Chapter Text
“I was searching, for the reason I’m able to remain as myself;”
-- Luck Life, Call your Name
Atsushi stood before the building that housed the Armed Detective Agency’s offices. He twiddled his thumbs and paced in front of the door, hoping Dazai would hurry. His partner had called him just minutes before, insisting that it was an emergency.
Shading his eyes with a gloved hand, Atsushi scanned the streets for him without avail. The hour was late and the crowds were starting to thin, leaving the setting sun to play with the shadows of its surroundings. Atsushi shivered. He felt anxiety well up in him like a barrel of water, threatening to spill over at the slightest disturbance. He still had difficulty controlling his transformations. The rising moon reached out to Atsushi, tendrils of pale light curling like fingers. They beckoned to Atsushi, tempting him to give in to the beast within. He balled his hands into fists, as if he could fight the supernatural. If he were to transform right now, the havoc that would follow would most certainly get him kicked out of the Agency. He smiled at the thought of them. They were nothing like the nightmares that rumours had claimed them to be. Instead, they seemed like something out of a daydream. Such were the graceful deeds of the beautiful weird ones. Quickly they had changed from strangers to coworkers and finally, family. They may have been brought together by their abilities, but it was their experiences that tied them together.
Scanning the streets once more, something else caught Atsushi’s eye. Soft light poured through the building’s windows and he saw a shadow move near the window.
He squinted, then frowned. “Fourth floor?”
Who could be working at this hour? Even Kunikida had gone home early today, telling Atsushi that he had to be somewhere. Was Dazai in there? No, he’d asked Atsushi to wait outside for him. Then again, perhaps he’d forgotten himself.
Atsushi sighed, hand on the door. “Typical Dazai.” Before he entered the building, he heard a voice.
“At-su-shi-kun!” Dazai made his way towards Atsushi, footsteps clicking on the cobblestones. With his coat trailing behind him and his bandages being the only thing visible from a distance, he gave off the illusion of a ghost. “Hey, hey, Atsushi-kun!”
The illusion was broken and Atsushi groaned inwardly. Surely, the dead were nowhere near as loud as Dazai. Still, Dazai’s presence quelled Atsushi’s anxiety.
“I thought you had gone inside. The lights were on.” Atushi explained sheepishly, scratching his head.
Dazai looked up at the building, the moonlight drawing shadows on his face. “No they’re not.” he stated.
Atsushi followed his gaze, confused. Dazai was right. “I could’ve sworn…”
With a shrug of his shoulders, Dazai declared, “Must’ve been your imagination Atsushi.”
Atsushi was sure that it hadn’t been his imagination, but he changed the subject. “So what was the emergency again?”
With a flourish, Dazai held open the door and motioned for Atsushi to enter. “We’ll talk inside.”