Chapter Text
Part I — A Child Beneath the Moonlight
Chapter 2: Weretiger's Curse
It was the middle of a cold night. Atsushi and Dazai were sitting in an old warehouse that was stocked with plenty of boxes. Dazai sat atop one and started reading while Atsushi nervously sat down.
"Is... is it really going to come here?" Atsushi asked, fear shaking his voice.
"It will." Dazai said languidly, flipping the page of his book. Seeing Atsushi's nervousness, Dazai spoke again. "Nothing to worry about." He comforted. "And when it does, it will be far outclassed. I am an armed detective agent, after all."
"Ha-ha... you're so confident..." Atsushi remarked with a self depreciating smile. "At the orphanage, people always told me I was worthless..." He explained. "I have no idea where my next meal will come from... or my next bed..."
'There is no place under the sun where you might dwell!' He heard in his mind.
'Begone and vanish from this earth!' They screamed in his thoughts.
"If such a guy dies..." Atsushi said as he curled up into a ball where he sat. "No, I might as well die by being eaten." Atsushi remarked.
Dazai simply looked at him stoicly for a moment before looking up through an open window. A full blue moon was hanging high in the sky in perfect view. "Now then." Dazai finally spoke up. "It's about time." Dazai said before...
CLANG!
A loud and sudden sound could be heard from elsewhere in the warehouse. It startled Atsushi as he looked around frantically. "Just now... I heard something over there!" Atsushi said, fear gripping his heart.
"You're right." Dazai said languidly. He closed his book and placed it on his lap, but he didn't seem alert in the slightest.
"I'm sure that was it, Dazai-san!" Atsushi yelled.
"It was just the wind knocking a few boxes over." Dazai explained calmly.
"I- it's the man-eating tiger! It's here to eat me!" Atsushi said, standing up. He kept looking around frantically, trying to spot the tiger.
"Sit down, Atsushi-kun. The tiger won't come from there." Dazai assured the panicked boy.
"H- how can you be so sure!?" Atsushi stuttered out.
"I've thought it was strange all along, Atsushi-kun." Dazai started. "A child care institution banishes a minor just because their management their backs? This isn't some old farming town." Dazai explained.
"No, if they neglected their duties, it wouldn't have just been one or two people sent away." Dazai continued. "They would've planned to send half of their orphans to some other facility."
"Dazai-san, what are you sa-" Atsushi began to say before he quieted. He looked up and saw that open window. The blue moon was shining down on him, and he just couldn't look away.
"You came to this city two weeks ago." Dazai recounted. "The tiger also came to this city two weeks ago." Dazai says, standing up himself. Atsushi was just staring wide-eyed up at the sky. It was like he was hypnotized by the sky.
"And four days ago, I'm that very place. There was sighting of the tiger." Atsushi said as he watched Atsushi twitch in place. "You were by the Tsurumi River four days ago." Dazai said simply.
"Kunikida-kun said, 'The armed detective agency is a group of people with unusual abilities.' The public doesn't know this, but there is a considerable number of people with abilities out there." Dazai explained.
"There are those who find success with their abilities..." Dazai paused for a moment. "But there are also those who can't control theirs, and their bodies are destroyed." Dazai said seriously.
Atsushi's breath got progressively more labored. He brought his head to his hands.
"Perhaps the people at your orphanage knew the identity of the tiger, yet they never told you." Dazai guessed.
"It seems that you're the only one who didn't know. You're an ability user, too. One whose appearance hides a hungry animal, the moonlight ability user..." Dazai said, staring at the tiger that was once Atsushi.
The tiger was a ferocious beast with a snarling maw. Its fur was a snow white with jet black stripes running through it. Yet it also seemed to glow ever so faintly beneath the moonlight, shining an oddly purple hue.
The tiger stared for only a second before pouncing at him. A deep roar escaped its maw as it went to attack the man in front of it. However, Dazai pivoted on heel, jumping to the side and dodging the attack.
The beast flew forward as it missed its intended target. It crashed against several boxes before hitting the wall. The mere impact caused a sizable crater, leaving cracks and debree scattered across the warehouse.
Through the dust, however, it became obvious that the beast was still standing. It growled, anger coming through its majestic form. It ran forward and swiped at the man's head, but Dazai ducked down, so all it hit was a pile of boxes.
"Such incredible power." Dazai said in mild acknowledgment. "You could easily bite off a person's neck." He openly recognized.
The tiger struck another paw at the man, only to hit the floor as Dazai jumped away once again. Dazai slid across the floor as he accidentally trapped himself against a wall. Although he only let out an "Oops."
He looks at the tiger as it launches at him a final time. "Death by getting eaten by a beast doesn't sound too bad." Dazai said seriously. "But you can't kill me." He says, touching the tiger's forehead before it can reach him.
The tiger immediately stopped in its tracks. Its form suddenly began to shake and blur at the strange man's touch. It became near impossible to tell which part was part of the tiger was physically present.
"My ability," Dazai started to say. "Is to nullify other abilities by touch." He explained simply.
Atsushi soon became that of his original form. The boy was unconscious and fell forward, falling onto Dazai's shoulder. Dazai only stared at the passed out boy for a moment until...
"Sorry, I'm not into hugging men." Dazai said before unceremoniously dumping Atsushi on the floor.
"Hey, Dazai!" A harsh voice could be heard yelling from the entrance of the warehouse. The silhouette of Kunikida could be seen from the light that suddenly entered the building.
"Hey. Took you long enough. I got the tiger already." Dazai said, pointing to the unconscious Atsushi on the floor.
Kunikida rushed over and saw the body on the floor. "That kid..." Kunikida said, shock making itself apparent on his face. "So it was him." He said gravely.
"Yeah. He has the power of the tiger. He doesn't retain any memories from when he transforms." Dazai explained seriously.
"Damnit, let me know beforehand next time!" Kunikida said, scratching the back of his head. "You had me worried for a minute there." Kunikida grumbled, gripping the note Dazai had given him.
'The tiger will appear in the west warehouse in the 15th district. Block off the surrounding area so it doesn't run away.' It had read simply.
"I even ended up borrowing the off-duty people to take care of things." Kunikida muttered before turning around to leave. "Treat them to sake or something." Kunikida remarked as three people entered the warehouse.
"Oh, come on. Nobody got hurt? Boooring." A woman remarked. Her hair was a dark purple and cut in a short bob. A gold butterfly pin was put in her hair, almost like it was mid flight. Her eyes were a bright magenta, and she had a bored demeanor about her.
She wore a simple white dress shirt that was tucked into a long black skirt. The skirt was tied on with a black belt, and her dress shoes were of the same color. Around her neck was a loose black tie.
"Hahaha!" A smiling man laughed. His eyes were closed, but his hair was sticking out every which way from underneath a brown hat he was wearing.
"You did pretty well, Dazai. Well, not that I couldn't have handled it." He said arrogantly. He wore a brown cloak over a black vest. Underneath those was a white dress shirt. A tie hung loosely around his neck, and he wore match brown pants.
"But what are we going to do with him? He wasn't aware of any of this, right?" A kid said. The boy looked to be in his teens with blond hair and a freckled face. His eyes were bright blue, as he looked at unconscious man.
He wore a simple T-shirt and some overalls. A stain hat was behind his back, held in place by a string that went around his neck. He looked like the definition of a country bumpkin.
"What are you gonna do, Dazai?" Kunikida asked. "As far as the city is concerned, he's still a dangerous beast." He remarked.
Dazai let out a small chuckle at Kunikida's questioning. "The truth is, I've already decided." Dazai said, passing a glance at Atsushi.
' "If such a guy dies..." Atsushi said as he curled up into a ball where he sat. "No, I might as well die by being eaten." ' Dazai remembered Atsushi saying.
"I'll be hiring him!" Dazai said cheerfully.
The other four agency members looked at him a moment before,
"HUUUUUH!?"
Could be heard from far outside the warehouse as the scream pearced the midnight air.
That was beginning. In the city full of bizarre happenings, the mysterious story of a detective company where strange people gathered had begun. This was only the prelude to what lied ahead...
Part I fin. Part 2 — The new hire begins next time on...
Chapter 3: The First Day!
Extra I — Character Feature
Atsushi Nakajima
Ability: Beast Beneath the Moonlight
???
Age: 18
Birthday: May 5th
Height: 170cm
Weight: 55kg
Blood Type: AB
Likes: Chazuke, cats, chameleons, rats, Yokohama
Dislikes: Himself, the orphanage he lived in
Dazai Osamu
Ability: No Longer Human
Nullifies other abilities through physical contact.
Age: 22
Birthday: June 19th
Height: 181cm
Weight: 67kg
Blood Type: AB
Likes: Suicide, alcohol, crabs
Dislikes: Dogs, ???
Kunikida Doppo
Ability: Doppo Poet
???
Age: 22
Birthday: August 30th
Height: 189cm
Weight: 78kg
Blood Type: A
Likes: Notebook, fishing, lightly roasted bonito
Dislikes: Unplanned things, authority