
There was absolutely nothing in the records from four years back, but then Aira stumbled upon mentions of the killing of another organization's leader. Apparently that being the last thing Dazai was mentioned in.
What surprised her even more how his name was mentioned multiple times in the reports of the same week.
That meaning the number of people he had killed.
But Aira wasn't a saint as well. After all, she worked in place that focused on bringing peace. And sometimes peace meant eliminating certain people just to get justice.
So why was she feeling so much anger?
Why did she want Dazai to be a saint?
For the next thirty minutes Aira was vigorously flipping pages from one to another, revisiting Dazai's past.
The past she had no idea existed.
The worst part about the whole situation was the fact that she had no idea what to think about it; almost like a black hole had just consumed her mind.
On one hand, she was furious. The mafia killed her parents, they killed other people. They did it just for the sake of it.
On the other, she was trying to do everything to justify his actions. Just so the goofy picture of him that she painted in her mind would come back.
Why was she having an inner conflict?
After all, she didn't believe in authority, evil, pureness. So was it righteous to try to judge others?
And yet Aira wasn't objective.
All she could feel was the sensation of getting revenge for her parents.
The revenge of the unjustified, unnecessary murder. Maybe that was something she needed to fulfill in order to sleep peacefully at night?
However, was revenge the equivalent of salvation of the soul? Or was it just something people thought about as redemption that brought nothing but further regret and sorrow?
Continuing to flip the pages, she found an interesting mention in one of the records. A mention of a place the Port Mafia were torturing the people that had captured.
What was the possibility of Dazai being in that place right now?
She had no clue.
But did that mean she wasn't going to see it for herself?
Obviously not.
~.~
"Where the hell are you?" Kunikida's voice rang through Aira's phone, making her grimace almost immediately.
"I'm in the middle of something, Doppo. Relax," she sighed, trying to focus on the road in front of her.
"In the middle of what exactly? You're part of the Agency, you can't just—!"
"I can do things on my own, Kunikida. I'm an adult woman," Aira interrupted him, stopping her car next to the bay.
"That doesn't mean—!"
"Oh, stop it. You're acting like a mother," she stated, getting out of her vehicle.
"Two detectives are missing and one of them isn't even picking up the phone," Doppo said and Aira could've sworn he was as angry as ever.
"I'll be back this evening. Don't worry," she promised quickly, putting on her sunglasses. "I just have something important to do, okay?"
"It's not okay, Razuki! You haven't finished your reports and the work—!"
Beep.
Aira hung up the phone, simply because she didn't need to be scolded at that time. The clock was ticking, and she still had no idea if she was going to find Dazai.
Walking across the warehouses, she was prepared for the worst. If he was attacked by more than one mafia members, he could've been badly injured. And Aira knew he wasn't going to fight just then, it was his usual schema.
As she checked the number of the warehouse she written down when she was at Ango's old office, Aira noticed a red-haired man with a fedora hat on.
Walking past him, she saw him sending her a suspicious stare. And just like that she knew he was going to be important in her tiny investigation.
As soon as he passed her, she fired a single shot, yet...
...the bullet stopped right before entering his body.
With the crimson aura surrounding the man, the aim rotated as he himself sent her a grim smirk. But Aira didn't seem shocked. Instead, as soon as she saw the bullet flying towards her, she used her Time-master to move left, just out of the reach of the aim.
The man furrowed his brow, tilting his head to the side. Up until now none of them said a word.
"Who are you?" he asked angrily. Aira noted that he had surprisingly bad temper.
"Who are you?" she repeated his question, not caring to answer him first.
As none of the two seemed to be willing to answer first, the man tucked his hands into his pockets, only to fly above Aira and kick her straight into her head.
"Oh, I know," she chuckled, taking a few steps back. "You're that anti-gravity guy from the reports," she added, shooting at him another two bullets, simply to distract him.
"If you know, why do you keep bothering with those stupid attacks of yours?" he smirked mischievously, punching her side.
"I think I might be interesting in talking to you," she confessed, taking out one of her knives as they spoke. She needed another thirty seconds to use her ability.
"Shame. I'm not," he chuckled, throwing another series of punches. This time followed by the pieces of concrete he ripped of using his gift.
Avoiding getting hit, Aira rolled to the side, realizing that he was too powerful to win a fight against. She had two options — flight, or trying to come up with a perfect plan to make him, at least, retreat.
And it was unlike her to give up on a fight.
Especially when she needed to get some information out of him.
Shooting another four shots, she managed to get up, still holding onto her knife.
He smirked, casually avoiding the bullets.
If you can't win, make yourself look vulnerable.
That were the exact words Dazai said to her during one of their first sparring sessions, approximately a year and a half ago.
And that was exactly what she did; catching him off guard, she used Time-master to appear behind him, placing a knife to his throat.
"Impressive," the red-haired man laughed after he was being held at knifepoint. "But you have no chance against me," he added, making the blade in her hand fell off to the ground.
He was right; he was too strong for Aira to overcome him.
He proved even further by kicking her once again, nonchalantly watching her trying to get up.
"I could kill you, you know?" he growled, approaching her slowly.
Aira spitted out the blood that appeared in her mouth, laughing quietly.
"But you won't do that. You're too interested who am I," she responded, being pulled by the collar of her shirt.
Without any trouble, the man grabbed her, making her stand up as he dragged her towards the edge of the bay.
"I don't care who you are, woman," he hissed, almost about to push her to the depths of the sea below them.
Manipulation wasn't the only thing related to time Aira was good at. She was also incredibly trained at buying it. The limits of her ability made her learn how to extend the conversation enough, so she would be able to walk out of it without a scratch...
...and that was exactly what she was going to do.
Again.
"I'm looking for Dazai," she finally spoke, trying her best not to fall off of the edge.
"Huh? That shitty dimwit Dazai?" the man furrowed his brow, getting angrier than before.
"Yup," Aira smirked.
"You're his girlfriend or something?" he asked, still holding her by the collar of her shirt.
"Or something. I'm his coworker," she responded.
Ten seconds.
She needed to wait another ten seconds.
"Oh, how disappointing. I'd be absolutely thrilled if I got his girlfriend killed," he replied, a devilish smile never leaving his face.
Six more.
"Why do you hate him so much, Chuuya Nakahara?" Aira asked, feeling the grip on her collar tightening.
Four.
"You know, I work with him too. He can be pretty annoying... but I imagine he really had to destroy your ego. I mean, I'm not surprised. That fedora of yours is kinda silly," she giggled, watching his face become red from fury.
"I changed my mind. I am going to kill you," Chuuya hissed.
With his sentence spoken, Aira felt the ground from her feet being pulled down, crimson aura surrounding it.
That was exactly what she waited for.
Instead of focusing on the situation or his body, she focused her ability...
...on his own gift.
Her eyes opened wide as soon as everything around stopped moving.
"Holy crap, I can't believe that actually worked!" she exclaimed cheerfully, genuinely smiling from ear to ear.
"What the fuck did you do?! I can't move!" he shouted, standing completely unable to move.
"I know that learning physics would pay off," she whispered to herself, surrounded by pure joy and excitement.
"Care to elaborate?" he hissed.
"The stronger the gravity, the slower time flows," she explained evasively. "Your power is manipulating it. That means you have your own gravity," she continued, being finally able to move her fingers.
"I can turn back time by four seconds. This time I didn't use my gift on myself or space, I used it on your ability," she spoke, feeling her feet regain movement. "In conclusion — I weaponized you… on yourself," she finished with a big smile on her face.
"So how long is this gonna last?" Chuuya growled, watching her get up. "And why can you move?!"
"Honestly? I have no clue," she confessed, trying her best not to laugh. "I've told you I haven't done this before."
What made Aira burst in laughter in the end, was Chuuya cursing out loud.
"Oh! I think I could be able to turn it off!" she cheered, approaching him from behind. "But before that you'll have to tell me where Dazai is," she whispered to his ear.
"In that stupid warehouse you were going to! I freed him!" he shouted, completely loosing his temper.
"Hm, that's interesting. I thought you hated each other," Aira furrowed her brow, toying with the knife she had just picked up.
"Don't get the wrong idea! I fought him!" Chuuya exclaimed furiously.
"Yeah, whatever," she sighed, snapping her fingers.
It wasn't necessary to do so, she just wanted to be a little bit more dramatic.
"Shit!" Chuuya yelled after hitting the ground, landing straight on his face.
"Gotta go. But don't worry! I'll tell Dazai you send him kisses!" she called after him, hearing him curse out loud once again.
Exhaling loudly, she needed to bring her usual persona back in. After all, she was going to confront Dazai about his past; she couldn't possibly be excited about the new discovery she had just made about herself.
Stepping into the warehouse, she walked down the stairs with a gun in front of her. It was incredibly dark, considering she was still wearing her usual sunglasses she forgot to take off a moment prior.
But it was good. The shades helped her to appear more fighting... or that's just what she thought.
Aira had no idea why her knees felt weak all of the sudden. She adored confrontation. She loved revealing the truth.
Yet why did she feel like her whole world was about to crush?
"You never fail to surprise me, Razuki-chan." The familiar voice filled the basement, causing Aira to grip her gun even harder. "Though I must say, I've expected you to come a bit earlier," he added, taking three steps ahead.
"Don't. Move," she hissed, her gun pointed directly at his head.
"So you've meet Chuuya-kun. What's your impression of him," Dazai quickly changed the subject, his usual smile appearing on his face.
"Bad-tempered, but I get now why he hates you," she replied with a morbid tone. "I've read your reports. I've seen everything that Ango had ever written about you," she confessed, her breathing becoming heavy.
"I know," Osamu said calmly. "And still. I'm surprised you haven't figured out it earlier," he added, glancing directly in her eyes.
"You could've told me yourself!" Aira shouted, her hand beginning to tremble.
"But that wouldn't be fun, would it?" he smirked and ignoring her previous order, he took another step towards her. "Remember when I asked you about your biggest secret?" Dazai asked, pointing at the glasses she was wearing.
"Judging by your tone, you knew it already," Aira answered, trying to make her hand steady again.
"We both have our secrets, Razuki-chan," he stated. "You can lower your gun if you don't mind. We both know you aren't going to shoot," Dazai continued, massaging his wrists that had been handcuffed since he was captured.
"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you. You, too, have killed people, you weren't meant to kill," she responded, her hands still shaking despite the firmness of your voice.
"Have you ever read your own report?" Dazai asked with a calm tone.
"I know what's in it. I don't need to read it," she hissed, clenching her jaw.
"You've blacked out after you've killed the seven members of the Port Mafia, who were there to capture your father. It was you, who caused the shooting. Overwhelmed by shock, you went for a walk, only to come back completely confused about what had just happened," Dazai spoke, taking another two steps closer. "Apparently you don't remember a single thing," he tilted his head to the side, noticing the gun in her hand lowering.
"That's not what happened," Aira mumbled, dropping the gun on the ground. "I-I-I... didn't remember it when I came back. That bit is true… But then the memories flooded my head. They murdered my parents before I arrived. I killed them as a revenge," she whispered, blinking rapidly to get rid of the tears filling up her eyes.
"You see? Reports lie," he stated, fully closing the distance between them.
"But you've been in the mafia," she murmured, exhaling weakly.
"How about I tell you my perspective, hmm? I'm not saying I'm a good person... but neither are you, Razuki-chan," he said calmly, placing his hand on Aira's arm.
"There's no such a thing as good," she whispered, letting his hand move up and down her shoulder.
It was his touch that made her eyes fully tear up, salty water streaming down her cheeks.
"Oh, Aira. Of course not," he responded softly, moving his thumb to her cheek to wipe away her tears. "Stop pitying yourself. It's the past," he added, placing the other hand on her back and moving her closer to his chest.
"I have a feeling you're trying to manipulate me by hugging me," she chuckled through her tears, hesitantly putting her palm on his waist.
"Why would I do that?" Dazai asked innocently. "By the way, you smell like sea water," he added, causing her to giggle.
"That's 'cause I was trying to stop our newbie from killing himself," she responded, allowing her head to rest on Osamu's chest.
"I think we should go to eat something then. After all, I've been kidnapped and not fed for the past two days," he replied, stroking the back of her head.
"Agree," she whispered. "But, Dazai?"
"Hmm?"
"If you tell anyone I've hugged you, I'm going to murder you," she spoke, taking a step back.
"I don't know if that's a threat or an encouragement," he smirked, walking to the exit of the basement.
"Dazai!"
~.~
"So let me get things straight. Dazai was kidnapped by the mafia, you've found him, doing god-knows-what during that whole day, and then you've decided to go for some boiled tofu?"
Aira glanced at Osamu, trying her best not to laugh. They both failed miserably — Dazai placing his head on his desk, consumed by the laughter, and Aira covering her mouth with the palm of her hand as she looked away from Kunikida, who had been scolding them for the past couple of minutes.
"Y-yes?" Aira managed to say, jumping in place when Doppo slammed his hand on her desk.
"That's not funny! I've expected Dazai to be irresponsible, but you?! Razuki, I thought you were the responsible one!" he went on saying, sitting behind his own desk.
"I think you've made him mad, Razuki-chaan," Osamu whispered to her, still giggling.
"I wasn't told we were going to be roommates!" Atsushi yelled, appearing right in front of the three detective.
The girl from before, Kyouka, had been standing just beside him.
"We don't have enough rooms, you see," Dazai answered, his tone changing completely.
"For the love of god," Aira mumbled, walking towards the kitchen to make herself another cup of coffee.
Yesterday she and Osamu went to eat the promised dinner. During that time, the dark-haired man told her some stories about him being in the mafia. Most of which contained the man Aira had meet earlier that day — Chuuya. To be completely honest, Port Mafia sound exactly the same as their Agency; lots of incompetent employees who, for some reason, managed to fight their way out of their troubles. The only thing differing the two being the amount of people they tend to kill.
Yet, Aira still wasn't sure what to think about the whole situation. She hated the mafia for even considering stepping into her parents house, she hated that they made her kill for the first time.
And still, there was something about Dazai she couldn't exactly comprehend.
Maybe it was his persona, maybe the fact that they thought alike in certain aspects of life.
Aira couldn't quite pinpoint it, yet she was feeling the very specific urge to talk with him that day.
And she didn't regret it in the lightest.
On top of that she knew, she would be needing Dazai's help very soon. After all, she had just discovered the new aspect of her ability. And he was the only person that could've help her explore it some more.
Returning to the main area of the office, Aira noticed Dazai whispering something in Atsushi's ear. It was followed by the boy almost immediately straightening up and sitting beside his desk.
"If you have time to mess with Atsushi, write up the report about your capture by the Port Mafia!" Kunikida ordered him as Aira was taking a seat in her chair.
"Atsushi-kun. Write the report for me," Dazai said with a serious tone, turning his head towards the boy.
"Idiot," Aira mumbled, smacking him in the head with the bunch of papers she was holding. "Do it yourself," she added, watching him glance at her with, what it looked like to be, puppy eyes.
"Razuuuki-chaaan," he started with a pout.
"No. No way," she rapidly shook her head, trying her best not to giggle.
"Pleaaase?" He blinked twice.
"I'm not doing your job!" she argued.
"Children," Kunikida sighed loudly, gaining a reprimanding stare from Aira.
"That's my catchphrase," she replied, listening to Dazai's explanation about the pen drive he had found in the basement.
Apparently it contained the information about the Guild, who were the one behind putting the bounty on Atsushi.
And just like that, the helicopter could've been heard from the inside of the office.
"No, no, no. I'm not dealing with that today." Aira vigorously shook her head, putting on her coat before she finished her coffee.
"Why not?" Kunikida furrowed his brow, adjusting his glasses at the same time.
"I'm going shopping with Yosano," she stated casually, causing everyone in the room to turn their eyes at her. "What?"
"I thought you hated her," Dazai smirked, placing his hands behind his head.
"I've noticed something recently," Aira started nonchalantly. "People hate others because they’re insecure of themselves. And that's just stupid," she stated, placing her sunglasses on the bridge of her nose.
"Wh—?"
"Character development? I don't know, Kunikida," she interrupted the blonde detective, smiling genuinely.
"You need to come to see this!" Tanizaki yelled, quickly entering the office.
"Yup. That's my sign to leave," Aira smirked, exiting the room and walking out on the street.
As soon as she noticed Yosano in her car, she waved at her, jumping into the passengers seat.
"I wouldn't have thought in my wildest dreams that you'd purposely come shopping with me," Yosano chuckled, starting the engine of the car.
↳ other warnings: deaths of minor characters, crime scene description, su!cide “jokes”, wound description
↳ a/n: hi! I just wanted to wish you all a lovely weekend! Love ya, folks! Enjoy <3
Morning yoga, a cup of matcha, meditation.
It was the usual morning routine of Aira Razuki. She would always start her day at the Agency's dorm in the exact same way.
Mornings were meant to be quiet and peaceful, with tanquility being the only thing Aira would feel at those moments. It had always helped her to become more focus and aware of the reoccurring jobs.
Just a simple, yet pure routine was soon going to be ruined by the numerous cups of coffee she would drink every day.
Dressing in her usual clothing, she would tie her hair in a low bun. After that, she tended to put on some make up, reconsidering the shallow purpose of her existence on this planet.
Aira was organized, yet it was far from being a tight schedule her friend — Doppo Kunikida —was sticking to.
As she allowed her mind to wander, she took the usual route to the headquarters, taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
Per usual.
Aira Razuki valued consistency when it came to her every day schema.
"You're ten seconds too early," she spoke, noticing Kunikida standing right in front of the Agency's door.
"You're fifteen seconds too late," he responded, glancing at his watch.
In response, Aira shrugged, sending her coworker a silly smile. Not taking his gaze from his watch, Doppo saw as the hands of the clock moving in the opposite direction.
"Now eleven," she chuckled, patting his back.
"You're so petty over certain things." Kunikida shook his head, sending her a resigned smile.
"Me? Petty?" Aira furrowed her brow. "It's not me, who notoriously act as a Mr. Perfect," she added, tilting her head to see what time was it.
Three seconds.
Two seconds.
Time's up.
"Good morning," Doppo spoke, opening the door just in time of his usual arrival.
"Kunikida-san! Razuki-san! Please help us!" Atsushi exclaimed loudly, pointing towards the direction of Dazai...
...who seemed to be standing on the top of a desk, his face almost purple.
"I beg for at least one peaceful day," Aira murmured, walking up to the place where Osamu was at.
"Kunikida-kun! It's an emergency. Just look!" he mumbled, pointing towards the sky.
"Look at what? I only see your idiot face."
"I've finally arrived in the afterlife!" Dazai said, just like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Without further do, Aira let Atsushi explain to Doppo the situation. She however, placed one of her hand on the top of the desk, nonchalantly standing right beside Dazai.
"Oh, I see you've decided to join me in the aft—! Ouch!" Dazai's exclamation was interrupted by Razuki slapping his face with all of her strength.
"You idiot, didn't your parents tell you not to eat things you find on the ground," she scolded him, pointing at the green mushroom Atsushi was holding. "Don't do anything stupid until I come back," she warned, making her way towards the small kitchen.
As he had supposedly consumed a poisonous mushroom, it was the best to use the old-fashioned methods of detoxication — water with salt.
Sighing loudly, Aira returned back to the main part of the office only to see Atsushi, tied to a chair and Dazai, kneeling on Doppo's desk as he was convincing him to try the fungus himself.
"Drink," Aira ordered, handing him out the glass she had just prepared.
"And what may that be?" Osamu wondered, looking at the water from all of the angles.
"A mystical brew that will help you finalize your trip to the afterlife," she responded with hearable sarcasm, taking a sit next to Kunikida.
With a huge smile, Dazai drank all of the mixture, just to find himself covering his mouth and speeding to the bathroom.
"I wouldn't have helped him if I were you," Doppo murmured, not taking a look out of his computer screen.
"I did it for your own good," Aira sighed, glancing at the door the Agency's secretary had just walked through.
As she handed him out the papers which were explaining his and Dazai's mission of the day, Aira took a look at the boy, which Dazai tied to the chair.
"What? Free yourself on your own. You're an agent now," she shrugged, disregarding his pleading stare.
"Aira, you want to join us today?" Kunikida asked, adjusting his glasses.
"I work alone. Have you forgotten?" she asked calmly, taking a look at the papers the secretary had just brought.
"Well, that's quite interesting," she mumbled to herself, flipping a page. "But you have Dazai as your partner. I'll be just as important as a third wheel," she finally said, giving him back the pamphlet.
The most important thing about Aira Razuki was the fact that she was a well-known loner.
She walked alone. She worked alone. And there was nothing that would possibly convince her to change her schedule.
~.~
"I can't believe he's convinced you!" Dazai cheerfully clapped as him, Atsushi, Doppo and Aira were standing on the edge of Yokohama's bay, waiting for the cab to arrive.
They just had a meeting with a hacker named Taguchi Rokuzou, who told them about the Azure King. The second spoken man was supposedly in a hunting spree of kidnapping people — something Aira could not comprehended.
There were so many things a person could cause chaos by. Why kidnapping, then?
"What can I say? Free coffee motivates me," Aira shrugged, left corner of her mouth going up.
"And I've thought you're more complexed than that," Dazai chuckled, gaining a nudge in his side from her.
"Don't piss me off, will you?" Aira growled, realizing that Osamu's only intention was to make her angry.
"You know, you should be nicer to me. I've saved your incompetent ass today," she added, gaining sudden confidence.
"By making me vomit? I think death is more pleasurable," Dazai answered, smirking to himself.
"Oh, I'll gratefully be the first one kill you, my dear," Aira spoke in overly-sweet tone, causing Osamu to scoff.
"The cab is here," Kunikida interrupted their childish argument, making his way towards the passenger seat in the front of the car.
"I'm not sitting in the middle!" Aira called, yet, that was the exact moment she had failed.
Dazai speeded to the back door of the cab, taking the spot on the right, just next to the window. As she angrily exhaled, she noticed the newbie waiting her to come in to the car.
"Atsushi-kun, you're not going to betray me like he did, right?" Aira said in a sing-song voice, yet the boy simply shrugged. "Conspiracy. That's what it is," she murmured, sitting right in the middle of the backseat.
With a childish pout, she tried to listen to Kunikida explaining the importance of their mission and introducing the cab driver as their informant.
But that was only until she felt a finger poking to her side.
"Do it one more time and I'll..! Ouch! You goddamn moron!" she screamed in the quietest tone that she could as Dazai poked her once again.
"What? You've just said that I should do it one more time," he nonchalantly responded, placing his hands behind his neck.
"I'll murder you and dismember your body with the greatest satisfaction in the entire world," she whispered to his ear, making him only giggle.
"If that pleases you — go ahead, my love," he responded, causing her to growl.
"I hate you."
That was a lie.
Aira Razuki didn't hate anyone, not even Doctor Yosano. With that in mind, Dazai wasn't a person she could hate.
Of course, he annoyed her. After all, he was obnoxious, arrogant, childlike.
But he also had numerous values Aira admired; his cleverness, his charisma, his ability to nonchalantly deal with every situation.
But unlike as with Doctor Yosano, Aira wasn't jealous of him. She was aware of his good sides, she wasn't getting angry when she flirted with (yet) another woman.
But telling him he was likable to her was like setting her own house in fire. It would've only fed his ego.
The ego Aira definitely had enough of.
As they arrived at the abandoned hospital, she made sure to check if her pistol and two knives were still in their usual place — right behind her belt. It was a habit of hers to always bring two blades; considering her ability, she could've used one of them to distract the enemy, and the second to attack them as she turned back time by four seconds. Although a bit old-fashioned, the method never failed, being more than effective each time.
"Oh, are you scared, Kunikida-kun?" Dazai smirked, as they were walking through the halls of the obscure building.
"Are you afraid of ghosts or something?" Atsushi continued, his tone drastically differing from Osamu's teasing.
"I'm not afraid of ghosts!" Doppo argued, causing Aira to shook her head.
"Sure you're not," she mumbled, unexpectedly tapping his side. "Boo."
"You're as immature as Dazai, Razuki," Kunikida sighed, not wanting her to know his heart actually skipped a beat when she had tried to scare him.
"Pff, don't compare me to him," Aira spoke with seriousness in her tone, pulling down the sleeves of her coat.
“You know what? Maybe this place is really haunted. I'm beginning to feel the chills," she added with sarcasm, smirking at Doppo's reaction.
"Look at these footprints!" Atsushi interrupted, glancing at the muddy mess someone had made. "They're still fresh."
"Help!" A terrified voice of a woman interrupted their investigation, causing the four detectives to run towards the direction it was coming from.
Kunikida was the first one to arrive in the basement, letting out a loud gasp. Only then Aira noticed a woman, drowning in the water tank in the middle of the room.
Without hesitation, Doppo pulled out his gun, shooting at the tank to let the woman free.
"Is-is she breathing?" Atsushi asked, causing Aira to kneel in front of the victim to check her pulse.
"Shit," she mumbled under her breath.
She wasn't.
Rapidly placing her hand on the woman's arm, Aira managed to make her body return to the state it was in just four seconds ago. Part of her ability allowed her not only to turn back time of the surroundings, but also retrieve the state of an object or a certain individual.
Not another second later, the woman started coughing, spitting out the water that got into her lungs.
"Dazai, give me your coat", Aira ordered, realizing just now that the woman was only in her underwear.
"Why me? You are wearing one as well," he responded in his usual manner.
"We don't have time for bickering," she answered, rolling her eyes.
As the woman fully regained her consciousness, she managed to sit up, and thank the detectives for saving her.
"I'm Sasaki Nobuko," she introduced herself, yet Aira left the talking aspect of the case to the others.
Approaching the broken water tank, she began to look for clues that could've told her some more about the current case.
There were no signs of struggle, which fitted the explanation of Sasaki that she had been unconscious through the whole incident.
But still, there was something suspicious about her lack of clothing. Sexual motive wasn't the case, so why did the kidnapper decide to strip her off of her clothes? And why did they do it so carefully? After all, there were no scratches on her body from them taking off her clothes. Wouldn't the kidnapper want to get over with this as soon as possible?
"Dazai, what's your take on this situation?" Doppo's question interrupted Aira's tiny investigation, making her approach the fellow detective to hear about Osamu's insight.
After all, he might've been childish and immature, but he was also extraordinarily clever.
"Sasaki-san is looking super sexy."
Never mind.
"Be serious!" Doppo shouted, equally as annoyed as Aira.
"Oh, right! There should be others who were abducted here," Sasaki interfered, causing Aira's brow to furrow.
Wasn't she unconscious when the kidnapping happened?
"I know I heard voices just as I began drowning in the tank," she added.
Aira sighed.
Of course she had overthought the situation.
Without further do, the detectives began to search for the abductees, opening every single door in the basement.
Yet, something wasn't sitting right with Aira.
Theoretically, when someone would be drowning, they would focus on the survival aspect, not about analyzing the situation.
"I've found them!"
~.~
"Why would the kidnapper put the others in a gas chamber and only her in that tank?"
It was the next morning.
Aira had been up most of the night, staying at the office. The papers were spread on the desk in front of her, her make up completely went off, leaving her with mascara smudges and dark circles under her eyes.
Normally, she would brush off a case like that; it was supposedly simple — a kidnapper, who broke their modus operandi by targeting a victim out of their usual schema.
As much as Aira would love to blame Sasaki, she had no proof of her being more than just an abductee. That was exactly why she needed to focus and think about every possible scenario.
"You're early today, Razuki-san," Atsushi noted as he walked into the headquarters.
"Nah, I've never left," she corrected him, burring her head in her hands.
Aira knew she was only overworking herself. Staying up all night hadn't been making her more knowledgeable about the case. In fact, it was only making her more tired and exhausted.
"This isn't adding up, kiddo," she added, exhaling loudly. "Ugh, I need coffee."
Without waiting for Atsushi's answer, Aira walked into a small kitchen with the purpose of making herself a huge cup of a certain black brew.
"For God's sake!" she yelled loudly, bashing her hand on the kitchen counter.
The only word that described her at the moment was frustrated.
Her anger went even more up, as she read the front page of the newspaper Atsushi had brought with himself. They were trying to frame the Agency.
"Razuki, we're going to speak to Sasaki," Doppo told her, without taking a look at her.
As Aira was trying to get herself together from staying up all night, she followed Kunikida and the newbie to the infirmary, where the woman was resting in.
Her eyebrows went up with the speed of light as she saw Dazai, sitting on the chair next to Sasaki, cheerfully chatting with her.
"Thank you so much for saving me the other day," the woman spoke politely. "If you hadn't come when you did, I wouldn't be alive right now."
"It's our job, after all," Aira mumbled, glancing directly at Dazai, who sent her his usual smirk.
"Not to mention, you even let me stay at your residence last night," she added, making everyone despite Osamu even more confused than they already were.
"Huh?"
"Where did you stay last night?" Atsushi asked curiously, watching Sasaki look shyly at Dazai.
"My place," he answered nonchalantly, pointing at his face.
"What?!" the three detectives screamed in unison.
"I'm... deeply indebted to Dazai-sama," she continued, as it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"See?" Osamu grinned goofily.
"We need to talk, Dazai-sama," Aira stated with false sweetness in her tone, mocking the name Sasaki had just called him by.
Walking out of the infirmary, she didn't even wait for Dazai to catch up to her. Instead, she stood in the corridor, only to see him join her a few seconds later.
"What the hell was that?" Aira yelled, clenching her fists.
"What exactly?" he asked with a silly grin, tilting his head to the side.
"This is so highly unprofessional, Dazai!" she continued, pointing at the direction Sasaki was at. "Do you have any idea what that might mean to the Agency if she goes on and talks how a detective asked her to stay at his place?!"
Osamu managed to only blink twice at her sudden outburst, only to widen his smile even more.
"Ooh, you could've said it from the start!" he cheerfully exclaimed, closing the distance between them.
"Wh—?"
"I knew that you're just jealous!" He didn't let her finish, feeling confident from the scent of victory in making her mad.
"You think too high of yourself," she growled, furrowing her brows. "I'd never be jealous of a dimwit like you."
"Suuure," he sang, making his way back towards the infirmary.
"Dazai! I mean it!" she called after him, yet received nothing but another goofy smile.
Aira let out a frustrated growl, feeling her cheeks burning from, what she thought to be, anger.
She could have never be jealous of Dazai. After all, she watched him notoriously flirt with women on daily basis, and this time she was only concerned about the Agency's good name.
So what was this sudden feeling of...
...green?
~.~
Aira wasn't a woman of many feelings; regret and anger being the two she most frequently felt. She didn't cry often, she wasn't getting overly excited about things.
Maybe that's why it was so easy for her to talk with Kunikida. The two of them were almost like siblings — they had their schedules, lacked the healthy emotion display. Acting like they were the most rational ones of their coworkers, they kept on telling themselves it was the easiest way to live.
But problems began to start each time any of them had to show anything that was different from frustration. To Doppo — it was the Sasaki situation now; there was something about the woman, he couldn't particularly place. Maybe it was the way she spoke, maybe her appearance, maybe a sense of mystery surrounding her. Yet the difference between him and Aira was that he could have recognize his concerns and decide what to do with them later on. Razuki, on the other hand...
She was feeling like a swarm of azure green cicadas surrounded her the moment Dazai teased her about her jealousy.
It was unlike anything she had ever felt. Aira sworn it wasn't something as shallow as jealousy.
No.
It was definitely way more complexed.
She couldn't possibly acknowledge the emotions she was feeling. They were drowned out by the chipping of cicadas, causing her to feel unsteady.
And, oh, how she despised this state of hers.
"You look awfully tired today, Razuki-chan," Dazai teased her as they were once again sitting in a cab.
"Thanks, that's exactly what I needed to hear," she mumbled, exhaling loudly.
As the two of them gained a reprimanding stare from Kunikida, they immediately quieted down. The car was about to stop, meaning that Doppo was going to confront its driver. Earlier that day they come to the conclusion that it must have been him, who lured the victims into the abandoned hospital...
...but still, it was something Aira hadn't been fully satisfied with.
Doppo went on explaining in a grim tone, how it was the cab driver, who abducted the people and used the sleeping gas on them.
Dazai noted that he probably was selling off the victims to the black market, simply to earn something from their organs.
But Aira didn't say a word.
She simply listened.
The only thing in her mind was to come home, take a nap and regain her strength to fully solve the case.
But it was until the cab driver mentioned about how passionately he needed protection from an organization that was behind it, Aira's pupils dialed.
They were about to be captured.
~.~
"Azure King, huh? We should've thought about it when that informer-boy mentioned him," Aira sighed, sipping on her coffee the following afternoon.
Yesterday she, Dazai and the newbie escorted the driver to the safe place, when Doppo was busy fighting with a mafia member, Aira meet in person earlier this month.
It turned out that the Azure King was a previous opponent of Kunikida, hence his concern was the biggest of them all.
After today's meeting, the four detectives and the witness went on to meet in a more comfortable spot than the Agency's infirmary — a cafe Osamu and Aira visited a week prior to this incident. Yet today, Razuki was sitting at the table with Atsushi and Doppo, where as Dazai took his spot across Sasaki, nonchalantly talking about how Kunikida was a bit too organized.
"...after all, he always spends two hours before going to sleep reviewing and revisiting his notes. I doubt I could stand doing that for two minutes," he said on one breath, causing Doppo, Atsushi and Aira to turn their heads towards him.
Without further do and with anger painted all over his face, Kunikida punched Dazai from behind, making him theatrically fall to the side of his seat.
"Kunikida-kun! I didn't know you were here!"
"How could he ditch an emergency meeting and go on a fancy afternoon date?" Doppo asked with his usual stoic calm, yet Aira knew there was more behind his facade.
"Are you jealous of that fancy date?" Osamu teased, putting his head in between Aira and Doppo.
"I'm not!"
"You really think Kunikida and I have nothing better to do?" Aira tried to argue, but only now she realized how not needed was her input.
"Oh, no one's been talking about you, my love. Why are you so upset all of the sudden?" he replied with a smirk, this time gaining a punch from Aira, not Doppo.
"I'm going for a smoke," she added, putting on her coat.
"Hey! I thought you've quit smoking, Razuki-chan!" Dazai called after her, yet she didn't bother to answer.
Walking out of the cafe, Aira leaned on one of the outside walls, taking out her phone. Of course she never intended on smoking; after all, Dazai was right — she quit smoking the day she passed her entrance exams to become a detective, hence she never intended to do so that moment.
Dialing the phone number she wanted to call, Aira sighed, knowing that it was the worst idea she had ever had.
"Razuki? What a surprise. You never call me," the voice on the other side of the phone chuckled.
"Shut it, Yosano. I need your advice," she responded, fidgeting with the trim of her blouse.
"My advice? I thought you hated me," Yosano joked, yet receiving no answer, she furrowed her brow. "What's the matter?" she added, fully confused about the other woman's intentions.
"What would you do if supposedly... just supposedly! Theoretically—!"
"Spit it out, I'm the doctor here," Yosano interrupted Aira, wanted her to speed up the question process.
"Jealous. What would you do if you were jealous?" Aira finally asked, her fingers still toying with the ruffles of her clothes.
"Oh, for fuck's sake, Razuki," the other woman burst out in laughter, not expecting the outcome of their conversation. "Dazai or Kunikida?" she said after calming down.
"What?"
"Are you jealous about Dazai or Kunikida? I've always suspected you had feeling for one of them," she explained, trying her best not to laugh again.
"Jesus, Yosano, it's really not important," Aira mumbled, silently cursing herself out for even deciding to call the Doctor.
"Look, I'm just curious. You never talk to me and I want to hear the gossips," she answered but, once again, her reply was followed by silence.
"Just get over it."
"It's easy for you to say," Aira sighed.
"No. It's easy anyway. I bet you don't want to do this whole relationship-thing. That's just not your style. It's the feeling that you don't like," Yosano responded. "Ignoring it is the most convenient way... or just shoot your shot at him, I don't actually care," she added and Aira could've sworn she was smirking.
"Yeah, I'll rather stick to that first option, thanks." Aira exhaled.
"You know, we should go for drinks someday. End this whole 'I hate you, Yosano' thing," the woman laughed.
"Yeah, maybe," Aira answered evasively. "Gotta go. Thank you once again," she added and without waiting for her response she hung up.
Frustrated that she had give up smoking, Aira hid her face in her hands.
"Get over it, huh?"
~.~
"Kunikida kun!" Dazai shouted as soon as he noticed two grenades being thrown towards the car the four detectives were in.
They finally had discovered Azure King’s whereabouts and were on their way to end this massacre of a case. Their present task was to stop the bomb that was about to go off any time.
"Doppo poet! Flash bang!" Kunikida yelled, using his ability. "You three, go upstairs!" he ordered, running up to the armed men, who were shooting at them.
"'Course, boss," Aira smirked, taking out her pistol.
Without further do, her, Dazai and Atsushi ran up the staircase, trying to open up the door to the room the bomb was located in.
With the snap of his fingers, Dazai destroyed the lock, letting them all inside.
"Can you figure it out?" Atsushi asked, pointing at the machinery that would stop the bomb.
"It's easy. But I can't do it," Osamu exhaled, making the newbie to gasp.
"We need a key," Aira explained, trying to find the best solution for getting the wanted object. "If only Doppo..."
"What are you doing here?!" A tall, muscular man walked into the room, causing Aira to stop in the middle of the sentence.
"Wow, we've got quite a heavy hitter here!" Osamu exclaimed cheerfully.
That was when Aira decided that she had to do something before the man could start the fight. Pulling out her gun, she fired one bullet, only to use her ability and find herself right in front the man, putting a knife to his throat.
Yet, she thoroughly underestimated her tactic, as the man, who was almost twice her height, grabbed her arm with one of his hand and threw her on the wall beside them.
"Shit," Aira managed to say before Atsushi was thrown as well not another moment later.
Next thing she knew, the man was grabbing Dazai by his throat and punching him right in the center of his chest.
"Hey, big guy!" Aira called after doing her best to get up.
The man immediately turned his gaze at her, making it easier for Osamu to hit him from behind. Aira knew she couldn't overpower the attacker before her ability regenerated. She was only buying time for Doppo.
As predicted, the man grabbed her head, smashing it on the desk in front of them.
"Razuki!" Dazai managed to yell before he, himself was pulled by the throat and pushed against the widow of the room.
"'M okay—!" she responded just before the attacker kicked her to the other side of the room, making her land just next to Atsushi.
"'M not okay," she mumbled, touching her bleeding head with her fingers.
She knew she was going to walk out of this situation bruised. Her role was only to make the unspoken plan work, which apparently began to work as Kunikida appeared in the room, kicking their opponent to the ground. Meanwhile Dazai was standing right in front of the Azure Messenger, disallowing his ability.
Hearing that Doppo was about to repair the key, Aira used her gift to reduce the damages of her body. She managed to fix two broken ribs and the bleeding of her head, yet the pain of hitting it on the desk stayed as it was before.
Watching Kunikida explaining Atsushi his power, she could finally take a look at the defeated Azure King, curled up right in front of Dazai. Deciding to walk down the stairs to get the better picture of the man, she left the final part of the mission to Doppo, who without further effort turned off the timer of the bomb.
"Razuki-chan! I was pretty good, wasn't I?" Dazai cheered as soon as he saw the woman approaching him.
"Don't yell, I think I may have a concussion," she joked, yet furrowed her brows soon after she noticed how Osamu's expression had changed for a split second. "What?"
"Oh, nothing," Dazai smirked, watching Doppo and Atsushi returning to them. "Just wanted to remind you that you have to wait for me with dying. Double suicide, remember?" he replied, covering up the moment he got her off track.
He couldn't show her he was actually worried, could he?
~.~
He hadn't told her.
Dazai hadn't told her he was going to meet up with the true Azure Messenger.
The worst thing about the whole situation was the way Aira found out about it; casually eating dinner at the office when Atsushi asked her why wasn't she with Kunikida and Dazai.
After a short explanation, Aira didn't finished her stir-fry, speeding right away to get her car and drive to the location the newbie was talking about.
Why?
Why hadn't he told her after seeing her being so invested in the investigation?
Wasn't she good enough? After all, she was beaten up yesterday more than she should have been. Is that why he wasn't seeing her as a worthy coworker?
Pushing out the intrusive thoughts, Aira focused on driving to the abandoned hospital, just so she could find out the truth...
...and also scream at Dazai for not telling her.
Just as she turned off the engine of her car, she noticed their informer — Taguchi Rokuzou entering the building as well. Rapidly following him, she found her way to the space upstairs where the voices were coming from.
"...I just wanted to take a look who's really responsible," the informer spoke as soon as Aira entered the room.
"That's relatable," she spoke, causing Dazai to turn his glance towards her. "How couldn't you tell me?" she asked with a pinch of frustration.
"Because I knew you'll come anyways," he smirked.
"So it's really, really not you, right—!" Kunikida continued his argument with Rokuzou, not being able to hear the trigger of someone's gun clicking.
Aira's eyes widened.
"Look out!" the informer shouted, pushing Doppo to the side.
She had no idea what drove her to run towards Kunikida and Rokuzou.
She had no idea what made her grab the informer's shoulder, trying to save him.
And she had no idea why she hadn't use her ability.
Two bullets.
Two bullets were shot; one stopping right in the informers lung, second going straight through his cleavage and entering Aira's shoulder. But neither Dazai nor Kunikida noticed her getting wounded.
Dazai grabbed the falling body of Taguchi, at the same time pulling out the gun and aiming it at the person that had just walked through the doors on the other side of the room.
Without hesitation, Aira followed him by taking out her pistol.
"So you're the Azure Messenger. Sasaki Nobuko-san," Osamu spoke calmly.
Of course.
How couldn't she be?
Aira shook her head, realizing that her gut feeling wasn't half wrong.
Yet, why she couldn't thought about it earlier?
Was it Sasaki's acting skills?
Or was it Aira's brain being overwhelmed by the azure green cicadas?
Sasaki went on explaining how she tried to make the Agency fall, her confession being followed by Dazai's deduction of the plans of her crimes.
It all made sense now.
"Lower your gun! What good will this accomplish?!" Kunikida yelled, bringing Aira back to the reality.
"Don't you understand? You resemble him in a way..." Sasaki spoke, having in mind the man she committed the crimes with.
"He does not," Aira shook her head, a grimace appearing on her face. "His ideals don't murder others. They don't make them suffer," she added, feeling the anger boiling up in her.
"There's only a slim border separating them," the true Azure Messenger spoke, causing Aira to grip her gun even stronger.
"Your plan was very sophisticated. Without committing a single crime on your own, you set up the Agency to take the fall," Dazai continued softly, his gun still pointed at her.
Ideas needed commitment.
Plans needed commitment.
Without it, they were all set to become a failure.
And that was exactly what Sasaki lacked — strength and steadiness. Bouncing from one thing to another didn't make her stronger.
It was the opposite.
That was exactly why made Aira question her own viewpoint at that moment. She believed there was no good nor bad. People weren't saints or evil to the core, they just had their ideas of a moral system. But how one could succeed if they weren't committed to what they believed?
"I'm just tired now," Sasaki sighed, hiding her gun. "I want to be release from all of this... Will you shoot me, Dazai-san...? But I've lowered my gun. If you were to shoot me now, it would be an excessive use of force. Kunikida-san and Razuki-san are watching us," she whispered.
How badly Aira wanted to be the one to shoot her. How badly she wanted to prove that manipulating the situation wasn't going to set her free.
...and yet, she couldn't bring herself to.
That wasn't what she believed to be right.
"You're right. I can't shoot... However..."
The gun Dazai dropped landed just in Rokuzou's hands.
Three.
This time there were three bullets being fired.
"The Azure King killed my dad," he managed to say before exhaling one last time.
"No. No, no, no," Aira mumbled, kneeling right beside Dazai and the body of their informer. "I-If I managed to use my—!"
"Razuki," Osamu whispered, placing his hand on hers. "It's too late."
"Why?!" Kunikida yelled, his glance fixed on the dead body of Sasaki. "Why does it have to end this way?! What went wrong?! Who was wrong?!"
"No one was wrong," Dazai spoke calmly. "That was the only possible outcome."
As Aira watched him get up from the body of the informer, she tried to follow him, yet forgot about the burning pain in her shoulder, caused by the bullet that was still there.
"Shut up! You could've saved her!" Kunikida growled, grabbing the collar of Osamu's shirt.
On unsteady legs, Aira managed to pull herself up, not adding a word to the conversation.
She understood Kunikida — no one deserved to die that day. Yet, Rokuzou got his justice in the end, Sasaki got hers as well.
Death was the inseparable part of life. Without it it would all be meaningless.
But death wasn't something that was only connected to humans; it was way more than that. Emotions, ideas, plans. They were all coming to an end some day.
Aira sat on the passengers seat of her car, pulling out a knife out her pocket. With the door opened, she poured rubbing alcohol to disinfect the blade.
Undoing the first four buttons of her shirt, she closed her eyes, exhaling loudly.
It wasn't her first time taking out the bullet, yet every time she was preparing to doing so, her hands were always sweaty.
Dipping the tip of the knife in her flesh, she clenched her jaw as her hand started trembling.
"Can I ride with you today, Razuki-chan? Kunikida-kun doesn't want to..."
"Shit!" Aira cursed out loudly as she pushed the bullet further after being scared by the sudden voice interrupting her.
"Have you been shot?" he asked rapidly, not realizing his facade had just slipped.
"Are you an idiot?" Aira bursted, grabbing a tissue to stop the bleeding. "Sorry, I thought we were asking rhetorical questions," she joked, closing her eyes as she rested her head on the window.
"Here, let me," Dazai suggested, sitting in the driver's seat and taking her knife.
"Just be quick because—! Ah, shit!" Aira yelled at the rapid motion of the knife entering her shoulder.
Not soon after, the bullet dropped to the ground.
"Was that quick enough?" Dazai smirked, putting away the blade.
"I'd punch you if I wasn’t dying," she responded theatrically, trying to button up her shirt.
However, her efforts were unsuccessful as one of her her shoulders wasn't allowing her fingers to work properly. Within seconds, she saw one of Dazai's hands getting closer to her once again.
"No way I'm letting you do that," she snorted, subconsciously smiling through the pain.
"But you said you were dying, my love. I wanted to help you out just a little," he responded with a grin.
"You can help me out by driving me back to the dorm," she answered, handing him out the keys to the car.
It was surprising how quiet Dazai was; completely unlike him when it came to their conversations. But, unbeknownst to Aira, there were myriad of thoughts running through his mind.
...and every single one of them involved her.
"I think I quite like you when you're not talking," Aira spoke after three minutes of complete silence.
To her further surprise, he only smiled in response, seemingly being focused on the road.
"Dazai?" she asked, furrowing her brow. "Are you okay?" she added, adjusting her place in the seat to take a closer look at him.
"Of course, Razuki-chan," he replied in his usual manner, yet there was something differing from the tone Aira was used to.
"You know, sometimes I wonder if you put that idiot's persona for a show," she murmured, taking a look at the sun setting behind her window.
"Why would you think that?" he smirked, glancing at her.
"No particular reason," she replied, gazing over her shoulder to look at him. "Just a thought."
hiya! it’s lottie again with midnightcrusader updates!
first and foremost — how are you guys? haven’t heard from y’all for a very very very long time. I hope you’re doing well, staying hydrated and safe. I really missed writing for you and now finally I’m back!
back with a new fic called Tangerine Sunset. So! If you’re a Bungou Stray Dogs fan and a Dazai kinnie this fics for you!
also yes, another one of my oc’s constantly angry and sad… but don’t blame me! I have so much fun writing character development stuff and (not to spoil y’all anything) it does happen in this fic as well sjfjcicd
talking about myself some more — I’m so freakin tired, folks. college’s killing my and my every last bit of sanity. but hey! don’t worry! if I’m sad — I’m writing, so it’s probably for the best for us all.
if you want to talk about literally anything — dm me! I love messaging with you!
have a nice day or night! love you guys and I hope you’ll enjoy my new work ❤️❤️
↳ spoiler warning: starts from s01e03 bits of ep04, 01&02 mentioned
↳ other warnings: cursing, smoking, su!cide jokes cuz hey! it’s Dazai after all…
↳ a/n: christmas came early this year! second chapter is going to air on Saturday (as I continue posting in my usual schema Wednesday&Saturday). if you’d like to be added to the permanent tag list and get the notification when the new chapter is up — dm me! and of course, have fun reading!!
There weren't many things Aira Razuki was biased towards; the stench of dead fishes present in the whole port city of Yokohama didn't bothered her. The overpriced coffee she tend to buy every single morning was bearable. Annoying people were just something she had to cope with.
And yet, Aira Razuki found herself in the sudden state of fury each time someone mentioned the meaning of her first name. For unbeknownst reason to her, the choice of her parents was utterly abominable. Odious, even.
After all, they could have chosen a different, definitely more suitable name — Kori, per say. Aira would've much likely preferred being referred to as ice, rather than love and affection, hence that was the exact meaning of the word. Unsurprisingly, those two things were also something Aira lacked through her whole life; she was cold, insensible...
...or maybe that was only something she liked others to think of her. Maybe that was the easiest way for her not to get anyone too attached to her.
"Why do missions always get me like that," she hissed, regarding her current state of the sudden self-reflection.
Frowning once again, she entered the red brick building, taking the stairs instead of the elevator. It was a very specific habit of hers, mostly connected to the subconscious fear of being trapped in a place she couldn't possibly escape from.
Through the wooden door of her workplace, Aira could hear the sudden rumble going on inside. Knowing that it's probably her coworkers arguing, she dismissed the thought of joining the conversation, planning on getting the coffee the Armed Detective Agency was providing their employees with.
Yet, she couldn't help but roll her eyes at the sight of Doppo Kunikida strangling Osamu Dazai.
"Children. Literal children," she spoke, taking off her squared sunglasses.
It was like a lighting striking the two men when they heard the familiar voice. Both of them immediately straightened up, acting like nothing particular had been happening just a moment ago.
"Oh, Razuki-chan!" the brown-haired detective called cheerfully as he saw Aira entering the room.
"What did he do?" the woman asked the other man, entirely skipping the greetings.
"Hey! Why do you assume I did something? You're so prejudiced, Razuki-chan!" he argued, childishly pouting.
"Because you always do something, Dazai," she scuffled, furrowing her brow at the sight of a face she didn't recognize. "Who's that?" She pointed at the boy sitting in one of the office's dining boots.
"I-I'm Atsushi Nakajima," he introduced himself, glancing over the woman that had just made rather a... dramatic appearance.
Her burgundy coat looked like it was almost moved by the wind when she came in. The ruffles of the collar of her shirt were adding a pinch of authority and dignity, she obviously was emanating with. Her golden hair were tied in a low bun, making her face features appear sharper than they already were. But most importantly — she was wearing pants. And something inside Atsushi was telling him that women in pants were to be feared of.
"Doesn't ring a bell," Aira spoke evasively, sitting in one of the bar seats, just beside the blonde man.
"He's the new member of the Agency," Kunikida started to explain, turning his head towards his coworker. "Dazai had found him when... Well, he was trying to drown himself," he shrugged, noticing small wrinkles appearing on Aira's face.
"Dazai or the kid?" she asked, fully curious about the person, who had been supposedly drowning.
"That's a rhetorical question, my dear," Osamu stated with a wide grin on his face, closing his eyes as he spoke.
"You should've let him be, kiddo," Aira whispered theatrically, just so everyone in the room could've hear her.
"Oh, thank you, Razuki-chan!" Dazai exclaimed, clapping his hands.
"Shut up," she frowned, realizing what she had just said.
Of course he took the suggestion of his death as a compliment, how couldn't he?
"How did the mission go?" Doppo interfered in hopes of ending the immature exchange of words the two of the fellow investigators were having.
"Lots of blood, lots of bullets. As usual," Aira answered, sipping on her coffee. "You know, sometimes I wonder when I won't walk out this alive," she laughed with a grim tone.
"But you've promised to commit double suicide with me!" Dazai argued once again, theatrically putting a hand over his heart.
"I've never promised you anything, you idiot," she sighed angrily.
"Come on, Razuki-chan!"
"Goddamnit! Which part of shut up did you not understand, Dazai?" Aira called loudly, completely loosing her temper.
It wasn't easy for someone to annoy her. Dazai, however, managed to do it every single time they spoke.
"By the way, what were you guys doing before you joined the Agency...? Uh, not real meaning behind that question," Atsushi shyly interrupted the argument, smiling innocently.
"Take a guess. It's a game we play often," Dazai answered calmly, just as Aira wasn't arguing with him a moment ago.
And just like nothing ever happened, the newbie started guessing everyone's former occupation. Firstly, he started with the Tanizaki siblings — the deduction wasn't a hard one, since the both of them looked like typical students. The first surprise struck the boy as he found out Doppo was previously a math teacher. The second, when Aira tensed up as he looked at her.
"Nah, I'm not doing that." Razuki shook her head vigorously.
"Why not?" Atsushi furrowed his brow, a look of the pure innocence painted all over his face.
"It's just... not important," she added, gripping the coffee cup a bit tighter.
But then she glanced over the boy, who was looking at her with curiosity.
And something in her not entirely rotten soul caused to sigh and answer with a plain:
"Okay. Go on."
"I'd say you were a business woman," the boy continued, causing a sad smile appear on Aira's face.
"I wish."
"A fashion designer?" Atsushi took another guess.
"What makes you think that?" the woman laughed softly, perplexed by his answer.
"Your coat... it's just very... stylish?" the boy answered hesitantly.
"She failed her Med School's exam," Dazai interrupted the game, causing Aira's jaw to clench. "And then she went on picking up small jobs around town," he explained further.
"R-really? I wouldn't have guessed," Atsushi wondered.
Aira Razuki looked like a woman of success; everything about her - her appearance, the way she spoke, her aura. Every single detail made him thing of her as some sort of a higher-up.
"Okay, that's it," Aira stated firmly, not wanting to throw a fit around the new employee. "I'm going to give a report of my mission to the President," she added reluctantly, getting up from her barstool.
"Dazai, you idiot." She heard Doppo whispered angrily to the dark-haired man as she speeded off to the hallway leading to the President's office.
Of course, she wasn't planning on going there. Her report was made a day prior, just as she returned to the Agency's dorms.
Her sudden exit, however, was caused by one of the most unpleasant memories she held within herself. As well as the feeling of utter disappointment towards her own self.
Leaning on the wall of the hallway, she sighed loudly. She hated herself for reacting like that every time someone brought up her former dreams.
But she couldn't act otherwise.
They were ruined. And she was the one responsible for her setback.
"Hey, Aira," the soft voice of Kunikida called as he closed the door behind him. "It's okay, Dazai is just a arrogant idiot," he added, standing right in front of her.
"He is," she confirmed with a sorrowful laugh, looking directly at her boots to avoid the glance of her friend. "But he's telling the truth. I'm a goddamn failure," she whispered, hearing Doppo frown.
"We've talked about it, Aira. Numerous times," he spoke, placing a hand on her forearm. "It's the past and it doesn't define you," he continued, wanting to comfort her.
They had known each other for two years now. It was his unspoken duty to make sure she was okay. No matter how many times he needed to say those confirmations to her.
Kunikida firstly met Razuki on the day of her entrance exam on which he played a crucial role. During the first couple of months of her job at the Agency, their relationship consisted of mere greetings and small-talks. As the time went on, Doppo, Aira and Osamu became drinking buddies, what meant they had a space to talk to about their past some more. At first, the woman was resistant; she was always trying to avoid the topics of her previous life by changing the subject to her work.
And Doppo wasn't opposed to it.
He understood that she probably went through a lot, hence the trauma of the past wasn't something she was keen on discussing with them. Yet her cold persona turned out to be quite shallow as she started opening up to him on the span of following year. Kunikida became not only her coworker, but also a friend on whom she could rely on. He was here for her, even if sometimes their conversation would turn out to be simply scolding each other.
But on top of that, the two of them quickly realized they were quite alike; they shared similar traits, they were loners, and most importantly — they were equally annoyed by a certain coworker of theirs.
The coworker that made Aira throw the current fit.
"But it follows me, Doppo," she mumbled, trying her best to stop her voice from shaking. "No matter what I'd do I'm just a girl, who failed her entrance exam. I'm introduced as one and I always will be!"
"Jesus Christ, woman," Kunikida murmured, rolling his eyes. "You haven't failed our entrance exam. You're hardworking, quick-witted..."
"Stop it, I don't need you to sing me praises," she scoffed, interrupting her friend's efforts to make her feel better.
"Then don't act like a toddler," he replied, causing a smirk to appear on her face.
The last thing Aira wanted was to dig up in her past. She appreciated Kunikida's efforts, yet she couldn't bring herself to fully open up to him. It wasn't because she didn't like him; to be frank it was the exact opposite - she wanted him to see her as the person she was now, not one she used to be. And so, her only option now was to play it safe - simply shrug off the situation she had found herself in.
"I won't, mom," she teased, gaining a punch in the arm from her coworker.
"You're so annoying."
"Sorry," she grinned. "A moment of weakness," she added, nonchalantly putting her hands behind her head as she walked back to the main area of the Agency's headquarters.
Leaving Doppo dumbfounded, a certain question occupied her mind — why did her missions were always making her feel the way she was feeling now?
So childish, so vulnerable. And her sudden outburst of anger weren't helping her in any shape or form. In fact, they were only making the matters worse, letting the people around her know that she wasn't feeling well.
And Aira despised that feeling.
Before sitting in one of the boots, she took of her coat and asked the bartender (which also happened to be another woman Dazai notoriously flirted with) for a second coffee.
It was certainly going to be a long day, and caffeine was the only thing that could have saved her from the depths of further disgrace. Peacefully sipping her brew, she sighed as she felt the weight of a very specific individual sinking into the seat next to her.
"Razuki-chaaan, I haven't made you angry, have I?"
Sighing, Aira glanced at the detective, who was desperately trying to get her attention.
"I'm having a bad day, Dazai. Leave me alone," she mumbled, putting the now-empty cup on the table.
"How could I ever leave a beautiful woman alone? After all, a lady like you certainly needs company of someone like me," he continued in a cheesy manner, making Aira sigh.
"Oh!" he exclaimed loudly as a blonde woman walked through the door of the office. "A lady like her needs company of someone like me, too!" he added hectically, quickly approaching the visitor.
Aira shook her head with a resigned smirk, taking her time to finish the coffee.
It was always like that; Dazai complained about not having a woman to commit a double suicide with, which caused him to flirt with every person of the opposite sex on daily basis.
Yet, Aira didn't complain - as long as he was trying to seduce anyone but her, she was going to carry on with her daily tasks. She'd learned ignoring his antics, after all Dazai was definitely not going to abandon his flirtatious persona any time soon.
Approaching the table the woman and the rest of the detectives were currently sitting at, Aira listened to Tanizaki's question, which was followed by Dazai exclamation as he kneeled in front of their customer.
Noticing Kunikida twitch, she made her way to grab his hand, sending him a quick warning glance.
"He's an idiot but he's smart," she whispered quietly, watching the motion of Dazai's hands as he complimented the blonde lady.
"No, he's just an idiot," Doppo responded, and was quick to approach Osamu to punch him straight into his face. "Apologies for the disturbance," he spoke to the woman, making his way towards the computer room, opposite of the table.
"Please disregard what just happened. Continue," he added as the door behind him ad Dazai closed.
Aira only managed to roll her eyes at Osamu's muffled screams coming from the room.
"So? How may we help you?" Razuki asked, returning to the topic of the conversation.
It was just a normal day at the Agency. Nothing, comparing to her entrance exam.
~.~
Nothing ever went right in Aira Razuki's life.
Firstly, she failed her Med School's exams, then her parents threw her out of the house. Next thing she knew, she was out on the streets, desperately trying to make her ends meet.
With no coins in her pockets, no reassurance given, Aira found herself struggling with debt and low self-esteem.
But that was only the top of the iceberg.
Her life was soon to be crushed when she discovered her parents' dead bodies during one of August's nights.
The nightmare that had been haunting her ever since that day.
But then, just as a single ray of the sun, her hopes were given back to her. After being thrown out of the flat she was renting, she met a gray-haired man, who told her he knew about what happened to her parents.
He also was aware of the abilities she had.
On the span of two days he offered her a job at Armed Detective Agency...
...then he went quiet for a week.
Aira cursed out her fate, her abilities, her failures. Why did another person leave her? Was she not good enough?
Strolling around Yokohama's warehouses, she lit up her cigarette after being fully consumed by self pity. She hated the thought of keeping on living like that; she had nothing. She was alone.
"Help! Please, help!" the screams of a woman interrupted her walk, making her body completely stiff.
The woman sound entirely panicked and Aira immediately knew the importance of the matter.
But was she going to help?
She believed there was no good or bad. The concepts were merely a human creation. Life went on, only to be followed by death.
And after all, her life was already miserable. She didn't need to risk dying prematurely by interfering in something that wasn't supposed to involved her.
"Help!"
Her body went stiff again.
Of course she didn't need to get involved. Yet, the certain urge in her mind told her she should do something.
No.
She needed to do something.
Her live might haven’t been be worth living, but that didn't mean lives of others hadn’t. That was not how people should end their existence. They should die of old age with their close ones present. And that was exactly the thing that Aira believed in to be right.
"Yeah, sure, I guess I'll just die then. I have nothing better to do anyway," she murmured to herself, patting her jacket to see if she had brought her pocket knife with her.
Creating as little noise as she possibly could, she entered the warehouse the screams were coming from, only to see a teenage girl being held at gunpoint by a man in a beige suit.
"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she yelled, stepping between the girl and the attacker.
"It's either you or her," the man spoke with a grim tone.
Aira had never imagined herself being in that situation. It was certainly the first time someone was threatening her to kill her.
For her whole life she imagined she would be petrified. Unable to move.
Yet, her own reaction indisputably surprised her…
She chuckled.
She could've sworn the man had just furrowed his brow. Almost like he wasn't used to the situation he had found himself in.
"How about none of us?" Aira answered with nothing but seriousness, taking out her pocket knife.
"Huh—?" the man only managed to say.
Next thing he knew Aira was standing right behind him, holding her knife to his throat. Almost like she had teleported.
Little did he know it was far from it — Aira's ability allowed her to fool time, which she pleasantly decided to use.
"It's eith—," the attacker stopped himself, realizing he had already said the line he had rehearsed. "What the..?"
"Say anything more and I'll slash your throat wide open," she threatened him, her hands still on the knife.
"Hey! Hey! Stop!" Aira tilted her head at the sounds of panicked screaming of a man, who had just jumped off of one of the containers.
"That's enough, it was a test!" he explained, approaching her and the other person...
...who turned out not to be the attacker?
"What test?" Aira furrowed her brow, fully confused about what was going on.
"Does she pass?" the man in the beige suit asked, massaging his throat after having a knife next to it a moment ago.
"I mean, she didn't sacrifice herself. She was trying to kill me," he continued, his brow furrowed.
"Well, I don't know, Kunikida-kun. I think that was quite hot," the dark-haired man answered, nonchalantly shrugging.
"It's not about her being hot, you moron! I can't believe how stupid you are!" the other man shouted, shooting his hands in the air.
"Hi! I'm Naomi!" the girl that was supposedly held hostage exclaimed.
"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?!" Aira yelled, tilting her head towards the noise that was coming from the entrance of the warehouse.
"Congratulations, Miss Razuki. You pass the exam," the gray-haired man Aira recognized from offering her a job spoke, causing everyone in the room to be quiet.
"What?"
~.~
"With two, you can! Double suicide..! Double suicide..!"
"Your taste in music terrifies me," Aira sighed, sitting opposite of Dazai, who had been singing along to the song he was listening to on his headphones.
"Ooh, I knew I'll summon you with those lyrics!" Osamu laughed, placing his cheek on the palm of his hand.
"Whatever you say," she replied, adjusting the coat she had just put on.
"So do we go on a bridge or do we just swallow some pills here?" He childishly smiled, watching her movements.
"What?" Aira furrowed her brow as she shook her head.
"You're getting dressed. It fits with my idea," he explained, waving his feet in the air.
"Lord, give me strength," she exhaled loudly, causing Dazai to chuckle. "The kids won't deal with the trap themselves," she added.
"I've always loved how clever you are," Dazai clapped his hands, beginning to stand up. "What gave it away?" he asked, putting on his own coat.
"You're a flirt… but you won't do anything inappropriate. This time you've put your hand a bit too close to her hip," she simply explained, opening the door as she waited for Dazai to follow up. "Kunikida-kun! We're leaving!" she exclaimed.
"Was it your sign from above?" Doppo called to Osamu.
"Not entirely but Razuki-chan is fair enough," he replied, holding the door that she had just opened.
"What is it? Another inside joke I'm not aware of?" Aira scuffed, watching Osamu joining her side.
"You can say that. Yes," Dazai smirked. "I have a question," he added as they found themselves on one of Yokohama's streets.
"I'm not committing—!"
"No, not that," he interrupted her, smiling softly.
"Good, 'cause I swear I'd punch you," she responded, putting on her sunglasses.
"Why are you always like that with our newbies?" he finally asked, his glance meeting Aira's expression of confusion. "If it was me or Kunikida-kun, you'll just keep on drinking your coffee... Could it be you're actually concerned, Razuki-chan?" he teased, the pitch of his tone going up.
"Shut up."
"Oh, don't be so afraid to admit your actually nice and caring," he continued, his smile widening.
"I'm not. I'm just concerned about the rookie. It's his first mission," she explained, wanting to end this conversation as soon as possible.
"Yeah, you've admitted it," Dazai murmured to himself, placing his hands behind his neck as he continued walking. "Con-cerned," he sang, separating the syllables.
"He's a child, Dazai!" Aira argued, wanting to prove her point. However, she couldn't see she was miserably failing to do so.
"He's eighteen," he corrected her nonchalantly.
"Yes. Still a child," she confirmed, taking the next turn left.
"That doesn't change anything," he chuckled, already knowing she had lost the argument.
"Look, Razuki-chan," Dazai stopped walking, placing his hands on Aira's shoulders. "Caring is better than self-pitying. You're old enough to understand that," he added, fully knowing he would only make her more angry.
"I hate you," she growled, taking his hands off of her shoulders. "I knew I should've walked alone," she murmured, resuming the walk.
"So why didn't you do it?" Dazai asked with false concern in his voice.
"Because I—," Aira stopped herself in the middle of her sentence.
She had no idea what she wanted to say.
She had no idea why she actually didn't walk alone.
And she had no idea why she wanted to go with Dazai.
"Because you like spending time with me. Knew it," Osamu teased, tilting his head to the side.
"Not in the slightest bit," she finally responded.
"Sure you do," he chuckled, putting his arm around her.
"I'll break it if you don't move," she threatened, trying to took of his hand from her shoulder. "Go away," she added, unable to move his arm.
"Then use your ability. It's not that hard," he smirked.
"You know I can't! It needs a minute to regenerate and I don't know when we'll need to help the kids!" she argued, only now realizing that he fully understood what he was doing.
"How sad. I guess you'll just have to accept it," he pouted, patting her arm.
Aira growled, still trying to get rid of his hand slandering her.
Her efforts, however, were quickly interrupted when she heard a familiar scream.
A scream belonging to Atsushi.
With a reprimanding look she gave Dazai, he took the hand off of her, turning his head towards the location of the noise. Instead of running towards it, he just shrugged, patting the top of Aira's head.
"Don't worry, you haven't seen him fight," he said, just as nothing important was happening at that moment.
"I don't care. Let's go," she responded, making her way towards the alley the screams were coming from.
Just as spoken, Aira found herself at the spot of the fight, only to see a white tiger attacking a criminal she was familiar with — Akutagawa. Just on the span of the next few seconds, he used his strength to punch the weretiger, who Aira quickly connected to being Atsushi's ability.
Blue and red aura merged together as the attacks continued, and Aira knew it was the best time to use her gift — Time-master.
Her ability allowed her to turn back time by four seconds every one minute, so it had to be used carefully in combat. As perfect as it may seemed, Time-master was suitable during fights — it allowed Aira to undo the things that were done, giving her the space of fixing her failures.
Quite poetic, when it came to her past.
As Akutagawa and Atsushi returned to their previous places, the mafia member's attacks were yet to begun again, Aira noticed Dazai sending her a smirk, just before he walked in between the two fighters, using No Longer Human.
"Okay, that's enough," he calmly spoke, separating the two of them.
As the space was filling up with light-blue beams, Aira found herself covering her face from the sharp light. Minding the fact that she was also wearing her sunglasses.
And just like that — everything went quiet. Atsushi returned to his human form, falling unconscious to the ground. The two mafia members were standing still, the woman from earlier that day shooting a confused look at Aira and Osamu.
"You're the two of the detectives..." the blonde lady wondered, the tone of her voice getting more angrier with every word she spoke. "Why are you here?"
"I'm the type who can't stop thinking about what a beautiful lady may be up to," Dazai answered nonchalantly, his hands finding their way to the pockets of his coat. "I decided to secretly listen in," he explained further, pulling out a small detective device.
"Impossible!"
"What did you expect from a Detective Agency?" Aira sighed, watching as the woman was trying to find the second part of the device in her pocket.
"You had already seen through my plans!" The woman shouted, yet both Aira and Osamu ignored her.
Dazai went to check on Atsushi, telling him to wake up because he didn't want to carry three unconscious people back, meanwhile Aira passed by the two mafia members to check the pulse of the Tanizaki siblings.
"You think we'll let you go alive?!" the woman yelled, pointing the gun at Dazai's back.
Aira only managed to shake her head as Akutagawa started chuckling under his breath.
"Don't, Higuchi. You can't win," he spoke, causing the woman to lower her gun.
He continued on saying that he and the woman, who supposedly was called Higuchi were going to retreat, he didn't fail to threat that the Port Mafia was going to recruit Atsushi.
As Aira had learnt — the weretiger had a bounty on himself.
A bounty worth seven billion yen.
~.~
"You know, Razuki-chan, we should work together more often," Dazai cheerfully exclaimed, sitting beside Aira.
"I've only decided to come here because you've promised to pay for my coffee. Don't get your hopes too high up," she responded, waiting for the waitress to bring them their brews.
It was two days after the mafia incident. To be completely frank, Aira was a bit unsteady, considering the threat of the Port Mafia suggesting a possibility of war with their Agency.
She didn't fear it, however. It was just that tiny voice in her head, telling her to be prepared for something that was about to come.
And yet now, she accepted Dazai's offer to come with him to a coffee shop, only because she felt like there was something he wasn't telling her.
Or anyone in the Agency.
"Don't be so cold to me, my dear. It shatters my heart to pieces," he complained, covering his eyes with the palm of his hand.
"And Kunikida tells me I'm the one who's dramatic," she scoffed, tapping her fingers on surface of the wooden table.
"What's your biggest secret, Razuki-chan?" Dazai splattered without hesitation.
"Like I'd tell you that," she mumbled, looking out of the window.
"Come on, we're friends," he smiled childishly.
"Since when, huh?" Aira asked, toying with the frame of her sunglasses that she had previously put down on the table.
"Mean," he pouted, taking the square glasses out of her hand. "How do I look?" he asked, right after them putting on.
"Like an idiot. Give it back," she responded quickly, handing out her hand.
"No, no. I think I quite like them," Osamu smirked, tilting his head to the side.
"Dazai..." Aira murmured angrily, getting impatient with his antics.
"I'll give them back if you tell me your biggest secret," he stated firmly.
Aira shook her head, only to burry it in her hands.
"You're so annoying," she replied with resignation in her tone. "Fine," she finally agreed, exhaling loudly. "I use honey as a conditioner for my hair."
"Hey!" Dazai objected quickly, taking off the sunglasses he had stolen from her. "That's not the biggest secret I was talking about!"
"But it is my biggest secret, my dear," she replied with a devilish smirk. "I mean, how else could I keep my hair looking so flawless? You could use my tips, you know? Your hair is dry as hell," she giggled, fully knowing that this time she was the one who was teasing the other person.
"You know that's not what I meant," Osamu continued, wanting to be the one who was in charge of the situation once again.
"Yeah," Aira wondered, imitating his usual childish smirk. "Thank you," she added full of victory as she snatched her sunglasses from Dazai's hand, using the right moment.
"That's cheati—!" he interrupted himself, noticing the waitress that was bringing them their coffee. "I have finally found a reason to live!" he exclaimed, cupping the waitress' hands into his own.
"Some things never change," Aira murmured, taking a sip of her coffee.
~.~
"What the hell happened when I was out?" Aira asked loudly, taking a look at the Agency's office, which was, to say at least...
...fully destroyed.
"Black Lizard," Kunikida answered, rapidly writing something in his notebook.
"Yeah, that I've noticed," Aira sighed, glancing at the beaten up bodies of the members of the group.
"Why are you all so calm?" Atsushi asked quietly, glancing at the woman, who simply went on to pick up the drawer that had fallen.
"You'll get used to it, kiddo," she replied, placing the furniture on its place. "Hey! Ranpo! Care to help me out with that sofa?" she called out to the detective, who looked like he was best-dressed when it came to his job.
"Nope! Not really!" he answered, taking a sip out of his water bottle.
"Men these days are trash," Yosano spoke, helping Aira picking up the fallen couch.
"Thanks," Aira responded. Despite that short of a sentence, Yosano could have heard the tone of her voice being distant and cold.
It was something she took pride of.
Doctor Yosano hadn't recalled the time when she was rude, or even unintentionally mean towards Aira. To be completely honest, Yosano was even nicer to her than to her other coworkers.
Yet for some unbeknownst to her reason, Razuki hated her. Yosano was fully aware of that fact, yet she couldn't quite pinpoint why.
Why was Aira always avoiding talking with her?
Why was she always telling her how unprofessional her skills were?
Why was she always leaving the room as soon as she saw her?
At first, Yosano was concerned. Then she realized that her younger coworker had been simply delusional when it came to their interactions.
What Doctor Yosano couldn't see, however, was that Aira didn't hate her for being Yosano. All in all, Aira didn't even hate her.
She was jealous of her being a doctor.
Yosano was living her dream life; she seemed to be having it all — the smarts, the brains, the title.
Comparing to her, Aira was nothing but a failure.
And it was going to take some time for her to see that the titles didn't mean anything. Just as a long, hard path back to home, Aira needed to reconsider her previous choices and misfortunes only to come to terms with them.
"Why are you crying?" Kunikida's voice interrupted everyone's work.
"I... I... I'm not crying!" Atsushi objected, turning on his heel to hide his face, which, in fact, was completely covered in tears.
"Oh, that's exactly what we were lacking today," Aira sighed, approaching the two.
"Just look at you. Your so typical for your generation. Even when given a job you just go off and play without permission. You cry if anyone gives so much as a word of criticism," Kunikida stated on one breath, purposely not meeting with Aira's sharp stare.
"That's not it!" Atsushi objected. "That's not what is it about!"
And only now Aira understood Doppo's plan.
By scolding him, he made the boy stop crying.
Yet, did it solve the problem?
Aira wasn't so sure of it.
"Hey, can I talk to him?" She grabbed Kunikida's arm. The tone of her voice was completely differing from his.
"Just don't tell him it's okay to throw fits," Doppo sighed, returning to out-planning the costs of the repairs.
"Hey, Atsushi-kun," she started, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You're not worried about the criticism, are you?" she asked, her voice sounding almost motherly.
"No," he responded, wiping the tears from his face.
"You're worried that your bounty may have caused this, right?" she continued, watching him nod his head. "Then let me tell you one thing, boy. You're the part of the Agency now. And you know what we do if someone is targeting our employee?"
"You throw them out of the window?" he joked through the tears, pointing at Kenji, who had been just doing spoken thing.
"Exactly," Aira confirmed with a soft laugh. "My point is — you're safe here, Atsushi-kun. Moderately, but you are."
"I'm not worried about myself," he interrupted shyly.
Not long after his sentence, his brow furrowed as he heard Aira burst in laugh.
"Have-have I said something funny?" he wondered quietly, glancing at his feet.
"Yes... I mean, no!" Aira said through the laughter. "Have you seen us?" She pointed at the coworkers, who were busy putting the office back together. "We're like, super-strong. Not immortal, but we can defend ourselves," she added, comforting him.
Aira had the tendency of self-pitying and crying over her own failures. However, when it came to others, she didn't want them to experience the exact same things as she did.
Pity, jealousy, worry.
They were just a fragments of human's imagination. She fully understood that allowing those emotions to overcome one's own self made them only focus on their more, instead of truly experiencing the life.
But Aira Razuki was also hypocritical.
She wanted to prevent others from feeling those things, yet was unable to follow her own instructions.
It was just like a bottle with time, which was sealed with the heat of fear and anger. And inside this bottle there was her — drowning in her own sorrow and pity, yet seeing the world in front of her through the glass of the closed bottle.
She was trapped there.
Alone.
But she didn't fully realized that she needed someone from the outside to open up the bottle to let her, and all of her past free.
She had no idea that it was the only way to feel alive once again. After all, had no idea she was trapped — the glass was see-through.
She experienced life.
But not how life should have been experienced.
"I'll give you another advice, Atsushi-kun," Aira smiled, pointing at Kunikida. "Don't cry near to him ever again. The only emotion he's comfortable with is anger," she added, watching a small smile appearing on Atsushi's face.
"I won't, Razuki-san," he smiled back, his tears now fully dried.
"Come on, we have to help them with cleaning," she added, rolling up the sleeves of her shirt.
The Armed Detective Agency had an oddly specific taste when it came to their employees; troubled past, problems with emotional display, shallow facades — they were all relatable to Aira Razuki. The young detective gave up on searching happiness a long time ago. Yet, with the help of a certain dark-haired coworker, will she finally be able to cope with her deepest fears and sorrows?
i wanted to thank you so so much for the recent attention my last May’s series First Light has been receiving. Shout out to my new followers, I really appreciate you’ve decided to read my works^^
in addition, I’ve been recently watching Bungo Stray Dogs and I absolutely fell in love with Mr. Dazai, so! if you’re interested in reading another oc series and you also enjoy BSD then I’ve got you covered!! In two months or so I’ll be finished with my Dazai fic, ready to upload once again!
another thing I wanted to address is that some of you had been messaging me about spoken new fics. Im currently so goddamn busy, I’ve started the 1st year of college so I’m trying to figure out life as an adult chjdjx. That’s why my activity wasn’t perfect. I also like to have my stories finished before I start to upload it, simply because I value consistency (and I know myself, I’m bad at writing under stress).
Thank you guys so so much once again! If you want to be tagged in my upcoming Dazai series - message me! I’ll tag you in the permanent tag list ❤️
↳ other warnings: cursing, smoking, drinking, fight and wound description
↳ a/n: all of the good things come to an end at some point… but! im planning on writing some bonus chapters in the nearest future! love you, guys. thanks for reading this fic ❤️
"Shit!" Sachie yelled, teleporting to the place where Yuuji was located at. Just as she opened her eyes, she realized she had landed right in front of a white pickup truck and had to immediately jump to the side to avoid getting hit by the car.
"Fujita-sensei?" Itadori mumbled, his clothing and face covered in blood.
Sachie didn't answer. Instead, she took a quick look at her surroundings. There was a body of a cursed spirit, Yuuji was standing next to, and a shirtless man, jumping directly on the white truck, pulling the passenger out of his seat.
Without thinking, Sachie generated a stream of her energy, pushing the man, who was falling out of the truck to the side. She was soon to notice the horror on the attacker's face when Nobara picked up her hammer and ran towards him, hitting him with all of her strength. Right after that Yuuji jumped up, punching the man with his fist, all blue due to his cursed technique.
"Sorry," the pink-haired boy mumbled, after finishing his attack.
The attacker's body fell lifelessly on to the gravel ground, his eyes completely wide opened.
Sachie, still with her fists cleansed, approached the Curse Spirit's body, to make sure it wasn't any further threat towards the students.
"Are you alright?!" she shouted, returning back to the students.
"Yeah, uh..." Nobara mumbled, glancing at her hand which was covered in small wounds, due to her usage of hammer and nails.
"Give me your hand," Sachie ordered, reaching out to her. "What happened here?" she asked as soon as she started healing the girl's wound with her Reversed Cursed Technique.
"They just attacked us," Yuuji answered, still a bit shaken from their fight.
"Just? They looked skilled, it must have been planned," she responded, finishing to seal Nobara's wounds. "Where's Megumi?" she asked, realizing that the dark-haired boy was not with them.
"In the forest," Kugisaki said simply, glancing at her now healed wound.
"In the..? Is he..?"
"Yes, he's alright," the girl interrupted Sachie, taking a deep breath. "But we must go and check on him, he's been in the fight as well," she added, grabbing her hammer once more.
"Jesus fucking Christ, these missions are only getting more dangerous," Sachie stated angrily, following the two teenagers as they walked passed through the street.
"But how did you find us?" Yuuji asked, furrowing his brow.
"Long story," she answered evasively. "But we need to talk, Itadori. After everything calms down," she added, almost sending him a death stare.
Allowing the two students walk right in front of her, she started being awfully quiet.
This attack, the attack from the Exchange School Event, was surely something out of the ordinary. And to be completely frank, Sachie didn't think it was an unrelated matter. Someone was definitely targeting the students from Jujutsu Tech; the only fact she needed to figure out was why?
And how did the attackers know their specific location? Were the kids followed? Was one of them a traitor?
No.
The other thing was definitely not possible to be true. They couldn't be, none of them.
Trying to not hear what Yuuji and Kugisaki were talking about, Sachie quietly followed them, adjusting her leather coat.
After all, she was wearing only Gojo's T-shirt underneath.
But it was odd, considering how she ended up being there; the necklace-thing could have been easily explained — she was feeling a personal connection towards Gojo Satoru. Yet, the fact that she had teleported to that place after experiencing the feeling of unease from Yuuji's magazine made her question how much her abilities depended on her.
She had always thought that her aura-based technique was working only because she was the one in charge. Now, however, with the weird experience of sensing the danger from the other side of the school, she wasn't sure how much her previous deductions were true.
And maybe she didn't even know herself at that point.
After a small walk, the three found themselves right under one of the bridges, with Nobara and Itadori quick to notice Megumi laying right on the ground.
"F-Fushiguro?!" the students mumbled in unison, fully worried as they noticed Megumi's forehead being stained by the blood.
"Oh, I'm good. I'm glad you're safe," he calmly answered, sitting up from the ground. "And Fujita-san is here as well, what a surprise," he added, his voice completely not matching his current state.
"I! I was so scared! I thought you were dead!" Yuuji and Kugisaki shouted, hugging each other closely.
"Fuck! Why did you tell me he was alright?!" Sachie yelled, noticing Megumi sighing and getting up. "Hey, kiddo. Let me heal you," she said rapidly, approaching him right after a second.
"No need," he said, the tone of his voice being completely still.
After Fushiguro complained about Nobara and Itadori being too loud, the three students exchanged some quick information about they recent mission. Sachie took a deep breath, knowing that rather sooner than later she needed to talk about the proper safety procedures when it came to letting the kids go on the missions all by themselves.
"The hell? Where did you get that?" Sachie furrowed her brow, realizing that Megumi had just handed over Yuuji a Sukuna's Finger.
"It was what's the mission was all about," he quickly explained, standing up from the ground. "Don't eat it. You have an intelligence of a dog," Megumi added, as he reached his hand.
Yet, as soon as Yuuji got close enough, a mouth of Sukuna appeared on his hand, rapidly digesting the finger.
"We've told you not to eat it!" Megumi and Kugisaki shouted, right after seeing how Yuuji's whole body began to shake.
Sachie rolled her eyes as she moved her wrist, blasting him with the golden sparks of electricity.
"Ouch! Ouch! That hurts!" Yuuji called maniacally.
"Sorry, kid. But you kind of pissed me off lately," she shrugged, putting on her gloves.
"Me? How?" he asked confused, pointing his finger at himself.
"Do you by any chance know Jenifer Lawrence?" Sachie raised up her brow, smiling mischievously.
"Yeeeah, she's hot," he wondered, grinning from ear to ear.
"I've found her naked picture on your nightstand."
"What?!"
~.~
"And you've said you were going to smoke," Gojo said, sounding almost like a mother scolding her child. "Liar, liar, pants on fire," he added, theatrically waving a finger in front of Sachie's face.
"Don't distort the goddamn facts! Your students were in danger, you moron," she angrily answered.
It was the morning the night after. As soon as Fujita and the kids returned to Jujutsu Tech, she immediately went to wake up Gojo and shout at him for letting the teenagers go on such a dangerous mission.
"And you're dressed like an idiot," he smirked, looking at her clothing choice which was plainly her coat and his T-shirt.
"Goddamnit, Gojo!" Sachie yelled furiously, angry at the fact that their coping mechanisms were significantly different; she got anxious just thinking about the possibility of the teenagers getting hurt, hence she was becoming incredibly mad, whereas Satoru... he simply made fun of everything just to sort the things out in his head.
"Hey, hey. Calm down and give me some time to think. You know I'll figure out what happened there," he assured her, pinching her cheeks. "You're too pretty to get angry," he added with a huge smile, kissing the top of her nose.
"I hate you," she mumbled, per usual, however, seeing the corner of Satoru's mouth going up, she sighed. "No, I don't," she rolled her eyes, smiling unwillingly.
"Thanks for taking care of them," he responded honestly, placing a soft kiss on her lips. "I'm gonna call Utahime," he stated, seeing Sachie nodding as a reply.
"And I'm going to talk to Itadori. He's crossed a line," she added, shaking her head as a sign of disapproval.
"Oh, now I'm scared," Satoru responded dramatically, making her giggle. "Don't be too harsh, he's just a kid," he added, putting on his usual uniform.
"Exactly! He's a kid," Sachie frowned, her pants halfway on. "Have you seen my shirt?" she furrowed her brow, trying to remember where her clothes went.
"It's probably somewhere in the hallway," he teased, immediately getting punched in the shoulder. "Hey! It's not my fault you've decided to strip in front of me yesterday!" he objected, grinning widely.
"I did not—! Ugh!" Sachie growled, subconsciously smiling.
"Here, you can wear this," he interrupted her, handing her over his own blue shirt.
"Wanna make obvious we're dating?" she raised up her brow, not entirely believing his suggestion.
"I mean, why not?" he smirked, putting his shirt on Sachie's shoulders. "I like seeing you in my clothes," he added, winking.
"Ew," she snorted, however, she fully agreed on wearing his shirt.
"When you're done screaming at my student, come to me. I'll make you some tea," he said nonchalantly, exiting his bedroom.
Sachie smiled to herself, buttoning up his shirt. She had no idea he could be that romantic toward her.
Walking through the corridor, she was preparing a monologue she was about to say. And although the case wasn't exactly burning, she couldn't possibly tolerate the thought of her students behaving inappropriately.
Knocking on Yuuji's door, she received a quick come in and decided to storm right in to his room.
"Remember when I was saying we needed to talk, Itadori?" Sachie asked, her tone completely serious. Her teacher persona kicked right in, entirely covering her ability to view things as an usual person.
"O-oh, you're in trouble," Nobara said, falsely concerned. She and Megumi were sitting on the edge of Yuuji's bed, when he, on the other hand, was leaning on the windowsill.
"I-I think so, Fujita-sensei?" the pink-haired boy answered with a certain drop of hesitation in his voice, having no idea what he did wrong.
"How old are you, again?" Sachie asked calmly, crossing her arms.
"Fifteen," he answered, clearly confused.
"And what's the minimum age of consent for reading the magazine you keep in your bedside table drawer?" she continued, noticing Megumi smirk widely.
"W-what magazine?" Yuuji faked his answer, trying to appear completely oblivious to Sachie's question.
"Eighteen. That's the correct answer," Sachie replied for him, raising up her brow. "Do you know that's it's forbidden for you to own it?" she added, completely peaceful.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Fujita-sensei," he hesitantly replied, continuing to act like he truly had no idea what was going on.
"Oh, of course you do," she smirked. "Don't let me even start about the nude Jeniffer Lawrence's photo."
"You're in deep shit," Kugisaki whispered towards him, smiling mischievously.
"Hey, Nobara. Swearing is also inappropriate on the school grounds. Especially with a teacher nearby," Sachie added, not realizing what she had just said.
"Teacher?" Megumi asked, his grin growing. "So you're officially back?" he added, knowing that the woman said those words subconsciously.
"Fuck," Sachie mumbled, rolling her eyes at her previous words.
"I thought swearing wasn't appropriate," Nobara laughed, raising up her eyebrows.
"Yeah, Fujita-senpai!" Yuuji called, wanting to interfere to draw the attention away from his magazine.
"Where did the goddamn respect for the elders went?" Sachie asked, trying to keep her composure after...
...literally getting mocked by the three teenagers.
"Hey! You're not that old, Fujita-sensei!" Itadori called, fully proud of his answer.
"Excuse me?" Sachie frowned, doing her best not to laugh.
"Itadori's kinda right, you're getting older. You sure you don't need a walking cane?" Megumi added, his tone dead-serious.
"Okay, okay. That's enough," Sachie said, trying to sound threatening, however, the tone of her voice completely betrayed her. "That’s bullying at this point," she said, turning her head to the side, simply not to laugh.
"So... when will be the right time to talk about the fact you're wearing Gojo-sensei's shirt?" Nobara asked, laughing silently.
"Bullies," Sachie sighed, exiting the room.
~.~
"Come on, Chi! We're going out!" Satoru childishly exclaimed, standing in her doorway with a blue bag in his hands.
"I'm not going anywhere," Sachie mumbled, crossing her arms as she sat on the edge of her bed.
"Come on, Fujita-sensei!" Yuuji joined the white-haired man in convincing Sachie. "It's going to be fun!" he added, appearing in the doorstep as well.
"I'm not going on a beach. No way," she continued, her expression still sour.
The beach was never her place of choice. She despised everything connected to it; the sand getting into her shoes, the wind messing up her hair, the salty water sticking to her body. The beach was a mess, just as going there with Gojo and the students was about to be.
"We need someone to drive us there," Satoru explained, shrugging casually.
"Why can't you just teleport there?" Sachie furrowed her brow, glancing at him with visible confusion.
"That's booring," he sang, adjusting his sunglasses.
"So why don't you drive then?" she asked, trying to come up with anything so she wouldn't have to join them.
"I don't like to drive," he answered nonchalantly, approaching her. "Please, please come with us?" he almost begged, and Sachie could have sworn that if she could have seen his eyes, he had been making a puppy expression.
"No."
"Fujita-sensei! I won't survive a whole day with them without you!" Nobara complained, entering the room alongside Yuuji and Satoru.
"And you want me to suffer with you?" Sachie chuckled, sighing right after that. Coming closer to her wardrobe, she pulled out a towel and her swimsuit, quickly tossing them into Satoru's dark-blue bag. "Guess I don't have a choice," she added.
"Wait. So all of the things I've said, you've decided to listen to none of them?" Gojo asked, the tone of his voice completely childlike.
"Yup," Sachie agreed, popping the p as she casually walked passed Satoru.
"And you agreed only because of Nobara's complains?" he continued, getting ready to throw his usual, playful tantrum.
"Yup," she repeated her previous answer, hearing Megumi's chuckle right after she spoke.
"Damnit, Chi! I thought you cared about me!" Satoru called, acting falsely hurt.
"Oh, so you're finally together?" Fushiguro asked calmly, walking right beside Sachie and Satoru.
"No."
"Yes."
"Wait a minute. Did you just say no, Chi?!" Satoru called, placing his hand on his heart. His theatrical exclamation only made Megumi sure that, in fact, the two of his teachers were in a relationship.
"Only because you're pissing me off," she added, smirking mischievously.
"Hey! You've promised me to be nicer!" Satoru chuckled, putting his arm around her waist as he kissed her on the cheek.
"Oh, stop it. That's getting disgusting," Megumi complained, making a sour expression.
Of course, it was always clear to him that Sachie and Satoru had an unspoken thing going, so he had always thought it was a matter of time when they would become official. Yet now, he was sure he truly didn't want to see his teacher displaying their affection for each other near him.
"Calm down, Fushiguro. Let them have their moment," Kugisaki laughed, nudging his side right as she was speaking.
"We're not having a moment," Sachie objected, as her usual habit was to hide almost everything private about her.
"We're not?" Satoru repeated with false concern, gaining a reprimanding stare from his significant other. "Okay, okay! We're not!"
To assume that the ride to the beach was going to go in a quiet and peaceful manner would be an ultimate misunderstanding. With Sachie behind the wheel of the car, Satoru sitting right beside her, and the teenagers on the backseats, it was absolutely not going to go as Fujita had planned.
It firstly started with Nobara arguing that she was not going to sit in the middle. The boys claimed that by being a girl she should sit between them because she's smaller. That was met with Kugisaki's loud frown and almost immediate interruption of Sachie that they had no right telling her where should she sit, based only on her gender.
And so, they settled on Yuuji sitting in the middle in the end.
Next, Megumi started complaining about wearing a swimsuit. Apparently, he considered being shirtless with getting a skin cancer all of the sudden. Then, Nobara added that she had packed a sunscreen and everyone had to use it before actually going swimming. Yet, Yuuji wasn't so excited about covering his body with the substance, hence he considered sunscreen being "sticky and gross". That made Kugisaki even angrier than before as she stated calling the pink-haired boy an "uneducated idiot with no common sense".
But the worst being was yet about to come.
"Hey, can we turn up the radio, Sensei?" Yuuji asked Gojo, leaning towards the front seats.
"Sure," Satoru shrugged, significantly increasing the volume. "Hey! Do you know this song, Itadori?" he asked all excited, right after hearing the opening choirs to 'Take On Me' by a-ha.
"Of course!" the boy cheered, and all of the sudden started singing the verse right before the refrain.
"Jesus fucking Christ," Sachie mumbled, realizing what was about to happen. The song was a hit in the eighteens, obviously they all knew it. Moreover, they all knew the high note right in the end of the chorus.
Just as predicted, Itadori was still singing the song... however, calling it singing would be a misaligned. He was screaming the words on top of his lungs.
And if that wasn't enough, Gojo Satoru joined him.
"My ears are going to explode," Sachie mumbled under her breath.
Satoru turned his head towards Yuuji as they sang along the song they had no ability to make a cover of. The growl of Nobara could have been heard right after, which caused Megumi to smirk and look through the window just so he could fix his gaze on something that wasn't two tone deaf males.
"Can you stop?!" Kugisaki yelled, clenching her jaw. Apparently, Sachie wasn't the only person, who began to feel irritated at this point. "I'm seriously gonna punch you!" she threatened Yuuji, getting even angrier.
"She's right. You can't sing," Megumi mumbled, however, his tone was way more calmer.
"Backstabbed by my own students?!" Satoru dramatically exclaimed, tilting his head towards Megumi. "Itadori! Get ready for the chorus!" he smirked to the pink-haired boy as the went back to singing.
"I swear if you don't stop—!" Kugisaki started, however she was interrupted by the lyrics of the song being yelled again.
"Ouch!" Yuuji yelled loudly, after getting hit in the arm by the redhead.
"I warned you!" she furiously called, getting prepared to repeat her punch.
"Okay! That's enough!" Sachie interfered, turning off the radio.
"Hey! We haven't even finished the song yet!" Satoru complained, visibly pouting.
"I don't care," she murmured, rolling her eyes. "You all act like children. Especially you, Gojo," she added, focusing back on driving.
"Excuse me?! I was just...!"
"Shut up. We're here," Sachie interrupted him, pointing at the sandy area right in front of them.
After Fujita had parked the car, the five of them went to change into their swimsuits. Through the whole time Sachie was mumbling to herself how much chaotic was their trip and how much she just wanted to relax in peace and quiet. Thinking that she finally got her dreamt tranquility, she laid down on a towel she had brought with herself, buttoning down the black, shortsleeved shirt she put on her swimsuit.
Observing how Nobara whispered something to Itadori, Sachie noticed how the two pushed Fushiguro to the water. The dark-haired boy complained about how immature they were, yet he got pushed once again.
This time by no one else than Gojo Satoru.
"Hey! Leave Megumi alone!" Sachie called from her spot on the beach, lowering her sunglasses.
"Sorry, Sensei!" Itadori was the one to speak, as apparently he had the most respect for her out of the two remaining people.
Sachie shook her head, smirking softly. Closing her eyes, she laid down once again.
Her peace, however, didn't last very long as a tall man blocked the sun that was just setting down, creating a painting of orange and pink on the water surface.
"We're going swimming," Satoru said plainly, reaching for Sachie's hand.
"I don't like swimming," she answered, her eyes still closed.
"Don't be a bore and get up," he continued, grabbing her hand in the attempt to pull her up from the ground.
"Ugh, you're so obnoxious," Sachie sighed, allowing him to help her get up.
"That's 'cause I looove you soo much," he sang, kissing the temple of her head.
"Being sweet isn't going to change anything," she answered, smiling subconsciously.
She loved him as equally as he claimed to love her.
"Yeah, but I want to make up for those nine years," he shrugged, having in mind for how long they both had a crush on one another.
"Maybe when we come back," she winked, having no idea why was she attempting to flirt with him. It was definitely out of her usual persona.
"Oh, I see what you did there," he cockily responded, a huge smirk pained all over his face. "I hope you'll keep your word," he added, kissing her once again, this time on the lips.
"Nah, that's you, who gotta keep it. After all, you're making me go swimming," she teased, taking off the black shirt she was wearing.
"Can you believe it's the first time I see you wearing a swimsuit?" Satoru asked, looking up and down her.
"It's not my fault you used to leave every time when I was getting changed," she replied, raising up her brow.
"Hey! How could I know you were going to be comfortable with that?" he argued playfully, smiling to himself.
"Right. So maybe it is my fault after all," Sachie giggled, nudging his side. "So? We're going swimming or do you just like standing there?" she asked, bouncing her feet. She had no idea why spending time with Satoru was making her act out of character.
But she would be a liar if she said didn't like that feeling.
"I like looking at you, that's it," he confessed, grinning widely.
"Geez, that was fucking cheesy," Sachie laughed vigorously, grabbing him by the hand. "Let's go or else Kugisaki and Yuuji are going to drown Fushiguro," she added, glancing at the teenagers, who were still trying to push Megumi to the water.
Again.
"As you say, Miss Lifeguard," Satoru agreed, chuckling.
"Stop calling me by those stupid pet names," Sachie complained, rolling her eyes. Yet, once again, her sour expression had been interrupted by her widening smile.
"What stupid names, Miss Lifeguard?" Satoru asked, teasing her.
"I'm going to slap you," Sachie frowned, grinning softly. "Hey! Nobara, Itadori! Stop acting like children and leave Fushiguro alone!" she called, noticing their mischievous attempts.
"Good job, Miss Life— ouch!"
"I said I was going to slap you."
~.~
"I still can't get used to see you... like that," Nanami confessed, grimacing at the same time.
"Like what?" Gojo smirked cockily, pulling Sachie closer to him.
The three of them were sitting in one of the Tokyo's bars, Kento opposite of Satoru and Sachie. It was Gojo, who suggested a night out and, after obnoxiously convincing Nanami, drove them all to get some casual drinks.
"I'm way to sober to look at this," the blonde-haired man sighed, taking a sip of his bourbon.
"Complains, complains," Satoru said, shaking his head with a grin. "Can't you just be happy for your best friends?"
"You're not my best friend, Gojo," Nanami frowned, continuing to drink his alcohol.
"Oh?! And I've thought we had something going on between us!" the man with a blind fool on called, his tone full of over-dramatic hurt and shock. "Chi, you're awfully quiet. Did something happen?" he asked rapidly, glancing at the woman with visible concern and worry.
"Nah, it's okay. I'm just thinking," she answered quietly, sipping her Mojito.
"Well, if I was in your place I'd debate breaking up with him too," Nanami said, a devilish grin appearing on his face. He absolutely loved to piss Gojo off.
"Hey! She's not thinking about breaking up with me!" Satoru objected, stiffening up. "Are you, Sachie? Please tell me he's lying," he whispered towards her, now in a serious manner.
"Jesus, of course not," Sachie responded, rolling her eyes. "And Nanamin, you're an idiot," she added, the left corner of her mouth going up.
"Then you have an idiot as a friend and another idiot as a boyfriend," he replied, smiling to himself.
"Guess my taste in men sucks," Sachie mumbled, giggling quietly.
"Okay, okay! I get it! The two of you just like to make fun of me," Satoru interrupted, making a theatrical hand gesture. "And you say I'm the one who's childish," he added in a hushed tone, raising up his brow.
"If that's a competition, than you're surely winning," Sachie replied, placing a quick kiss on his cheek. "But we like you anyways," she added, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"I don't," Kento replied vigorously, shaking his head.
"Oh, shush, Nanamin," Sachie laughed, smiling from ear to ear. "So what now? Do we all return to our roots, or do we continue playing hide and seek?" she asked quite puzzling.
"What do you mean?" Satoru furrowed his brow, noticing that Nanami had the exact same reaction as he.
"Is it going to be just as before we parted ways," she cleared out, trying her best not to have her hands shaking.
Fujita Sachie wasn't a sentimental person.
Or that was maybe what she liked to though about herself.
But now, partially returning to Jujutsu Tech, reuniting with Gojo and Nanami, meeting the new first year students (and growing into like them), she was more than sure that if it was going up to her, she would highly considering staying for good. It was the first time since high school, she was feeling liberated; the notion of the new beginnings was present more than ever before, she finally discovered what she had been looking for all this time.
And so, leaving now would be considered a mishap. That was exactly why she needed to make sure that if she was going to stay, her best friend and her now boyfriend were on the exact same page as her.
"Well, I'm not going anywhere, 'ya know?" Satoru replied, putting his arm over her shoulder.
"We'll see," Nanami started, ending his drink. "But I kind of missed you, so I won't be leaving any time soon," he added, smiling genuinely.
"That's good," Sachie sighed with relief, grinning to herself. "And on that note, those next drinks are on me," she said, getting up from the table to get them something more to drink.
With a happy smile on, Sachie returned to their table as soon as the bartender finished making the order. Sitting back on her previous place, she stated that they were going to celebrate their little confessions by drinking shots.
As another hour passed and another glasses were empty, everyone's mood seemed to shift as they began to feel rather intoxicated by the alcohol running through their veins.
It was surprising to see Nanami telling a story, which was interrupted by his sudden laughter, Sachie being significantly more bubbly than she usually was and Satoru... well, Satoru was just simply himself; only a bit happier than before.
"...and I don't know, who do you think you are, Nanamin," Sachie mumbled drunkenly after the man complained about her being oblivious to Gojo's feelings for a long time. "But I'm the granddaughter of Fujita Nobu, World's Greatest Exorcist!" she added proudly, taking another shot.
"That doesn't make any difference, Fujita. You're still stupid," Kento smirked, slowly waving a finger in front of her.
"Oh, shut up!" Sachie bursted in laughter, placing her head on the tabletop. "Satoru, do you think I'm stupid?" she murmured her question, chucking to herself.
"Yeeaaah," Gojo answered, the tone of his voice sounding almost like Sachie's.
"Excuse me?!" Sachie asked in a high pitched voice, rapidly fixing her posture.
"No! No! I meant to say you're not!" he corrected himself, realizing that he wasn't paying attention to anything she was saying.
"Get up, we're going to fight," she exclaimed quickly, being drawn to say this by her current state.
"Nah, I'm going to win anyway," Satoru shrugged, grinning boyishly.
"No you're not! I'm a skilled—!"
"Shh, Itadori's calling," Nanami interrupted her, showing her and Gojo his phone. "What?" he picked up, not bothering to sound pleasant.
"Hey, what if something happened?" Sachie asked Satoru, however, the alcohol in her blood made her appear almost theatrical rather than seriously concerned.
"Can't be. They're not on a mission or something," he mumbled in response.
"Gojo, the kid wants to speak to you," Nanami stated, handing him over the phone.
"Hello?" Satoru said to the phone, sounding completely drunk. However, despite his current state, he made sure he put the phone in the place Sachie could hear their conversation.
"Gojo-sensei! We wanted to wish you goodnight before we go to sleep!" Yuuji called through the phone.
"You hear this, Chi? He wanted to wish me a goodnight," Satoru exclaimed childishly, grinning widely.
"Hey! Is Fujita-sensei near the phone? Send her kisses from us!" the boy added, causing Sachie to smile wider than before.
"I will!" Satoru replied vigorously, almost immediately kissing Sachie's cheek.
"Oh, and one more thing! Can you bring us some pizza on your way back? Pretty please!"
"Is he asking you for a pizza?" Sachie giggled, not knowing if she had hear the thing the boy was saying correctly.
"Yup," Satoru said simply.
"God, that's some high-level manipulation," Sachie stated, knowing that the conversation was never going to be just saying goodnight.
"So what about our pizza?"
~.~
"Geez, I think I'm hangover," the growl of Satoru filled his bedroom as he woke up the next day, his head feeling almost like it was about to explode.
"Shhh, you're too loud," Sachie complained, experiencing the exact same thing as him.
"I'm dying! How can I be quiet?" Satoru called, putting his fingers directly onto his temples.
"Then at least try to die quietly, it's only..." she stopped herself in mid-sentence, realizing that it was already bright outside. "Jesus Christ! What time is it?!" she asked rapidly, getting out of the bed with the speed of light.
"Ugh, now you're the one, who's being too loud," he sighed, closing his eyes once again.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I was supposed to meet up with Yaga ten minutes ago!" Sachie shouted, quickly putting her pants on.
"Yaga? What would you possibly need from Yaga?" Satoru asked, quite perplexed, sitting on the edge of his bed.
"Doesn't matter. I'm late!" she panicked, struggling to button up her shirt.
"Come here. Let me help," he offered, smiling softly as he began to fix her buttons. "Here you go, sweetheart," he added after helping her out.
"Thanks," she responded, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll be back in thirty minutes. Love you," she said, leaving Satoru's bedroom without waiting for his response.
Storming through the Jujutsu Tech's hallway, Sachie cursed herself out loud, realizing that they had really been drinking more than they all anticipated. She also made a mental note to call Nanami later on and ask if he had returned safely to his house.
"I'm so sorry, Yaga. I overslept," Sachie apologized as soon as she entered the principal's office and noticed Yaga casually sitting behind his desk.
"I'm not surprised. I've seen you and Gojo drunkenly stumbling through the corridor in the morning," the man answered with a smirk on his face, pointing at the seat in front of him.
"Shit," Sachie mumbled, sitting on the spoken seat.
"No worries. I'm only concerned if the pizza was okay," Yaga chuckled quietly, readjusting his glasses.
"I really fucked up, didn't I?" Sachie murmured, looking down at her hands resting currently in her lap.
"What's the matter, Fujita? Why did you want to meet up?" Yaga ignored her question, knowing that there was no point in talking about the night-out thing.
"I've considered your offer..," she started, still feeling a bit dumbfounded by the recent conversation. "And I wanted to apologize I shouted at you when you mentioned Reiko's name. I... just wasn't ready to talk about it just then," she confessed, her tone definitely quieter than usual.
"And I apologize for making you talk about it," Yaga interrupted her, fully admitting to his wrongdoing. He wanted to sort things out without thinking about her well-being at first.
"I wasn't planning to go back just then. But returning there made me reconsider my past and... I finally discovered that being there has been my purpose all along," she added with a weak smile, feeling a bit unsure. Those types of conversations were always making her uncomfortable.
"...and you're saying this because..?" he asked a half-question, hoping that she would answer with the exact same thing that he had in mind.
"I want to truly be back. I want to teach. I want to help others," she pointed out, smiling with every sentence she spoke more and more. "That is of course if you still need a teacher," she added, biting her lip.
"Fujita, I know I'd take you back even if I didn't have any vacancy left," Yaga responded with a grin. "Welcome back. Officially," he added, shaking her hand.
"Thank you, Sensei. That means a lot," she responded, smiling wider than ever before.
"Why are you still there, Fujita? I thought you had your first year's to teach," he stated, failing in keeping a straight face.
"Oh, yeah! Sure! Bye, Yaga!" Sachie vigorously replied, running up to the door.
"And Fujita!" he called after her, causing her to stop right before opening the door.
"Yes, Sensei?"
"Best luck with Gojo," he added, smiling to himself.
"Is it that obvious?" Sachie furrowed her brow, grinning.
"It always has been," he said, simply shrugging.
Sachie shook her head and right after letting out a giggle, she speeded through the corridors, in order to get the fastest she could to the main living area, where now her students were probably located.
She stopped right in front of the enterance, sighing loudly and putting on a serious face, just not to show anything what would lead them to figure out what was going on.
"What are you still doing here? It's nine in the morning," Sachie said calmly, entering the hall.
Noticing how quickly the faces of the students and Satoru had changed their expressions, she was trying her best not to smile.
"Gojo-sensei said we are going to take a day-off," Yuuji explained, furrowing his brow.
"Too bad he's not your only teacher," Sachie replied, failing to keep her face away from smiling.
"Wait. What do you mean, Fujita-senpai?" Nobara asked, completely perplexed.
"No way! You really did return to teaching!" Satoru exclaimed loudly, ignoring his hungover state.
"Is that true?" Megumi smiled subconsciously, his eyes wide opened at the same time.
"Yes. And I won't ignore your laziness right now," Sachie stated, crossing her arms. "Get up. We're going training," she added, now fully smiling.
As the three students loudly cheered, they left, as said, through the door to the outside, leaving Satoru and Sachie in the living area.
"So, now when it's all settled down," Satoru started, approaching Sachie. "Will you help me destroying the narrow-minded, conservative state of our school system?" he asked, making her laugh almost immediately.
"Geez, I think you're still drunk," she answered, hugging him tightly.
"Hey! I was being dead-serious!" he objected, kissing her passionately.
"We'll see, we'll see," she giggled, returning the kiss. "Now, come on. We have students to teach," Sachie added with pride, grabbing him by the hand.
Fujita Sachie hadn't had the easiest life. Her past trauma, inability to express her feelings and set the rational goals for herself were haunting her her whole life.
Yet now, she felt like she finally had the purpose she needed to obtain.
The idea of discovering her own powers was something she needed to pursue more and with Satoru and Kento by her side, she felt as powerful as ever.
The past was just the past; now what matter the most was the present moment. And Fujita Sachie was sure the things could only get better from this moment on. taglist: @tokyo-banana @stardvstial
