Chapter Text
Her alarm went off at seven-thirty in the morning, because apparently, the mafia didn’t give many days off. The best she could get was a half-day, so Higuchi prayed that there wouldn’t be any surprise assignments that would make her late. She couldn’t exactly explain why she was leaving early, after all. And she definitely wouldn’t be able to tell Natsuko why she was late.
At least, she didn’t think she could. She supposed she could say there was an emergency case she had to take, but she doesn’t really know anything about the workings of a law firm, and Higuchi wasn’t really great at ad-libbing. Besides, from her diary, it seemed like past-her went to great lengths to keep Natsuko from asking questions, and Higuchi would hate to undo all of that effort.
The moment she woke up, the anxiety that had been slowly bubbling over the past few days all but reared its head. In a few hours, she would be picking up Natsuko from the airport.
To be honest, she was—for lack of better words— terrified. Her annoyingly selective amnesia hadn’t given her any tips on how to interact with her sister, and weren’t teenage girls known for being brutal? It was one thing if people at work couldn’t tell she was an entirely different person, but Higuchi suspected her sister would be a bit harder to fool. She wasn’t sure what she’d do if Natsuko immediately screamed that she was a fake.
But first, work.
When she arrived, Akutagawa wasn’t in the office. That wasn’t terribly unusual. She tended to get to work early, after all. But even an hour later, Akutagawa didn’t show. Not even a gruff slam of the door just to tell Higuchi to get back to work, as if he hadn’t been the one to interrupt her in the first place. She still had work to do, but it was less than usual.
At around midday, Hirotsu—that was the man with the monocle from before, she knew now—entered the office.
(She also learned he was the head of an extermination group called the “Black Lizards,” which was kind of a stupid name, but she wasn’t going to be telling him that. She had enough self-preservation instincts to keep her mouth shut, for once.)
“Your request for an early leave has been approved,” he said, his hands pulling the sleeves of his coat down his wrists. If he’d been any less elegant about it, or it had been anyone else, Higuchi would have assumed he was fidgeting. She wasn’t sure why he was the one telling her, but she had a sneaking suspicion it was because her boss was currently M.I.A. “Have a pleasant day, Miss Higuchi.”
“Thank you,” she smiled, somewhat nervously. She hoped the reason Akutagawa wasn’t in today had more to do with the fact that he had gotten shot than her resulting comments. Unless he was so angry with her he couldn’t bear to see her face.
No, Akutagawa wasn’t the avoiding type. If he’d really been that mad, she would have been skewered when she walked through the door.
Leaving the building, she shivered at the cool air, wrapping her jacket a bit tighter around herself as she called a taxi. She didn’t particularly feel like suffering through public transportation today, and it wasn’t like she could have the mafia drive her to the airport. At least money wasn’t much of an issue anymore.
Why?
Damn, killing people was pricey. Her paycheck was significant, which was probably why she stayed in the job. (That, and she would be shot if she tried to leave.)
But it was more than enough to take care of herself and her sister.
Higuchi arrived at the airport earlier than expected. It was bustling, which made sense for a Sunday at noon, but still made her the slightest bit uneasy. Not one for crowds, she supposed. Higuchi wondered if that had been true before.
A flashing screen brought her from her thoughts.
“Now disembarking, platform 3A–”
Higuchi froze. She wasn’t ready, she really wasn’t. She didn’t have much choice now, though—that was her sister’s flight. How was she supposed to act? Would it be too much for her to show that she missed her? (How did Higuchi show she missed her?) Was Natsuko at that age where she wouldn’t want to be seen with her older sister? Was she making a mistake—
“Ichiyou!” In an instant, smaller hands wrapped around her, squeezing tightly.
Before Higuchi could blink, she was hugging her sister back.
“Welcome back, Natsuko,” she said, nearly instinctual, and her sister grinned happily. She ruffled her sister’s hair, and–
Higuchi was seven years old, then. The faces of her mother and father were blurry, but not the bundle in her arms. Her sister had stopped crying the moment Higuchi held her, and was making curious noises as Higuchi smiled down at her.
Then, she was nine, and Natsuko was just turning two. Her sister was sitting up, all on her own, her little hand gripping onto Higuchi’s—not for balance, but just to hold it.
“Ichi! Ichi!”
Higuchi was grinning, nodding along. “That’s right, Natsu. Ichi!”
Then she was fourteen, and they were running, and she was finally able to take care of her sister alone. Just her—no foster families or orphanages trying to separate them. There had been plenty of people willing to adopt Natsuko, but no one wanted Ichiyou too. Maybe it was selfish of her, when there were certainly people who could have cared for Natsuko better than she could. But when her little sister looked up at her, smiling wide and holding her hand as they walked into an apartment in a less-than-legal building (who else would be willing to rent to a child?), she couldn’t say she regretted it much.
Then she was sixteen, and she’d finally secured a place in the Port Mafia. There would be no more leaving her sister alone at night (not without a babysitter, at least), no more asking her teachers to wait just a little bit longer until she could make it to pick her up because of odd jobs. At least the mafia had a schedule.
And then she was twenty, waving goodbye to Natsuko as she put on a brave face, holding her best friend’s hand as she boarded the plane. Higuchi was so proud–
“Ichiyou?” Natsuko had moved back to grab her luggage, and was now looking at Higuchi expectantly.
“Sorry, just lost in thought,” she laughed, like thirteen years of memories hadn’t just flashed through her mind. She’d have time to think about them later—right then, she smiled, taking the suitcase from her sister. Natsuko protested, for a moment, but gave up and thanked her in the end. It felt familiar, in a way Higuchi wasn’t used to. It hurt her heart. “What do you want for dinner?”
Natsuko tapped her pointer finger to her chin, pretended to think, but Higuchi knew her better than that. Higuchi knew her sister better than Higuchi knew herself, and at that moment, she was fine with that. “Can we have–”
“Udon?” she grinned when her sister smiled bashfully, caught. “I called ahead, they’ve got space for us.” It was a good thing Higuchi had written about her plan before she lost her memory.
The walk from the airport to the restaurant wasn’t quick, but Natsuko loved to walk along the river, and so they did. A loud motorcycle made her sister cover her ears, and Higuchi teased Natsuko for a moment before she stopped in her tracks.
“Hm?”
Following her gaze, Higuchi noticed a boy sitting on the side of the river. He looked young, and dangerously thin, and—and he jumped into the water. That… wasn’t good.
Before she could think better of it, she dropped the suitcase and told her sister to stay put, dashing to the side of the river, where she could still see bobs of silver hair, thrashing in the water.
(Shit—she hated getting her clothes wet.)
Before she had the chance to go any further, there was a loud splash, and the boy resurfaced, holding onto—was that another person? He’d been trying to save them? But he was still struggling, although getting closer, and he noticed her momentarily before he sunk again.
Higuchi took a few steps into the water, noting with relief that it wasn’t as deep as she thought it would be, though it was getting deeper quickly. Higuchi couldn’t remember if she could swim, and while apparently it worked for babies, she didn’t particularly want to throw herself into the water and find out.
And then there was a hand reaching out of the water, flapping around frantically, and she grabbed it with all her strength. And Higuchi supposed she was stronger than she would have guessed, because the weight of two people wasn’t difficult to steady against her as she dragged them onto land. Natsuko was there, but Higuchi didn’t have time to reprimand her before she rushed to help lay them onto the ground, stomach down so they wouldn’t choke.
The silver-haired boy hadn’t even gone unconscious, and Natsuko was sitting a careful distance away as he coughed violently, a sound that had Higuchi wincing. Then, after a few moments, the other person began coughing too. He was a bit older, bandages running up his arms and wearing a long tan trenchcoat that was completely soaked through.
Higuchi, for all her merit, hadn’t ever learned CPR (or if she had, she didn’t remember), so she was glad he woke up on his own.
“We can take you to the hospital—” Natsuko spoke as soon as the coughing stopped.
“I failed!”
Higuchi flinched as he shot up. She hadn’t expected the bandaged man to speak first, or even get his bearings as fast as he did.
“...Is everything alright?” she asked, even though her instinct told her not to.
“No!” the man mimicked a faint, falling back to the ground with a thump. “I lived! It was going to be the perfect suicide!”
Higuchi blinked. She should have trusted her damn instincts. She… wasn’t sure she wanted Natsuko around this man. But still, if he really was a danger to himself, she didn’t feel comfortable just leaving–
“Ah! I didn’t even thank you! A beautiful woman like yourself simply must consider a double suicide with me–”
Nope. She stood quickly, turning to her sister and beginning to dial a number on her phone. It was her personal phone, so she couldn’t call the police, but maybe a hospital? They had urgent care, right? She wasn’t entirely sure what to do in this situation.
A gurgling noise stopped her in her tracks, and she looked to Natsuko, who shook her head. The two of them looked at the silver-haired boy.
“...Are you hungry?” Higuchi asked, doing her best to ignore the other man.
The boy flushed, but nodded, and Higuchi hid a sigh. She couldn’t leave him like that, not when he looked as weak as he did.
“Dazai!”
Higuchi noted the boy’s desperate flinch, and instinctively moved to shield him and Natsuko. But the man walking towards them barely even noticed their presence, instead turning to the other man and smacking him upside the head.
…Huh?
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? We have a job to do! We’re already seventeen minutes behind schedule—and that’s after the time I set aside for your antics!”
“But Kunikida~” the man whined, “The water looked so inviting! Did you know that going for a swim in cold water significantly increases your expected lifespan?”
Higuchi wasn’t sure if she would call suicidal tendencies “antics,” but she was more relieved about the fact that they seemed to know each other. To her slight surprise, the man named Kunikida seemed to actually take that into consideration, pulling out a small notebook and immediately writing it down before the bandaged man (Dazai?) cheered—
“I lied!”
The man broke his pen clean in half, and Higuchi decided that she didn’t need to be here any longer. Sure, she would help a civilian who was drowning, and maybe she had a soft spot for kids, but she wasn’t so much of a saint that she would risk being asked for a double suicide again.
She sighed, “Please take care of your friend. We’ll be leaving now.”
It sounded more stern than she had intended, but she was starting to get hungry too, and even though her sister was putting on a brave face, she could see her getting nervous. The silver-haired boy was still shaking.
At that, the blonde man turned to her, bowing quickly with a surprisingly formal thanks before turning back. Higuchi turned to the two behind her.
“Are you new to the city?” Higuchi asked the boy, who nodded. Natsuko frowned, and Higuchi knew where this was going. She decided to offer first. “Alright. My sister and I are going to get lunch—how about you come eat with us? I’ll pay, so don’t worry about that.”
He seemed surprised, but nodded hesitantly, and Higuchi stood.
“But Kunikida,” she heard Dazai ask from behind her, “How are we going to find the tiger if we don’t search far and wide?”
“We both know that isn’t what you were doing!”
The boy stopped, and another flash of fear crossed his expression. Why? His hands shook, and Higuchi stopped anxiously. She had no idea how to help calm someone down that wasn’t her sister.
“Can I–?” She started, holding out a hand, and the boy jumped back. “Alright, not doing that, I promise.” Higuchi didn’t know what happened to make him so scared, but from the scars she could see poking out of his tattered clothing, she felt like she had a pretty good idea.
So instead, Higuchi shrugged off her jacket, stifling a shudder at the sudden chill. At least it wasn’t wet. Her shoes were, though, and that was a special kind of torture. “You should put this on. You’re probably freezing.”
He did take the jacket, after a moment, and Higuchi tried for a soothing smile as she gestured towards the restaurant. She took care not to look back at the duo still by the river. By the time they got to the restaurant, the boy was mostly dry, which was a relief. Natsuko stayed glued to Higuchi’s side, but brightened when they were brought to their table.
Apparently they went there somewhat often, because the server recognized them and immediately brought them to a small corner table. No wonder it had been saved on her phone.
“Same as usual, for you both?” The server asked, and Natsuko nodded quickly. Higuchi agreed, mainly because she was curious as to what her usual was.
“C-can I get chazuke?”
Higuchi blinked, surprised. That was the first thing he’d said, and she was half-expecting him not to respond at all. She nodded both to him and the waiter, who ruffled Natsuko’s hair before he left. They were definitely frequent customers, then.
“How was your trip?”
Her sister grinned, “It was amazing! I got to see so many museums—you would have loved it!”
Higuchi nodded, and then her expression turned teasing, “You didn’t forget to get your dear sister anything, did you?”
“Of course not! But it’s a surprise. You can see it when we get home!”
“Sounds great.” Higuchi smiled, and then gasped. Slightly embarrassed, she turned to the boy across from her. “I’m Higuchi, by the way. Higuchi Ichiyou. I forgot to introduce myself.”
“Oh! And I’m Natsuko. Also Higuchi.”
“Oh, you’ve done more than enough! Please don’t apologize! And I’m—um, Nakajima Atsushi. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too, Nakajima,” she smiled, and was relieved when he looked slightly more calm.
Calm enough to eat five bowls of chazuke, at least. How long had he gone without food? She frowned at the thought. He looked so young—she couldn’t help it.
Her own order had been curry udon, which was heavenly. No wonder it was her usual.
When they finished eating, (and convincing Atsushi he had nothing to apologize for—the boy looked guilty at eating so much), Higuchi moved to pay, and the door to the restaurant slammed open.
“Kunikida! I found them!”
What the hell? Why were these guys back?
“Atsushi!” Natsuko jumped up, but the boy was faster, ducking past the people at the door and running. Higuchi grabbed Natsuko’s hand from where she was, stopping her from going after them. Natsuko looked solemn, but sat back down.
When Higuchi looked back to the door, but the two were gone, and barely anyone seemed to acknowledge what had just happened.
What the hell?
“...Let’s just go home, Natsuko.”